My dearest relatives,

I hope you enjoy this newsletter. Spring has been a very busy time for the Office of Indigenous Ministry, I am so grateful for the amazing contributors and the work that has been accomplished.
Three years ago, I began this position with my first meeting before the Executive Council Committee on Indigenous Ministry (ECCIM) right before General Convention of the Episcopal Church. The first thing I asked of the board was for their help to work together. I knew that we had much work ahead of us in the last triennium and an opportunity we hadn't had in a long time because we have the support of the presiding officers, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and House of Deputies President Bonnie Anderson. At that meeting, ECCIM agreed to work together and Deacon Terry Star, Dakota, from the Diocese of North Dakota was elected to Executive Council from the floor of the House of Deputies at the 76th General Convention in 2009! Additionally, the "Native Caucus" organized and showed up to every hearing to testify to ensure Indigenous Ministry was funded for program and training. We also gathered additional funding to work on Poverty Alleviation, which partnered healing with Action Based Community Development training. Additionally, the Episcopal Church became the first church denomination to Repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery at the 76th General Convention. We are now just a few short days away from the 77th General Convention and it has been my extreme honor to be part of such transformative work. Here is a report of the work accomplished as published in the "Blue Book" for the 77th General Convention of the Episcopal Church being held at Indiana Convention Center from July 5–12, 2012 in Indianapolis, Indiana:  http://www.generalconvention.org/gc/prepare.
 

In other ministry news, a Consultation on Alternative Leadership and Theological Training was held January 11-14, 2012, in a suburb of Oklahoma City. This was the first ever churchwide gathering of Episcopal Church leaders involved in ethnic ministries for the purpose of identifying and discussing the common elements of ministry in ethnic communities. At this meeting, the Bishops Native Collaborative was born: "The Bishops’ Native Collaborative is a consortium begun in response to the overwhelming need for Native clergy, Native lay leaders and culturally appropriate for them. It was established by the Bishops of Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota and the Navajoland Area Mission. The goal of the Bishops’ Native Collaborative is to provide training for lay and ordained leaders by sharing resources for theological education based on, but not limited to, the seven subject areas listed in Canon III.5(g) of The Episcopal Church. Our work is a sharing of resources and based in a cooperative education model and encompasses the Niobrara School for Ministry, Hooghan Learning Circle, North Dakota School for Ministry, David Salmon School for Ministry, Father Paul Mather School for Ministry of the four dioceses. The education and preparation we provide will be available to the wider church, will be adaptable for local needs and cultures, and will be offered in a variety of formats as well being made available through advance technologies and platforms." Developing and coordinating the training will be Bishop Missioner, The Rt. Rev. Carol Gallagher, PhD and the BNC plan to work with consultant  Julie Lytle, PhD.
 

In February, the Ethnic Missioners of the Episcopal Church sponsored the New Community Clergy and Lay Conference to provide opportunities for clergy and lay people to explore mission in ethnic ministries, centered on the theme “Reclaiming our Mission; Reinterpreting our Context; Renewing our Communities.” Many thanks to those who contributed from Indigenous Ministry:  Rev. Brandon Mauai gave bible study in plenary, Diocese of North Dakota; Rev. Harold Eaglebull provided suicide prevention, Diocese of Minnesota; LaCinda Hardy provided Asset Based Community Development training, Area Mission on Navajoland; Don Eagle and Paul Sneve worked on the liturgy, Diocese of South Dakota; as well as Rev. Reynelda James who provided a sage and water blessing, Diocese of Nevada. A full article on the event is available at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/notice/episcopal-church-conference-offers-opportunities-clergy-lay-explore-mission-ethnic-ministries
 

This February, we took the message of healing and action to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women with five women: Jasmine Bostock, Elsie Dennis, Nellie Adkins, Denyse Bergie and Caressa James. They have had two years of advocacy training at this event and will recruit new women for next year. Please read their reflections included in the newsletter.
 

In May, the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) was deeply spiritual and deeply moving to be a part of. The Special Theme of the UNPFII was: "The Doctrine of Discovery: its enduring impact on indigenous peoples and the right to redress for past conquests.” As an Indigenous person and representative of the church, I have felt both sides of the pain and mistrust the Doctrine of Discovery (DoD) has caused to the Indigenous. I see the guilt and shame of the Episcopal Church for having been a part of the colonization, assimilation and death of many peoples. I also feel the deep sadness of many indigenous peoples still dealing with the continuation of the policies relating to the DoD today, manifesting itself into environmental poisoning leading to death, slavery and abuse of women, land struggles, and tribes determined to fight for sovereignty rights. I am so very proud to be part of a church where our Presiding Bishop sits upon a panel (http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2012/05/07/ecumenical-panel-kicks-off-un-forum-on-indigenous-issues/) to deliver her pastoral letter on the DoD. Then for her to sit at the UN PFII for a total of 5 hours over 2 days for an opportunity to read the oral intervention without success, but was not a loss at all. In fact, our people saw her sit with them waiting and listening to testimony from many nations about the impact of the DoD. I had several people comment that they saw her waiting and listening. That waiting demonstrated not only humility in the eyes of our people, but also the importance she placed on Repudiating the DoD to listen to the oral interventions and issues of many international countries and caucuses. John Diffenbacher-Krall, from the Diocese of Maine, read the oral intervention into record on behalf of the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church of Canada and the World Council of Churches.
 

We also held a panel event during UNPFII with several outstanding panelists demonstrating solidarity with indigenous peoples:  Sarah Augustine from Mennonite Central Committee, Cheryl Kennedy Chairwoman of the Grand Ronde Nation, Law Professor Robert Miller and Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori of The Episcopal Church. The May 7 panel was co-sponsored by the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Communion, the World Council of Churches, the Mennonite Central Committee, the World Federation of Methodist and Uniting Church Women, The Grail (an international women’s movement), the Gray Panthers, U.F.E.R. – International Movement for Fraternal Union among Races and Peoples, Suriname Indigenous Health Fund, the NGO Committee on the U.N. International Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, the Salvation Army, the World Christian Student Federation, and Office of the Chaplain of the Church Center for the United Nations. Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori later released her pastoral letter on the Doctrine of Discovery on May 16, 2012 . Later, I had an opportunity to talk to the new UNPFII chair Ed John of Canada and the first thing he said was, "thank you for all of your events leading up to the UN PFII". The fact that we were on his radar and he acknowledged the action we placed behind our Repudiation of DoD is of monumental importance.
 

We continue this work with the General Convention Doctrine of Discovery Lament on July 10, 2012 from 7-10 pm in Indianapolis. Vigil begins at 7 pm EDT with the prayer event beginning at 8 pm concluding 10 pm. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and House of Deputies President Bonnie Anderson will both share in prayers. White Earth Tribal Chairwoman Erma Vizenor, Deacon Terry Star (Lakota), Episcopal Archivist Newland Smith, Professor Kathryn Rickert, Cornelia Eaton (Navajo) and Reverend Eulogio Quito (Kichwa) will share stories of history, present reality, lament and hope.
 

I have so much more to share with you about a recent trip to Diocese of Central Ecuador and Diocese of Venezuela to visit the Kichwa and Arawak peoples, however this will need to wait for the next issue. Many thanks again to all who have stepped forward to work together in Indigenous Ministry, please join the deputies and Bishops of Indigenous Ministry in prayer over the next two weeks during General convention for the work of Indigenous Ministry.

We mourn the loss of 2 indigenous great fans and allies for Indigenous Ministries in the person of Hone Kaa, a great Maori Leader and Lavan Martin, an ECCIM member.  They will be missed. 

To read more, go to:

http://indigepiscopal.blogspot.com/2012/05/we-mourn-loss-of-great-maori-leader-and.html and at http://indigepiscopal.blogspot.com/2012/05/lavan-martin-passes-away-lavan-martin.html

Wopila,
Sarah

The Bishops’ Native Collaborative is a consortium begun in response to the overwhelming need for Native clergy, Native leaders and culturally appropriate for them. It was established by the Bishops of Alaska, North Dakota, South Dakota and the Navajoland Area Mission.  The goal of the Bishops’ Native Collaborative is to provide training for lay and ordained leaders by sharing resources for theological education based on, but not limited to, the seven subject areas listed in Canon III.5(g) of The Episcopal Church.  Our work is a sharing of resources and based in a cooperative education model and encompasses the Niobrara School for Ministry, Hooghan Learning Circle, North Dakota School for Ministry, David Salmon School for Ministry, Father Paul Mather School for Ministry of the four dioceses. The education and preparation we provide will be available to the wider church, will be adaptable for local needs and cultures, and will be offered in a variety of formats as well being made available through advance technologies and platforms.
 

The four bishops have invited Bishop Carol Gallagher, PhD, Cherokee, to design a culturally appropriate, theologically strong curriculum as a three year ministry training program.  Bishop Gallagher will serve as Bishop Missioner providing oversight, curriculum development, leadership training, class scheduling and coordination, supplying qualified instructors, as well as delivering instruction.  The Bishops’ Native Collaborative will deliver education in poor social economic areas and where needed to meet local demands.  The consortium will encompass an innovative sustainable training program within the varied cultural settings of Episcopal Native peoples for both clergy and lay leadership. They believe that this ministry is desperately needed for the church’s often underserved native peoples, as well as being an essential and unique instructional tool for the whole church.  The training developed by the Bishops’ Native Collaborative will be available to dioceses and can be adapted to your local needs as your ever widening diverse population grows. The Collaborative will be looking for seminary and other partners as well as seeking funding across the Episcopal Church.