Native American Heritage Month: For many years, the Office of Indigenous Ministries of the Episcopal Church has celebrated the “longstanding presence and influence of Native Americans throughout the history of the Episcopal Church in the United States from its earliest days in the New World.” The Church’s website summarizes its ongoing commitment to fully integrate and welcome Indigenous people into our congregations; to develop a national support system for continued remembrance, recognition and reconciliation of all Indigenous people within the church; to create influential leadership roles in the church for Indigenous people; to develop a network of leadership and education resources to prepare those interested in and called to ministry in the Church as both ordained priests and lay congregational leaders.
Most significant is the Church’s recognition of its own complicity in the harmful treatment of Native Americans and the need for repentance. This work began in earnest in 1997 when the Church proposed a new covenant of faith and reconciliation to atone for the sins of colonialization and has continued, through the repudiation of the “Doctrine of Discovery” in 2009, to Bishop Curry’s acknowledgement of the Church’s participation in the Indian Residential Schools and its commitment to further discussion and action to atone for the injustices of the 19th and 20th centuries. For information on Indigenous Ministries of the Episcopal Church, please consult https://www.episcopalchurch.org/ministries/indigenous-ministries/blog/
During this last week of November, the members of the God’s Diversity Committee invite you to pray with us:
O Great Spirit, God of all people and every tribe, through whom all people are related;
Call us to the kinship of all our people.
Grant us vision to see through the lens of our Baptismal Covenant, the brokenness of the past.
And give us courage, patience, and wisdom to work together for healing and hope with all your people, now and in the future.
Mend the hoop of our hearts and let us live in justice and peace through Jesus Christ, the One who comes to all people that we might live in dignity. Amen.
(Adapted from “Exposing the Doctrine of Discovery: A Call to Healing and Hope,” a Congregational Resource of the Episcopal Church.)
Native Americans suffer a host of social problems at a higher rate than the general population. Among these challenges are higher rates of unemployment, poverty, and homelessness; lower educational attainment; higher rates of substance abuse and addiction, mental illness and suicide; higher rates of incarceration; poorer health outcomes and greater despair. The causes are complex, some stemming from historical abuses such as intergenerational trauma from residential schools; some from governmental negligence of native communities; and some from a failure to honor treaties. There has also been inadequate political representation and a lack of access to social services in these communities. As we see so often, cycles of despair become entrenched and often are exacerbated by feelings of hopelessness and poor personal decisions. Regardless of the causes, the life circumstances of many Native Americans remain dire.
If you would like to help Native Americans, the following organizations welcome your interest and support.
Legal Advocacy
National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) – advocates on behalf of Tribal Nations and American Indian and Alaska Native individuals on a wide range of policy issues. (https://www.ncai.org).
Native American Rights Fund (NARF) – provides legal representation to tribes, organizations, and individuals to protect their rights. (https://www.narf.org).
Association on American Indian Affairs (AAIA) – works on issues of sovereignty, cultural preservation, and self-determination. (https://www.Indian-affairs.org).
Education
American Indian College Fund – provides scholarships and programming for Native Americans to access and succeed in higher education. This organization also supports tribal colleges and universities. (https://collegefund.org).
Youth and Community
United National Indian Tribal Youth (UNITY) – seeks to help Native American youth develop leadership skills and address issues facing their communities. (https://unityinc.org).
National Indian Child Welfare Association – offers support to American Indian children and families. (https://www.nicwa.org).
REV DR RANDY WOODLEY
Do not begrudge the white man for coming here. Though he doesn’t know it yet, He has come to learn from us.
– A Shoshone elder
These words are written on the dedication page of Journey to Eloheh: how Indigenous values lead us to harmony and well-being by Randy and Edith Woodley.
Rev Dr Randy Woodley was born in Alabama, but he and his parents moved, during the Great Migration, from the south to Detroit, looking for work in the automobile industry. He spent most of his youth in the city, but he also learned from his Cherokee relatives the importance of living with the sacred earth.
Dr Woodley is a first-generation college graduate and a first-generation non-coal miner. He went on to earn a PhD and a Distinguished Professor of Faith and Cultural Emeritus at George Fox University/Portland Seminary. He has been called a “public intellectual, farmer, speaker, scriptwriter, activist, and wisdom keeper. “
Dr Woodley and his wife Edith are the founders of the non-profit Eloheh Indigenous Center for Earth, Justice and Eloheh Farm and Seed near Portland, Oregon. They believe that creation is always teaching us and, therefore, it is our responsibility to look, listen, and live well. Eloheh (www.elohehlorg)“seeks to foster equity and justice between indigenous peoples and the wider society.” They use storytelling and music to “bridge cultural gaps and foster understanding.”
Dr Woodley teaches the exploration of the intersection of indigenous wisdom (based on the ethic of harmony, humility, and respect) , ecological sustainability, theology, and spirituality. He believes that “indigenous people understand themselves as belonging to the land, belonging to the earth. Colonizer people, (the Europeans who settled here and established political control) say the earth belongs to them, the earth belongs to them” (excerpted from an interview with Dr Woodley and Brian McLauren.)
Dr Woodley reminds us that we are all indigenous from somewhere. We need to remember that we are all related; that our history is what makes us authentically human. Start by knowing the people who originally populated your area. Learn their stories and rituals. Start going on dates with nature. As we connect with creation, Dr Woodley explains we will “connect with our creator and connect with who we are as human beings.”
As you glean from the wisdom of the earth, you will begin to realize that the way we live is not sustainable and there needs to be great change.
Becoming Rooted: One hundred Days of Reconnecting with Sacred Earth by Randy Woodley
Journey to Eloheh: How Indigenous Values Lead us to Harmony and Well-Being by Randy and Edith Woodley.
PODCASTS:
Learning How to See with Brian McLaren, season 7, episode 6: Seeing Nature as an Indigenous Person
Everything Belongs, season 3, episode4: Home Base with Rev Dr Randy Woodley
O God of infinite mercy, we live in a land where the native peoples were moved, often by force, from the bountiful lands they inhabited to places of desolation. Help us to support them now as they seek to retain their rich native cultures. Open our eyes to the poverty and despair that so often accompany them through life, and give us the courage and will to change the systems that perpetuate injustice, for the sake of your Son our Lord. Amen
Episcopal Diocesan Commission to End Racism