Colonization is not over. Racism extends further than immigrants. Respect for one another includes respect for the land, the water, the air, and all creatures great and small.

You are invited to participate in Native American events through the Annual Conference with your local church. This year’s Speaker Series, “Race, America, and the Church,” includes voices from indigenous Americans.  Looking for a webinar on Native American history? The national Methodist Federation for Social Action (MFSA) is presenting a three-part series on “The Document of Discovery.”   Would an in-person experience be more helpful? Volunteers In Mission have ten Native American locations to choose from for your church’s next mission. Opportunities are great to learn about life as a Native American.

Locally we encourage you to set aside one Sunday in April or May for Native American Sunday. The order of worship may include:

1) Starting with a land acknowledgment. Find more information on how to do this and what tribes have crossed your church property at USDAC.us.

2) Hosting a guest speaker or having a book review. For ideas ask a member of the Committee On Native American Ministry (CONAM).

3) Singing the Heleluyan found in the United Methodist Hymnal #78 or playing recordings of Native American Music with acknowledgments.

4) Decorating in the four colors of the medicine wheel: Black, Yellow, Red, and White.

5) Saying prayers to the seven directions: East, South, West, North, up, down, and within.

6) Taking an offering for Native American Ministry, proceeds from which are given in scholarships for Native Americans to attend college through the American Indian Association of Illinois and to support CONAM’s Ministry of Presence in our Annual Conference.

Your openness to learning about the Native Peoples' experience is greatly appreciated. The Northern Illinois Annual Conference Committee on Native American Ministries leads training, calls for justice, and extends grace to Native Americans in northern Illinois on your behalf.

For more information, contact Rev. Dr. Michelle Oberwise Lacock at mlacock54@gmail.com, or Rev. Nancy Blade at Harvestlove2day@gmail.com.

“American Indian people from many different tribes including the Ojibwe, Ho-Chunk, Potawatomie, Ottawa, Sauk, Fox, and Kickapoo have lived in Illinois and the Chicago urban area for over 10,000 years. Today, tribal members from over 150 different tribes reside in urban and rural areas of Illinois, including the Ojibwe, Potawatomie, Lakota, Dakota, Navajo, Zuni, Menominee, Oneida and Choctaw, Cherokee, and many others.”  American Indian Association of Illinois