The Diocesan Dialogue
Current Issue
January 2008

By Janine Tinsley-Roe

It was a glorious day.
It was a glorious event.

It was the opening Eucharist of the New Jamestown Covenant Summit at historic Jamestown, Virginia, on Nov. 1.

It marked the Episcopal Church's commitment to renew efforts to Remember, Recognize and Reconcile its relationship with the Native American Indians of this land.

It was based on the 1997 commitment and a resolution sponsored by the Diocese of Utah and adopted at the 75th General Convention.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori participated, as did 300 Native and non-native Episcopalians from 28 dioceses and 39 tribes. That included a sizeable group of youth and young adults. (Dialogue photo)

Also in attendance were several members of the national church staff, including the ethnic congregation missioners and the peace and justice director.

The weather cooperated wonderfully. It was a beautiful day. Eagles flew overhead.

The conference was held at Bruton Parish in Williamsburg.

We were in the territory of the Virginia Native Royals, the Powhatan confederacy—and with the support of the dioceses in Virginia and their bishops: Diocese of Virginia and Bishop Peter James Lee; Southwestern Virginia and Bishop Neff Powell; and Southern Virginia and Interim Bishop John Buchanan.

Four hundred years ago England established a permanent settlement and the Anglican Church when King James I commanded the settlers to share the gospel among the "savages".

At this All Saints Day service, there was participation by the church's Native American bishops: Steven Charleston (Choctaw), Carol Gallagher (Cherokee), Michael Smith (Potawatomi). Also participating was the Anglican Church of Canada's first national indigenous bishop, Mark MacDonald, who also serves as assisting bishop of Navajoland, and Canada's missioner, Donna Bomberry.

Our church in 1997 declared a period of 10 years to better address the imperialism that took over 400 year ago. This decade—approved by then Presiding Bishop Edmund Browning, House of Deputies President Pam Chinnis, the Office of Native American Ministries and Episcopal Council of Indigenous Ministries for the benefit of the whole Anglican Communion—was to begin a process of Remembering, Recognizing, and Reconciling Indigenous People.

The initial years of that decade were uneventful, largely because the commitment came without any resources for engagement. That changed in November 2004 when Executive Council approved $450,000 over three years for visioning and programming in Native American Ministries.

The Native American Ministries Office and the Episcopal Council on Indigenous Ministries determined areas for improvement and focused the limited resources to accomplish the decade goal.

These past three years have included Native sponsored events such as three youth and young adult gatherings held in New York City averaging 45 participants each year; annual clergy and laity gathering held at Cathedral College in Washington D.C.; an annual healing gathering for Indigenous Anglican and Episcopal Woman to provide a safe, empowering and nurturing environment for young girls, mothers, grandmothers and great grandmothers to share their stories of struggle and strength.

That enables them to network with each other and now that they have sisters both near and far to help and offer encouragement to survive.

The approved funding provided us with resources to reproduce the book 400 years: Anglican/ Episcopal Mission Among American Indians—an important historical book that was out of print.

We can now move forward in this second decade...more informed, engaged and determined for just changes to improve the lives, ministry and Christian communities of the native American and Anglican indigenous members.

It is an opportunity to build on our growth and continue to develop Native American leadership."

Here is what some of the participants had to say:

"It was a wonderful gathering of brothers and sisters in Jamestown. There is lots to do yet to meet our accomplishments for the future, but I know we'll get there," said Dorothy Saucedo of Navajoland.

"I feel it was a great success. It gave me inspiration to continue with my ministry journey," said Barb Fairbanks, a student at Seabury.

"I am optimistic that the new changes to Paths Crossing and Mountains and Deserts will be for the better," said Barbara Lott.

The gathering also included meetings of Paths Crossing and the Mountains and Deserts coalition. Paths Crossing is a yearly national conference to promote cross-cultural exchanges and partnerships between American Indian and Alaska Native congregations and non-Native congregations of the Episcopal Church.

Mountains and Deserts is an Episcopal ministry founded to recognize native rural congregations, to bridge relationships between Native and non-Native congregations and build stronger leadership presence among Natives living in rural areas.

Emerging from conversations at the summit was a resolution asking General Convention 2009 for support in tribal recognition petitions submitted by the Upper Mattaponi, Monacan, Chickahominy, Eastern Chickahominy, Rappahannock and Nansemond peoples of Virginia, as well as the Houma, Shinnecock (NY), Southeastern Cherokee (GA), Native Hawaiians, and Brothertown (WI). Another resolution requests support for the preservation of sacred sites.

It is fitting that these issues will come before the church in Anaheim, which is where the first resolution was passed in 1985 asking support for treaty rights and self-determination for Native peoples.

We're coming full circle but at a new level of commitment to justice for all the Native peoples of the Americas.

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