Learning lessons of Native American culture, history

During the EPA Annual Conference in May 2023, I had the pleasure of meeting Verna Colliver at the CONAM (Committee on Native American Ministries) display table. In our conversation, I learned that CONAM has a longtime relationship with Rev. Hill and the Blackfeet community.

 

Rev. Calvin Hill.

Your gifts on Native American Ministries Sunday helps support the ministries of the Committee on Native American Ministries in their annual conferences. This offering serves to remind United Methodists of the gifts and contributions made by Native Americans to our society.

The following week, I started a summer course at Drew on Indigenous Approaches to Health and Healing.  Our work emphasized strength-based approaches and the concept of cultural safety, which places the responsibility on systems and providers to create a “safe space” for recipients.  When working with Indigenous communities, the history of traumatic losses caused by colonization must be understood and respected to create a safe, healing environment.  Safety is defined by those who receive the service.

I learned that in April 2023, CONAM had hosted a screening of Home From School: the Children of Carlisle, a documentary about the Carlisle Indian Industrial School.  Our professor welcomed the opportunity to connect, and invited members of CONAM to speak to our class about the subject.  Sandi Cianciulli and Verna Colliver joined our class via Zoom, and Sandi shared a presentation about the Carlisle Indian School Project.  Sandi is a descendant of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and a descendant of Carlisle Indian School students. 

We learned that the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, located in Carlisle, PA, was the first off-reservation, government-run boarding school for American Indians.  It was opened in 1879 by Lt. Col. Richard Pratt, whose personal motto was “Kill the Indian, Save the Man.”  Initially, the goal was also to control of the tribes; and so, children of Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho tribal leaders were essentially taken hostage for this purpose.

The Carlisle School was a model for over 700 other Native American boarding schools, the majority of which were run by churches.  From 7,000 to 8,000 children, representing over 140 different tribes, attended the Carlisle School during its 39 years of operation.  Hundreds of children died from abuse, neglect and disease. 

Forced assimilation to the dominant culture robbed individual survivors and their tribes of their customs and cultural identity.  The consequences of this continue to impact Indigenous communities today.

In the summer of 2022, Drew Theological School led students on a trip to the Blackfeet Nation in Browning, Montana. Our group stayed at the parsonage of the Rev. Calvin Hill, senior pastor of Blackfeet United Methodist Parish (BUMP).  We prepared for the trip by learning the concept of cultural humility, which emphasizes the importance of self-reflection, acknowledgement of power differentials and responsible use of power.  It encourages curiosity about individuals and a recognition that one cannot truly know another person or culture.

 

Courtesy photo.

We also learned about the Doctrine of Discovery, and the devastating role that the government and Christian missionaries played in the cultural genocide of Indigenous peoples within the context of European colonialism.  

Rev. Calvin Hill is a Navajo Holy Man, who provided our group with an immersion experience into the life of members of the Blackfeet Nation.  We were told upon arrival to “check our privilege at the gate.” We were shocked and saddened to witness the extreme poverty of this community, and to learn of the poor quality of and access to health care; the high rates of drug and alcohol addiction; high rates of domestic violence; and the inability of this community to protect its own from being kidnapped and killed. 

Their language, culture and land have been stolen. They have been lied to, manipulated, ignored and forgotten. Their trauma is inherent to their identity, and it is tragically ongoing.

Yet, despite having experienced this severe trauma, he continues to feel called to ministry in The United Methodist Church.  A large part of his ministry has been a program to educate visiting mission teams—multifaith, national and international groups—about the reality of Indigenous peoples.

What an incredible opportunity it has been to be a part of this connection with CONAM, Rev. Hill and the Blackfeet Nation, and Drew Theological School. As students and emerging faith leaders, we have been overwhelmed by the trauma but inspired by the resilience of Native American tribes and nations.

excerpt from a story by Terri Leone, psychiatric nurse practitioner and is in her third year at Drew Theological School, located in Madison, NJ. She recently became a member of the EPA Conference CONAM.

One of six churchwide Special Sundays with offerings of The United Methodist Church, Native American Ministries Sunday serves to remind United Methodists of the gifts and contributions made by Native Americans to our society. The special offering supports Native American outreach within annual conferences and across the United States and provides seminary scholarships for Native Americans.

When you give generously on Native American Ministries Sunday, you equip seminary students who will honor and celebrate Native American culture in their ministries. You empower congregations to find fresh, new ways to minister to their communities with Christ’s love. Give now.