Native American Liberation TheologyRebuilding a destroyed culture.

Shannon WhitakerReligious Seminar

Dr. MuzorewaFebruary 15, 2013

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Liberation theologies for Jews, African Americans, Hispanics, Women and other social classes

that suffer oppression have been developing since the late 1950’s. This study is focused on

Native American theology developed by thinkers like George E. Tinker. Christians in America

have realized the injustices done to these indigenous people of North America and would like to

express theological ways the gospel of Jesus Christ will liberate these people that have been

oppressed since the colonial days.

Historical Background

The Origins of the Native American People

Archeologists, anthropologists, historians and other professional disciplines have

conducted various researches that prove that the first people to settle in America were over

10,000 years ago. There is belief that the first settlers may have walked over using a land bridge

from Siberia to Alaska (COLUMBUS WAS LAST, P.10). Although researchers are not sure exactly how

many migrated to the new land, this migration into new territory was part of a gradual spread of

the human race all over the world. Historians say they must have come to hunt for woolly

mammoths with were used for food, and clothing (COLUMBUS WAS LAST, P.11).

The Northwestern coast of North American housed about 26 tribes, the Californian coast

housed 9 tribes, the southwestern region housed 24 tribes, the Great Plains housed 24 tribes, and

the great basin housed 9 tribes. About 15 to 20 million Native Americans speaking over 1000

languages occupied present day North and South America. The Indian territories spread as far

north as Canada. Furthermore, the same studies show that most of civilization lived on the

western coast of North America. Robert F. Berkhofer, Jr. states:

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“The first residents of the Americas were by modern estimates divided into at least two

thousand cultures and more societies practiced a multiplicity of customs and lifestyles, held an

enormous variety of values and beliefs, spoke numerous languages mutually unintelligible to the many

speakers, and did not conceive of themselves as a single people.” (THE WHITE MAN'S INDIAN: IMAGES OF

THE AMERICAN INDIAN FROM COLUMBUS TO THE PRESENT, P. 3).

At the heart of these investigations, archaeologists found that most of these tribes were in

fact connected through a system of exchange; despite the differences of tribes. This exchange

was for material goods, marriage partners, resources, labor, techniques and other necessities

(AMERICAN INDIANS, P. 14). Caravans of two to three dozen people would travel to participate in

these exchanges. One of the known places where the interactions would take place is in northern

Colorado called Lindenmeier. People traveled from within a 350 mile radius to Lindenmeier to

trade. As time passed these long distance travels stretched even longer to obtain copper from the

Great Lakes, obsidian from the Rocky Mountains, and seashells for the Atlantic coast.

One of the largest locations occupied by the natives was Cahokia, located in the Illinois

region. 20,000 people lived in this area; the population doubled in less than 100 years. Historians

are mystified as to what could have allowed this explosion in population. During that time, no

other tribe could support a growth of this size

due to food shortages, sanitation issues, the

spread of diseases, and other city

development concerns. The Cahokia’s

worked the rich soils and were the inhabitants

of the surplus in crops. The laborers used

stones and wooden implements to farm the

land. Archeologists have found 19 borrow

Taken from http://blog.zoesaadia.com/

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pits, which were dug out with these tools. Experts in agriculture, Cahokia’s were the first to form

rows to grow corn, which is still used today and is the most efficient way to grow crops. These

mound builders are said to have built the first pyramids in the Americas.

Dr. Anthony G. Payne, an anthropologist wrote an article in 2013 called, Did the

Almighty send an emissary to the ancient Cahokians? In this article, he discussed the ancient tale

from the Cahokia tribe about a man coming from the sun to enlighten the people that they were

in need of some core principles of leadership. The man was considered the mediator between the

Creator and the Cahokia people. He gave them seven principles to live by:

1. Never kill anyone save in self-defense

2. Those mated/married should not have extramarital affairs (No adultery)

3. Never steal

4. Never lie

5. Never get drunk

6. Never be avaricious (Greedy)

7. Give freely with joy & share your subsistence with those in need.

These principles may sound familiar, as they are the same laws Elohim gave to Noah in the

Exodus story (Exodus 20).

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A very spiritual tribe, the

Osage, believed in Wah-kon-tah,

the great mysterious spirit or

power. The Osage at one point had

control over the southern mid-

section of the North American

continent. They governed the land

between the three great rivers, The

Missouri River to the north, the

Mississippi River to the east, and

the Arkansas to the south. The

Osage Indians were brilliant

hunters and fierce warriors. Their

lifestyle depended on hunting.

They hunted deer and bison both of which provided food, clothing, and other essential by-

products. George Catlin, describes the Osage as: “…very many of them six and a half, and others

seven feet. One of the most distinguished warriors that the artist painted was Tal-lee, who Catlin

described as a ‘handsome and high-minded gentleman of the wild woods and prairies.’ Equipped with a

lance in his hand, a shield on his arm, and a bow and quiver on his back, Tal-lee presented a ‘fair

specimen of the Osage figure and dress.’” (WARRIORS OF THE WOODS AND PRAIRIES). To further the

understanding of the human diaspora, there were tribes in Africa that were said to be seven feet

tall Kreen Akrores; Sudan's Giants; also see Chad's Giants; Curigueres; Ifrikish ibn Kais;

Zanzibar's Giants (http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/gigantes/Africa.html).

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In 1836, Louis Cortambert, a French writer observed that the Cahokia men “carefully pull

the hairs from their faces, even their eyebrows, and shave their heads, leaving on the top a tuft of

hair, which terminates in back in a pigtail." (WARRIORS OF THE WOODS AND PRAIRIES).

In spite of all the strength and power that the natives had over vast stretches of land, it is

surprising that Europeans came and dominated the land. Traits like trading goods based on

supply and demand, farming corn in rows like the Cahokians, and even the act of shaving like

the Osage men, has been passed down in the American culture. However, what has not been

passed down to their offspring is the freedom which they once had – freedom to worship the way

they liked; freedom to settle whenever they wanted, freedom to be themselves.

The Columbus Exploration

In the American Curriculum from third to eighth grade, students are taught that

Christopher Columbus discovered America. As one of the students, I was taught the song that

says “In fourteen hundred ninety-two Columbus sailed the ocean blue… “Indians! Indians!”

Columbus cried; His heart was filled with joyful pride” this confirms that the Indians were the

original inhabitants of North American.

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Columbus did in fact sail to the new territory on October 13, 1492, but what is often left

out of history books is that he had a malicious plan. The plan was not to see if the world was flat,

but to conquer new land and earn 10% of the dividends from Spain’s sovereignty. However not

even the Spanish ruler knew that Columbus’ plan was to take over the land. In April 17, 1492,

roughly six months before Columbus’ first arrival to the “new” land, King Ferdinand and Queen

Isabella agreed to finance Columbus’ voyage. The picture on the previous page shows Don

Cristobel (Christopher Columbus), explaining the reason for his voyage and Queen Isabella

listening attentively. The Queen did not detect the deceitful intention of the sailor, so she granted

financial support.

From the moment he encountered the natives Columbus’ plan was to dominate them. In

many publications, it is said that Columbus and his entourage were slave traders. The adventure

soon led other Europeans to

travel the distance to get gold and other commodities like fur and fish. It seems Europeans were

prone to colonial expansion

from way back, so when they

came to America they were

ready with iron weapons

(guns, swards, and shields) to

take the land over. Moreover,

living together with strangers

the Europeans viewed the

natives as heathens and

savages. They masked these

http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/coldoors/col_door_3.cfm

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emotions behind calling them trade partners. Ideally, the plan was to convert the people to

Christianity and eventually completely controlled the natives, in fact, rule over them.

Nancy Shoemaker says, “Once Indians worked passed the initial surprise of these odd

people they began trading gold for iron tools, cloth, and glass beads. The Europeans also came

off as potential associates that could add to the Native confederacy. The Indians suspiciously

adopted new strategies to prevent the Europeans from taking control.” (AMERICAN INDIANS, P.47)

Christopher Columbus landed in what is Haiti and the Dominican Republic today and

called it Hispaniola. He did not come to ask the natives what they called it, which is a sign of

hegemony. In the beginning of the following year, he returned to Spain, leaving behind 48 of the

men he traveled with to regulate the territory. The citizens of Spain were happy to see that

Columbus returned with mounds turkeys, pineapples, tobacco plants and numerous natives who

were kidnapped or had gone went on board voluntarily. As a reward, the state official granted

him 17 more ships and 1,500 men traveled back to Hispaniola. With this reinforcement,

Columbia was certain that his schism would succeed.

In 1493, Columbus began to regulate the life of the Indians. The trips back and forth the

“ocean blue” occurred a few more times. While Columbus made these trips, he left his brothers

in charge of regulating the land. The consequences of not following the newly set laws were

devastating. These included hanging in mass, hacking their children into pieces to be used as dog

feed, and other ruthless acts. Investigations show that within three years over five million were

killed. The "Indian Removal" policy was put into action to clear the land for white settlers. The

Indians finally decided to fight back and many Europeans were killed for mistreating the

indigenous residents. For years, the battle went on. Columbus and his brothers were arrested

because his promise of wealth had a failed. When he was released, Catholic monarchs funded his

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final trip to the Americas in 1502. This time he found Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and

Columbia but did not find any treasures of much value. Upset with himself, Columbus returned

to Spain in November of 1504 and died two years later. This support from the church indicates

that Columbus, evidentially, had the support of both the state and the church. Columbus had

made the initial impact on the natives through the Spanish civilization and Christianity. The

question I would like to pursue in this study is what kind of gospel did Columbus introduce?

Was it liberating or oppressive?

Native American LiberationThough Columbus died, European settlers still continued to travel across the ocean blue,

eventually expanding their boundary

to California. The settlers tried to

force the Indians to become farmers

and cattle ranchers. The population

of the natives dropped from 250,000

to less than 20,000 due to the

genocide that had gone on from the

Caribbean Islands and into the U.S.

territory. The new government began

to restructure the indigenous

education by incarcerating the youth,

employing European scholars to teach

Taking from http://www.poorwiseman.net/genopics.html

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Christian values, and forcing them into manual labor. Gradually, Native American religious

values faded away being replaced by Euro-American socio-religious values. The New Religion

focused on Jesus who lived 2000 years ago.

A curious Native

American asked, “What

can the death of a man

two thousand years ago

possibly have to do with

people who live today?”

His brother asked this

question of George

Tinker. This question

alludes to another question

regarding the relevance of Jesus Christ to the Natives Americans and I may add, to the African

Americans today. Everyday humans are persecuted and chastised but it was Jesus’ death two

thousand years ago that makes the suffering easy for people today. Jesus’ death and resurrection

is symbolic, that through all suffering we can by God’s grace, rise again. Through understanding

the gospel, we can all begin to realize that God created us for a purpose, not just to be exploited

by some power – hungry people like Columbus. We are all here for a divine destiny.

Tinker responded to the question by asking his brother “Why do you dance?” In

answering the first question, Tinker’s rhetorical question brought clarity to his curiosity. The

young brother became aware that tribal ceremonies like the Sun Dance, the Rite of Vigil, and the

Purification Ceremony as old as they are, are all observances of suffering for the people as a

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whole. However, when the people engage in such ancient rituals, the ritual speaks to the present

situations they deal with. The brother realized each time they dance, there is renewed meaning in

one’s life. These Ceremonies were a part of the indigenous people’s culture, however, when the

European missionaries invaded the land, they saw these acts and rituals as devil worshiping and

idolatry. Therefore, they forbad the natives from such practices. Yet natives understood these

ceremonies as concept of grace, much like Christian rituals which trigger a sense of joy, being

forgiven, being loved by the heavenly Father, and so forth. Tinker states: “Our ceremonies are

gifts to us, signs of what Euro-Christians theology would call God’s grace…” (AMERICAN INDIAN

LIBERATION, P. 86) Many theologians now realize that theology is innately cultural and utterly

political. There must be some relevance between one’s culture and the gospel. After all Jesus

says: “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they

might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). The gospel must

incarnate with one’s culture in order that it takes root. The gospel is meaningful when it speaks

to someone in their contextual. With reference to the “sun dance”, no Native American would

ask the meaning of the dance. They all simply live it. This is what the gospel should be when the

gospel has entered the culture of a people.

How one identifies with Jesus and Christianity comes from an understanding of politics

and how one individually deals with it. It is imperative that native communities focus on the past

colonization if they want to effectively change and empower the future communities of

indigenous people.

However, the missionaries used Jesus and the Christian doctrine as a tool to gain political

authority, subjecting the natives to believe that their communities were totally at the mercy of the

Europeans. Missionaries posed as Jesus “giving them life,” when in fact; they took away the

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culture (life) of the Native Americans. If the Native American culture needed to be saved, how

come they are worse off now since the coming of the missionaries? How is it that the Europeans

could come to a land of poverty with nothing and make it one of the wealthiest countries in the

world? The answer to both questions is obvious. They robbed the indigenous people culturally,

spiritually and materially.

American Indians are controlled by the government and are still feeling the effects of

poverty, sickness and disease, high unemployment, school dropout rates, drug use and many

other results of colonialism. This is because the Europeans took what was best for them away.

On most reservations, the unemployment rate ranges from 85-90%. Diabetes is six times higher

than the national average. Issues like crime, suicide, school dropouts and vandalism are some of

the major issues resulting from poverty. Casinos have been placed on some reservations enabling

them to use the proceeds to fund education, housing, healthcare and other community necessities.

Statistics indicate that American Indian communities are in the worst position of any group of

people in North America. The graph below was taken from a study done by the White House in

2009.

It

is

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apparent that the Europeans did not come to preach Liberation, but to exploit the Natives.

Therefore, it is the job of Native Americans to restore their history, to find out who they were in

relationship to who they are now; not just as individuals but also as a cultural, social, and

political community. It is not enough to have one, two, or even a hand full of Natives prosper.

The entire community needs to rise up from under the yoke of socio-political oppression. This

would mean the Bible would have to be interpreted in ways that would include Wako’da, the

sacred energy or mystery or power of the native people. Just any Native American cannot do

this; biblical scholars and theologians must do the interpretation. However, these viewpoints

would need to represent and reflect a true Indian perspective. What does Jesus mean to the poor,

uneducated, oppressed Native Americans who, like every human being were created in the image

of God? The answer to this question is the relevant theology that liberates the Native Americans.

The thought of Jesus was artificially given to the natives as a way of creating a new order

yet it forced them to discern their own culture. Spiritual elders and the medical advisors of the

Natives do not dismiss Jesus. They even honor Jesus as a manifesting presence of the Creator

(the Amer-European God). Furthermore, Jesus came “to set at liberty those who are oppressed”

(Luke 4:18). What is the importance of Jesus to people that have been oppressed by using His

name? It’s not easy for them to embrace Jesus, when Jesus was the name used to destroy their

communities and culture unless a new interpretation has been negative and false gospel. Thus, a

new hermeneutic is called for. Ideally, the most suitable scholars to do this new interpretation are

such figures like George Tinker. Next to the Native Americans, come Black Americans who also

were colonized by European. The slave owners preached Jesus on Sunday, but preached

“oppression” from Monday to Saturday.

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Although the medicine people are very curious about the subject of Jesus, they are able to

attend church services and actively participate in the ceremony. Here are some of the reasons

they are able to participate: (1) The Indian tradition states that spiritual respect for another’s

ceremony supplants one’s views of political conviction. (2) They relate the spiritual power they

experience in traditional ceremonies to the spiritual power recognized in relation to Jesus. (3)

Due to traditional hospitality it is a custom to adapt to their lifestyle when in their territory. (4)

For others they want to be one with their fellow Native even though they have converted to

Christianity. In the Native American culture, they are not allowed to abandon converted Indians

as if they do not belong (A NATIVE AMERICAN THEOLOGY, p. 66). In the case of point 4 above, it was

possible that some Native Americans practiced both religions just so that they are acceptable in

their community. The response to Jesus and the church is much more institutional. So many

Indians have been missionized to using Jesus as the focal point resulting to them reviewing the

Christian language and Christ making the Indian people focus on the mythic person. Now they

must search more appropriate translations of metaphors to fit the culture. Concepts of Jesus that

were foreign to the Indians were tweaked to fit the Native American Theology.

For Native American liberation to develop, it has to draw “all who hunger and thirst after

righteousness” to seek and accept Jesus Christ, really. Total commitment to Christ will make a

true liberation theology. The U.S. government encourages missionary movements as a way to

satisfy Native Americans by funding missionary projects. Thus the American Indians are seeking

to develop a Liberation Theology that truly defines Jesus and his true mission to the world,

which God loves so much (John 3:16). “We were people who knew the spiritual side of all life,

who had firm experiential connections with the Creator…,” says Tinker (AMERICAN INDIAN

LIBERATION, p. 128), but the Europeans dismissed that religious tradition as pagan.

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In the past, every liberation theology coming from North American started with an

interpretation of Jesus and His gospel. Theologians tried to disguise this by switching things up

and beginning with the experiences of the oppressed and less fortunate. From there they focus on

a liberating interpretation of Jesus for the people. Unfortunately, this does not work for Native

Americans because the reference of Jesus is what led to the beginning of their assimilation in

culture. Maybe a pneumatological approach will trigger a different response.

The mentions of Jesus by early missionaries dislodged religious traditions that are

centuries old, to replace it with a “one-size-fits-all” European Jesus. The Christianity introduced

by Europeans was not contextual. It was deliberately manipulated in order to suit the White

man’s material objectives. Theology for Native American’s must start with talking about the

tensions between Indian culture and missionary. Christianity, to the Israelite history passed on in

regards to these tensions, onto the abrasiveness of colonial imposed categories of cognition that

derives from missionizing evangelism, and lastly the source of Indian liberation would revive the

traditional culture and ceremonial life in the context of the gospel.

The tension between Indian people and Christianity stems from missionaries asserting

that only salvation brought by Jesus Christ is a necessity. The intentions of missionaries were to

“set up shop on any reservation and divide the community against itself” (American Indian

Liberation, p. 130). Even now, 500 years after, Indians are still taught that to be Christian means

to give up being Indian (A NATIVE AMERICAN THEOLOGY, P. 178). This goes back to previous topics

about colonizing the Indian communities and community leaders being able to accept Jesus as a

spiritual person, they do not have a problem with Jesus or him being mentioned as the

“resurrected one” or “Lord”. Problems arise when this is what is used to displace all Native

American spirituality. It is not Jesus that brings discomfort to the Natives, but it is the preaching

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of Jesus that was presented with ulterior motives. The natives did not initially get it. Now, they

do. Therefore, they reject such a manipulation of the good news.

The significances of assembling a liberating theology for American Indians is that one

must amalgamate two conflicting histories; that of the Bible (Hebrew history) and obviously that

of the Native Indians and deliberately by-pass European history and culture. When Christianity

started to spread, it was declared that one did not have to be a Jew before being a Christian

because Jesus was a Jew (Acts chapters 11 and 12). All converts and their offspring’s will be

subjected to embracing the history of a small Asian country, Israel (in the Biblical days it was

called Judea) as their own. To the Indian Americans this would still be excepting euro-American

history, the doctrines of Christianity (American Indian Liberation, p. 131). This would just be

affirming the history that they are trying to get rid of, the history that colonizers used to validate

their theft and murder. Robert Warrior, a Native American Studies professor at University of

Illinois, demonstrated that in the seventeenth century settlers used the story of the Israel’s escape

from slavery to justify what they were doing. This same narrative was important to African

American liberation. Warrior reminds Natives that they always find themselves as the Canaanites

and not the Israelites. To the Native Americans an example of God’s grace and love,

demonstrated in the crucifixion of Jesus is conveyed as void until Europeans came to kill then

and change their lives.

“Why adapt to someone else’s interpretation of the gospel when we can develop our

own?” argues Tinker (American Indian Liberation, p. 138). To re-endorse the native culture the

Sun Dance was re-introduced to the Osage tribe. This native ceremonial ritual had been absent

from their tradition for almost seventy seven years. However, it was liberating to them because it

caused many communities to revive their traditions that they had been deprived of. Tinker

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suggested that Christian Indians search for their own native culture to form their own “old

testament” of rich stories and ceremonies. These old traditions could to be embraced as their own

personal “testament”. These ceremonial traditions are to be respected as gifts from the Creator to

achieve balance and harmony. Of course, Tinker does not intend to discard the Bible. What he

really is after is relevance. This would open natives to being able to interpret the Gospel of Jesus

for themselves. The people need to have a sense of ownership which comes through a relevant

theology.

Galatians 5:1 says: “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do

not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” This gives Christian Indians the right

to practice their ancient rites and rituals, which express their consciousness of the Creator. The

question that is raised is: are the Indians that have already adapted to the Christian form of

worship willing to accept the spiritual tradition given to their ancestry and a part of freedom that

the periscope speaks of? Many of the Christian Indians have been taught that there is only one

way to worship God and going back to Indian spirituality would be dangerous because the spirits

that are summoned can hurt people and they will go to hell. However, evil is everywhere.

Christians supposedly wrestle with the devil all the time. Should they not go to church for fear

that they would interact with the devil? The job of the indigenous people is to argue that their

traditions and experiences of the Creator are just as valid as any that belong to the colonial

Christianity. The Indian Americans that are truly serious about liberation must commit to

proving that they have a right to practice their tribal ceremonies and bring their practices back

into existence in a Christian context.

Annually Natives gather at the site of the Sand Creek Massacre (on November 29, 1864

700 soldiers slaughtered, mutilated, raped, and murdered over 400 Cheyenne and Arapaho

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people) to participate in a communal mourning ceremony. These gatherings are a way of

reviving Native spirituality and religious practices they believed in for so many years in the past.

If they continue to host events similar to these, they would begin a renaissance of their religion.

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CONCLUSIONThe Native American people are a people whose culture and traditions were stolen by the

Europeans who came under the guise of missionaries. However the way the gospel was

introduced to the Natives Americans caused them to abandon their own culture. They did not

realize that the European had come to conquer their land and to change their culture. Now with

scholars such as George E. Tinker, native want to rebuild their culture and the only want to do

that is to form a liberating theology.

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MY REFLECTIONWriting this paper has been a very interesting journey for me. As I study religion here at

Lincoln University of Pennsylvania, I see different views on religion. I have compared one to

another and even sat and viewed each religion from an Omni partial stance. However, reading

and doing research on the Native American theology was one that I related to the most.

Growing up in America, I learned the “U.S. History” as it was told from White

Historians. Subjects like slavery and racism, I was told, had been abolished and there were laws

that forbid anyone from being prejudiced. I later learned that the two forms of prejudice were

still a part of society; not just against Blacks but other minorities as well.

A people that I never heard much about were the Native American. I learned that they

still existed in North America but I could not understand why I never heard about them after

history class in elementary school. There was never any media coverage of them on the news, in

newspapers, magazines, or even in my school textbooks. My question for years was: “Where are

the Indians?”

In the summer of 2011 I had the opportunity to participate in McCormick Theological

Seminary’s “Taste of Seminary”. While there I spoke with Dr. Brad Hauff (who is of the Lakota

tribe) who shared with me a firsthand account as a Native American. Dr. Hauff shared how they

have to deal with different societal issues. The one that stuck with me was that people on

reservations are governed by federal government and that little crime like stealing from a local

seven 11 convenient store results in them being incarcerated at a federal prison. This inspired me

to do more research on the life of Native Americans today.

To my surprise I had to do a research paper in one of my classes and without a doubt I

knew I wanted to do my paper on the history and theology of the Indigenous people of America.

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From the time I opened the first book I learned new things dealing with what I had learned about

the Natives before Columbus to the voyage of Columbus. It intrigued me at how my educational

textbooks said one thing and now doing simple reading it says something else. The new

knowledge made more sense to me and even answered my questions. I take it as the Euro-

Americans hiding information that is beneficial to the oppressed people.

Growing up I’ve realized the same problems occur amongst my culture. We are fighting

to find out who, as a race, we really are. The culture, creed, and community that my ancestors

knew in Africa was striped from them and transformed by Europeans coming to capture them.

Bringing them to a new land out of their element to live was intimidating, which forced them to

surrender and adapt to the life Europeans taught. As generations pass questions are being

answered that fills in the blanks we have been taught in the past. Once we can find out the truth

being history we will be able to grasp our ancient traditions and live as God has freed us to live.

During the whole time I was doing this research I saw the resemblance of the two

cultures. Well established communities, tribes living in harmony with one another, and having

control; the two communities were destroyed and taking under control because of their blessings,

as Christians would say. They were taught Christianity as a way to keep them oppressed and still

give them a religions life.

For the two cultures I believe that in order to fix what was wrongfully done to learn and

ask question. By asking the right questions the truth will surface, which gives clarity to the

history we are looking for. This is a communal and personal thing to do. The same way George

E. Tinker, Clara S. Kidwell, and the various other Native American theologians has gone to

study the history of their people, everyone should be and sharing the news they have found.

Continuing to engage in cultural ceremonies will also help build their religion. Lastly, seeking

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interpretations of the Christian scriptures as it attains to their history will be an important asset to

them.

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Work Sited

“Christopher Columbus: The Untold Story." UnderstandingPrejudice.org. Web. 22 Feb. 2012.

<http://www.understandingprejudice.org/nativeiq/columbus.htm>.

"Christopher Columbus Biography." - World History Online. Web. 24 Feb. 2012.

<http://www.worldhistoryonline.org/modern-history/christopher-columbus-biography.html>.

"History on the Osage Indians." Osage Indians History. Web. 1 Mar. 2012.

<http://www.osageac.org/AboutUs/OsageLocale/HistoryoftheOsageIndians/tabid/67/

Default.aspx>.

Huyghe, Patrick. Columbus Was Last: From 200,000 B.c. to 1492, a Heretical History of Who Was

First. San Antonio, TX: Anomalist, 2005. Print.

Kidwell, Clara Sue., Homer Noley, and George E. Tinker. A Native American Theology. Maryknoll,

NY: Orbis, 2001. Print.

Mann, Charles C. 1491: New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus. New York: Vintage,

2006. Print.

Prairies, Warriors Of the Woods and. National Parks Service. National Parks Service. Web. 06

Apr. 2012. <http://www.nps.gov/fosc/historyculture/osage.htm>.

Shoemaker, Nancy. American Indians. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2001. Print.

Tinker, George E. American Indian Liberation: A Theology of Sovereignty. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis,

2008. Print.