September-November 2020
Indigenous
Justice
Playlist
Below you will find a variety of resources to help you think more deeply about issues of indigenous justice. The intent is not that you will read and engage with all of the items, but that you will choose a few that seem most interesting to you. All items are appropriate for all ages; those selected specifically for children and/or their parents are marked with an asterisk*.
Items are listed in four categories:
- Head: Readings and videos to help us learn about the topic
- Hands: Activities to engage with the topic
- Heart: Opportunities to reach out to others–within the church and beyond
- Spirit: Spiritual practices to help you connect more deeply with God
Please feel free to share your reflections and additional resources in the comments below.
Head
things to think about
43-minute documentary: Doctrine of Discovery: In the name of Christ
“Five Hundred Years of Injustice: The Legacy of Fifteenth Century Religious Prejudice” by Steve Newcomb
Mennonite Voices
(for October 28)
A blog series from the DDoD Coalition co-chair Sarah Augustine:
- “My Commissioning,”
- “Walking Culture,”
- “A Story from My Family,”
- “Agents of Change,”
- “In Spite of All This…”
“Boarding Schools and the Indian Child Welfare Act” by Erica Littlewolf
Conversation with Erica Littlewolf about “Thanksgiving Myths and the Doctrine of Discovery“
Article about Cheyenne chief and Mennonite, Lawrence Hart.
A 55-minute interview with indigenous activist Wendsler Nosie. (Note that video starts about 5 minutes in.)
Book: Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Knowledge, Scientific Wisdom and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
The Mennonite World Conference Declaration of Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples
And here is a list of statements from various other denominations addressing indigenous justice and the Doctrine of Discovery
–Many thanks to Ken Ratzlaff for sharing this!
Documentary (45 minutes): “The Seventh Generation: Youth at the Heart of the Standing Rock Protests”
Or a longer (1.5 hour) documentary: Awake: A Dream from Standing Rock
And you can read about how “Mennonite Delegation Shows Solidarity at Standing Rock“
If you have a Lawrence Public Library card, you can access movies on Kanopy. You can find many films by searching for “Native American” (and related terms). If you watch something good, please share your recommendation in the comments below.
Article: Addressing the Epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
*”My Heart Fills with Happiness” is a lovely little picture book. Find videos of more picture books by indigenous authors and about indigenous life on this YouTube list.
“Boarding Schools and the Indian Child Welfare Act” by Erica Littlewolf
Conversation with Erica Littlewolf about “Thanksgiving Myths and the Doctrine of Discovery“
Article about Cheyenne chief and Mennonite, Lawrence Hart.
For the more academically-minded, contact Joanna for an unpublished book chapter from Native American and Indigenous rhetorics scholar Lisa King: “To Do Things in a Good (Decolonial) Way: Putting Indigenous Rhetorics and Rhetorics of Religion in Conversation”
Carol Grieb shared about her meaningful visit to this commemorative wall in Alabama.
Heart
ways to reach out
Read some newsletters from the Mennonite-based Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery Coalition and sign up to receive them in the future.
While you’re at it, follow the DDoD Coalition on Facebook!
Connect with history of this place
Learn about the Kanza people who are the original inhabitants or this place we live (Lawrence, KS).
*Take a day trip to walk the two-mile Kanza Heritage Trail at Allegawaho Heritage Memorial Park in Council Grove, KS. (About 1.5 hours from Lawrence.)
Visit the Pawnee Indian Museum. (Call to confirm hours.)
Visit St. Philippine Duchesne Park near Centerville, KS. This was a destination of the “Trail of Death”–the forced movement of about 900 Potawatomie Indians.
Consider financial reparations
Read the story of Florence Schloneger, who donated money from sale of her land back to the Kanza people.
Check out the “Real Rent Duwamish” project in Seattle, OR.
Donations can be sent to the Kanza Heritage Society, in care of Pauline Sharp, 515 S. Main, No. 312, Wichita, Ks. 67202.
Hands
things to do
Learn about land acknowledgments and write a personal acknowledgement to post in your home and/or use as part of your email signature.
*Take a walking tour of the Haskell Indian Nations University campus. You can find a walking tour brochure here. You may also wish to visit the Haskell cemetery. Becky Janzen shares this picture from her visit a couple of years ago.
*Read about the Shunganunga boulder, then go visit it in Robinson park.
Pray and act on behalf of Oak Flat, a site sacred to the Apache that is about to become a copper mine. MCCN urges you to educate yourself, pray for God’s intervention and contact your members of Congress and the Senate. Since it is an election year, there is a push to transfer the land by December. Background information. (See interview with Wendsler Nosie in the “Head” section.)
Spirit
ways to connect with God
*Watch this video about “Social Distanced Pow Wows” and say your own prayers for healing
Learn about medicine wheels and visit the one on the southern edge of the Haskell campus–adjacent to the Haskell-Baker wetlands.
Read this sermon from Hyattsville Mennonite on the Trail of Tears
Book Recommendations
Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing, Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery By Mark Charles, Soong-Chan Rah
Rescuing the Gospel from the Cowboys: A Native American Expression of the Jesus Way by Richard Twiss
Peace Mennonite Church 