Thank you for sharing Cristianna. I will pray for unity in the two churches. And I will pray that you find a comfortable church home.
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Red Foxes Talking Circle
- Thread starter GigageiTsula
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Choosing Christ Over Culture
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]By Randy Woodley
I was in my first month as a pastor in northern Nevada and was anxious to begin nurturing a Native church in the Indian community. It was at a pow wow (an Indian social dance) where I got my first resistance. As I talked to a woman who knew the history of our church, she commented, "No matter what you do from that church, Christianity will always be seen as the white man's religion."
Because my philosophy of ministry was (and still is) directed primarily toward Native Americans by Native Americans, using Native American cultural forms to witness for Jesus, this woman's observation hurt deep in my soul. Yet I have heard similar statements expressed for many years now.
The woman at the pow wow was referring to the fact that for Native Americans to become Christians has often required us to divest ourselves of most of our cultural distinctives, including language, hairstyle, values, and devotional practices. It is assumed that there is nothing in Native American culture worth redeeming. This evangelistic philosophy, brought over to the New World from Europe, made the broad assumption that European culture was "Christian" and that Indians needed to conform to Euro-American culture in order for God to accept them.
Click HERE to read the rest of this article.
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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Presenting Christ often requires overcoming one's own culture[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]By Randy Woodley
I was in my first month as a pastor in northern Nevada and was anxious to begin nurturing a Native church in the Indian community. It was at a pow wow (an Indian social dance) where I got my first resistance. As I talked to a woman who knew the history of our church, she commented, "No matter what you do from that church, Christianity will always be seen as the white man's religion."
Because my philosophy of ministry was (and still is) directed primarily toward Native Americans by Native Americans, using Native American cultural forms to witness for Jesus, this woman's observation hurt deep in my soul. Yet I have heard similar statements expressed for many years now.
The woman at the pow wow was referring to the fact that for Native Americans to become Christians has often required us to divest ourselves of most of our cultural distinctives, including language, hairstyle, values, and devotional practices. It is assumed that there is nothing in Native American culture worth redeeming. This evangelistic philosophy, brought over to the New World from Europe, made the broad assumption that European culture was "Christian" and that Indians needed to conform to Euro-American culture in order for God to accept them.
Click HERE to read the rest of this article.
[/FONT]
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I want to encourage each of you today. I want you to know just how I value your presence and involvement here. I am thankful to have met each of you and thankful that we are becoming friends. May our Great Father bless you. Stand strong in the Lord my friends.
Spirit Wind
Spirit Wind
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wolfman544
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I am discouraged and saddened. My heart aches because I was confronted by images of the atrocities against the Sioux before and after Wounded Knee. The images were from a movie my husband and I watched tonight. The movie is Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee.
I am angered, saddened and remorseful all at the same time. This movie has stirred many painful emotions in my heart and in my spirit. I knew that watching it would effect me but I was not prepared for it to effect me this much. Watching this movie has only reminded me that I do not fully belong on either side of my ancestry because I am mixed blood. I am red and I am white, and I feel as if I am a stranger to both cultures. I am torn between them both, not really knowing if I can be loyal to both at the same time.
The story of the Two Wolves Within is the perfect analogy for me to remember. I can feed the angry and hating wolf or I can feed the forgiving and patient wolf. I want to forgive what was done to my People, what was done to American NDNs, to my Ancestors, in the name of God, and what is still being done today against Indigenous people. I want to be reconciled with my NDN relations, and I want to be reconciled inside my spirit between the NDN and 'white man' inside of me. But I also want to angry because my broken NDN spirit cries out for justice. The wailing cries of my Ancestors call out for remembrance and vindication. My NDN blood boils with anger, while my 'white man' spirit cries in shame and remorse. I am trapped in a battle that never rests, never stops, ever chaotic. I cannot explain this any better than what I already have. I do not really understand it all myself.
My skin may be white but my heart and my spirit are NDN. I am Cherokee and I am Choctaw. I am Gigageitsula. I do have a desire to connect with my Celtic heritage and ancestry, but it pales in comparsion to my burning desire to connect with my NDN heritage and ancestry. I find it difficult to contain my passion for learning all I can about my heritage and about my Ancestors. And I cannot help wanting to know more about NDN people, culture, history, and way of life.
I am indeed a follower of Jesus. I was long before I embraced my NDN heritage. And when I first began walking this spiritual path of reconciliation and renewal, I had no idea that I, too, would be among those who needed to be healed and reconciled within my own heart and spirit. I did not realize that God [Wakan Takan, the Great Spirit] would use this spiritual path to reach inside of my own soul and teach me how to forgive and let go of the wounds of the past. I did not realize beforehand that I had buried anger and unforgiveness toward the 'white man' in my own heart. But when I began to walk this path and I began to encounter opposition, sometimes ruthless opposition, I quickly realized that I was full of hate, and yet full of sadness and remorse.
I simply could not reconcile my Christian faith (the 'white man's religion) with my NDN blood and ancestry. I had been told often that I could not be Christian and NDN at the same time. One or the other had to go. "Kill the Indian, save the man" is the kind of reaction I most often encounter as I walk this path.
I suppose I have rambled on enough now. I am quite disappointed that there are not more who have come to this thread, this 'club'. But Wakan Takan reminds me that the numbers are not what is important, and that I am not to keep score or compare myself with other believers. And that is a hard lesson for me to learn.
Although I use the name of Spirit Wind, as to signify my Christian faith coinciding with my NDN heritage, I am still GigageiTsula, I am still RedFox. I hope I have not intruded or have not offended anyone else here. I am not saying all of this to upset or scold anyone. I am simply sharing my heart. May Wakan Takan be with you.
Spirit Wind
I am angered, saddened and remorseful all at the same time. This movie has stirred many painful emotions in my heart and in my spirit. I knew that watching it would effect me but I was not prepared for it to effect me this much. Watching this movie has only reminded me that I do not fully belong on either side of my ancestry because I am mixed blood. I am red and I am white, and I feel as if I am a stranger to both cultures. I am torn between them both, not really knowing if I can be loyal to both at the same time.
The story of the Two Wolves Within is the perfect analogy for me to remember. I can feed the angry and hating wolf or I can feed the forgiving and patient wolf. I want to forgive what was done to my People, what was done to American NDNs, to my Ancestors, in the name of God, and what is still being done today against Indigenous people. I want to be reconciled with my NDN relations, and I want to be reconciled inside my spirit between the NDN and 'white man' inside of me. But I also want to angry because my broken NDN spirit cries out for justice. The wailing cries of my Ancestors call out for remembrance and vindication. My NDN blood boils with anger, while my 'white man' spirit cries in shame and remorse. I am trapped in a battle that never rests, never stops, ever chaotic. I cannot explain this any better than what I already have. I do not really understand it all myself.
My skin may be white but my heart and my spirit are NDN. I am Cherokee and I am Choctaw. I am Gigageitsula. I do have a desire to connect with my Celtic heritage and ancestry, but it pales in comparsion to my burning desire to connect with my NDN heritage and ancestry. I find it difficult to contain my passion for learning all I can about my heritage and about my Ancestors. And I cannot help wanting to know more about NDN people, culture, history, and way of life.
I am indeed a follower of Jesus. I was long before I embraced my NDN heritage. And when I first began walking this spiritual path of reconciliation and renewal, I had no idea that I, too, would be among those who needed to be healed and reconciled within my own heart and spirit. I did not realize that God [Wakan Takan, the Great Spirit] would use this spiritual path to reach inside of my own soul and teach me how to forgive and let go of the wounds of the past. I did not realize beforehand that I had buried anger and unforgiveness toward the 'white man' in my own heart. But when I began to walk this path and I began to encounter opposition, sometimes ruthless opposition, I quickly realized that I was full of hate, and yet full of sadness and remorse.
I simply could not reconcile my Christian faith (the 'white man's religion) with my NDN blood and ancestry. I had been told often that I could not be Christian and NDN at the same time. One or the other had to go. "Kill the Indian, save the man" is the kind of reaction I most often encounter as I walk this path.
I suppose I have rambled on enough now. I am quite disappointed that there are not more who have come to this thread, this 'club'. But Wakan Takan reminds me that the numbers are not what is important, and that I am not to keep score or compare myself with other believers. And that is a hard lesson for me to learn.
Although I use the name of Spirit Wind, as to signify my Christian faith coinciding with my NDN heritage, I am still GigageiTsula, I am still RedFox. I hope I have not intruded or have not offended anyone else here. I am not saying all of this to upset or scold anyone. I am simply sharing my heart. May Wakan Takan be with you.
Spirit Wind
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wolfman544
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God does work in mysterious and wonderful ways.
And remember that we are all strangers and aliens in this world, we do not belong to it
And remember that we are all strangers and aliens in this world, we do not belong to it
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4Everloved
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GigageiTsula, I read your post with great interest. I will be praying for you in your cause.
Some things you cannot do anything about. Some people will always choose the pathway of sin no matter what you do or say, including white man, red man, black, Hispanic, etc. Yet you can rest free in knowing that you can shine your light and let God do the rest.
Some things you cannot do anything about. Some people will always choose the pathway of sin no matter what you do or say, including white man, red man, black, Hispanic, etc. Yet you can rest free in knowing that you can shine your light and let God do the rest.
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Greetings my sister in Christ. I would like to join your club if you are willing. I am German and Choctaw, traceable back to the Rolls.
Grace with you and peace from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace with you and peace from our Lord Jesus Christ.
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wolfman544
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Hi! My name is FaithfulWife, and as I mentioned my heritage is German and Choctaw. My whole life, the German side was the side that was focused on and so I'm completely comfortable in the white world--and the Choctaw side of my family acted as if they were embarrassed to be NDN. Thus, as an adult I began a journey on my own to learn about a heritage that was never taught to me. 
So far one of the more fun parts I've done was to do a detailed genealogy of BOTH sides of my family--back just as far as I could go! I have to admit, I've been pretty successful
and found that to this day I still have close relatives on the reservation in Oklahoma! I wrote to basically tell my story and was STUNNED to find not only a WARM welcome but a lot of help! 
Will you all introduce yourselves too???
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