Toward Truth and Healing: How Churches Face Accountability for their Indian Boarding Schools

In Right Relationship with Native Peoples in partnership with Truth and Healing-Churches and Indian Boarding Schools (an ecumenical committee from several denominations) will host a webinar that explores denominational histories with Indian boarding schools, “Toward Truth and Healing: How Churches Face Accountability for their Indian Boarding Schools.” The webinar, scheduled for Sunday, November 10 (8:00-9:30 p.m., ET; 7:00-8:30 p.m., CT; 6:00-7:30 p.m., MT; 5:00-6:30 p.m., PT) will also update recent research.

Christian denominations across the United States once operated Indian boarding schools in conjunction with the federal government’s policy of forced assimilation. These institutions played a significant role in displacing Native American children from their families, erasing cultural identities, and causing lasting harm to Native communities. Many churches are revisiting their roles in this painful history and considering how they can move toward healing, accountability, and reparation for the damage done.

This past September, the General Commission on Archives and History offered presentations at the Tenth Historical Convocation in Bozeman, Montana, on “Native Americans and Methodism in the Pacific Northwest,” “The Freedmen,” “Native Americans and the AME,” and “Japanese Internment Camps and Methodists.” A report on United Methodist Indian Boarding schools was also offered. Click here to read the report. This powerful learning experience shed light on the past. We hope wrestling with the past in life-giving ways can help us move forward and provide healing. ”The United Methodist Indigenous Boarding School” report will be included in the November webinar, along with reports from other denominations.

During the webinar, a panel of representatives from Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist, and Quaker traditions will discuss how their faith communities are conducting research, issuing apologies, and engaging in efforts of reconciliation and reparations.

Panelists include:

Catholic:

Patrick Hayes, Ph.D., archivist for the Redemptorists in Philadelphia, is a renowned church historian and former college professor. With six books to his name, he is a board member of the American Catholic Historical Society. Dr. Hayes has worked on several initiatives related to Native American boarding schools within the Catholic Church, including initiatives through the American Catholic Historical Association and the Catholic Truth and Healing initiative.

Episcopal:

Dr. Veronica Pasfield, a member of Michigan’s Bay Mills Indian Community, serves as a Tribal consultant. Her work focuses on Indian boarding schools and their role in the United States’ dispossession of Native lands and culture. She advocates for the rights of survivors and their descendants to lead the preservation and accessibility of archival materials.

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:

Vance Blackfox, an Indigenous theologian and citizen of the Cherokee Nation, is the Director of Indigenous Ministries and Tribal Relations for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). He also founded Other+Wise, a cultural education and immersion program for youth and students.

Liz Andress serves as lead organizer of the ELCA's initiative on Native boarding schools. With a background in faith-based community organizing, she supports efforts to address this historical injustice.

Presbyterian:

Rev. Irvin Porter (Pima, T’hono O’odham, Nez Perce) is the pastor of the Church of the Indian Fellowship in Puyallup, Washington, the first Native American to hold this role since its founding in 1876. He also works with Native American Intercultural Congregational Support for the Presbyterian Church USA, addressing Indigenous issues within the denomination.

Quaker:

Paula Palmer co-directs Toward Right Relationship with Native Peoples, a program of Friends Peace Teams. She leads a national team offering workshops and webinars that educate Quakers on their complicity in Native forced assimilation. She also coordinates the Quaker Indigenous Boarding School Research Network in collaboration with the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition.

United Methodist Church:

Dr. Ashley Boggan, General Secretary of the General Commission on Archives and History, oversees efforts to ensure that the United Methodist Church learns from its past as it seeks to create a more equitable future. Her work addresses the church's involvement in Indian boarding schools, guiding Methodists toward reflection, accountability, and healing.

A donation of $20 to $50 is suggested, with a minimum donation of $5 required. If you have any questions, please contact Bryan Tener at [email protected].