Justice for Indigenous People

Indigenous peoples in the U.S. and around the world have long endured, and continue to bear, the effects of colonization, coercion, and forced assimilation. The resulting subjugation, relocation, and oppression have meant loss of cultural land, heritage, identity, and language, in addition to being subjected to the systemic societal inequities that people of color, in general, experience. In many cases, forced assimilation was in the form residential schools operated by religious institutions, including The United Methodist Church.  The physical abuse and humiliation that regularly occurred at some of these schools is just now coming to light.  The path to healing and restoration for indigenous peoples is multifaceted and complex, but we can begin by educating ourselves to the history of intergenerational trauma that they have endured and committing to learning more about organizations that work to advocate for and support them. We also acknowledge with respect the Manahoac people on whose traditional territory Burke UMC stands.  Unfortunately, the group did not survive the genocide brought by colonization, but their legacy and relationship to the land lives on in their cultural siblings, the Monacan.