The church can be a healing resource for Native Americans whose cultures and ways of life are typically misunderstood if not outright ignored in the U.S. and Canada, activist Mariah Humphries said during a webinar hosted by Fellowship Southwest. Indigenous…
‘We know the difference between American Christianity and Jesus,’ Humphries says
Christianity for many Native Americans conjures memories of stolen land, oppressive boarding schools and the forced sterilization of women, Mariah Humphries said in the opening address at Fellowship Southwest’s Compassion and Justice Conference. “This is what Christianity represents for Native…
How churches can participate in the Indigenous Land Back movement and why they should
In 1777, Cherokee statesman Kaiyahtehee, also known as “Old Tassel,” arrived at Fort Henry near the Long Island in the Holston River to negotiate a treaty with commissioners from the state of North Carolina. The treaty would give America land…
BJC luncheon highlights ongoing oppression of Native Americans
Native Americans continue to be oppressed by the Doctrine of Discovery and other entrenched, historic narratives used to rationalize the subjugation of indigenous peoples, panelists said during a Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty event in Dallas June 30. “Colonialism,…
Rethinking the Thanksgiving story with truth and gratitude
Thanksgiving is a holiday nearly every American can celebrate in some way. In the spirit of gratitude, one, 10 or more can gather at the table and acknowledge their many blessings. But after a closer look at its history, we’re…
Making peace with my ancestral research
My husband and I have enjoyed delving into our ancestries. At one point in the past, we visited upstate New York, where we looked at gravestones, nearly erased with acid rainfall, and at documents in the historical archives in county…
It’s past time to unearth and acknowledge our role in Native American boarding schools
Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland announced the United States will launch an initiative to search for possible burial sites at the former grounds of the federally created Native American boarding schools that forcibly removed thousands of children from their…
‘This Land Is Your Land’ sounds different as an adult today
The music of elementary school never left me. I remember the tinkering incoherence of band instruments, high whistles of the recorder, the school piano at assemblies. But most vividly, I remember the hum of children stirring when my grade six…
Black History Month: I’m all in, but let’s tell the WHOLE story
The story of our struggle is a story of resilience, resistance and triumph-in-the-midst-of-tragedy that actually has the power to redeem this nation from the sins of the fathers and the privilege of the few that has come at the expense of the many.