Sunday, August 3, 2008

Giving Our Hearts Away...



“Giving Our Hearts Away: Native American Survival” is part of an ongoing process to share and hear the stories of the many Native American nations and peoples within what’s now the United States. This study revisits much of the founding history of the United States from the perspective of North Americans.

Ho! Grandfather, Grandmother...



"You have made everything and are in everything. You sustain everything, guide everything, provide everything, and protect everything because everything belongs to you. We are weak, poor, and lowly; nevertheless, help us to care in appreciation and gratitude to You and for everything. We love the stars, the sun, and the moon, and we thank You for our beautiful mother, the earth, whose many beasts nourish the fish, the fowl, and the animals too. May we never deceive Mother Earth, may we never deceive other people, may we never deceive ourselves, and above all may we never deceive You. Amen. "
Bishop Vine deLoria, Lakota

SPIRIT



You shall love God
with all your Soul
•Am I remembering and nurturing the eternal soul that I am?
•Am I acknowledging the sacred in my daily encounters?
•Do I take time for play and artistic activities that awaken my spirit?

BODY



You shall love God
with all your Might
•Am I caring for my physical body which is God’s temple, the dwelling place of my soul?
•Am I avoiding overindulgence in material things?

EMOTION



You shall love God
with all your Heart
•Am I nurturing my emotional self, allowing my emotions to find a voice in proper and honest expression?
•Do I trust that healing can come by being in right relationship to my Creator and to the created?

INTELLECT



You shall love God with all your Mind
•Am I a student of life, walking with an open mind, an attitude of tolerance and non‑judgment?
•Do I nurture my intellect by reading and studies?
•Do I seek time with the elders and benefit from their wisdom?

Native American 10 Commandments




1.Treat the Earth and all that dwell thereon with respect.
2.Remain close to the Great Spirit, in all that you do.
3.Show great respect for your fellow beings. (Especially respect yourself.)
4.Work together for the benefit of all Humankind.
5.Give assistance and kindness wherever needed.
6.Do what you know to be right. (But be careful not to fall into self-righteousness.)
7.Look after the well-being of mind and body.
8.Dedicate a share of your efforts to the greater good.
9.Be truthful and honest at all times. (Especially be truthful and honest with yourself.)
10.Take full responsibility for your actions.

"Where Do You Stand?" Continuum


1) Many of the Native American traditions affirm the presence of God, the need for right relationship with our
Creator, the world around us, and a call for holy living.

2)There is controversy surrounding the fact that Native American tribes own casinos and sponsor other forms of gaming on the reservations. I think gaming should be supported because of the additional revenues it will generate for Native Americans.

3) While it is appalling that the lands are being mutilated by oil and coal companies, in this time of energy scarcity and high fuel costs, this needs to be allowed.

NA Study 08

In his book Blue Highways, William Least Heat Moon, tells of meeting Kendrick Fritz, a young Hopi, in Utah.
When explaining his values and beliefs, a young Hopi, Kenneth Fritz, told of his Spider Grandmother, the Hopi version of the Great Spirit. “The Spider Grandmother gave two rules“, he explained. “ She gave them to all peoples, not just Hopis“. Look at these rules and you will see that they cover almost everything:
1) Don’t go around hurting each other. Roughly parallel to the Golden Rule, this reminds one of the futility of anger and the wrongness of revenge, and keeps one aware that hurt can take many forms besides the purely physical. We can hurt one another with gestures, with looks, with lies, with gossip, with our tone of voice and even with our silence.
2) Try to understand things.
This urges one to go beyond merely restraining one’s aggressions, exhorting us to make the effort necessary to see what the world looks like through different eyes. In a time when many seem contemptuous of viewpoints at variance with their own, this view seems especially valuable. It is easy to disagree, but takes genuine effort to try to understand what one disagrees with.
The verb to understand comes from the Old English understandan which means to stand under, to take a stance of humility and respect rather than one of arrogance or presumption. The impetus to understand grows naturally out of a sense of the sacredness of things, as does the urge not to go around hurting one another.
The young Hopi continued “Our religion keeps reminding us that we aren’t just will and thoughts. We are also sand and wind and thunder. Rain. The seasons. All those things. You learn to respect everything because you are everything. If you respect yourself, you respect all things.

Indian Contributions





1)

REVERENCE FOR NATURE
The Indian sees him or herself as part of a Great Chain of Being -- one that includes all things in nature, from animals and plants to the moon and stars. Unlike the property owning Europeans, the first Indian felt he was a child of the earth. When the early settlers tried to buy their land, the Iroquois replied: “The Sky is our Father and the Earth is our mother. We cannot sell our mother!”



2)
GOVERNMENT BY CONSENSUS
The New England town meeting stems from early Indian councils where each individual had a voice in the community. Further, the American Constitution is based on Indian ideals of participatory government and the union of our Thirteen States was inspired by the Five Nations of the Iriquois.


3)
TEAM SPORTS AND COMPETITION
No team sports existed in Europe before their acquaintance with the New World! Indian ball games like Lacrosse became the models for our baseball and football games and today’s sports mania is an outgrowth of the Indian obsession with victory for the tribe.
Further, the competitive spirit of American business is similar to that of Indian fighters--and we also may have inherited from Indian warriors and athletes the idea that business is a game.



4)
RESPECT FOR THE FEMININE
The North American Indians were the first societies to honor women’s suffrage. Further, in many tribes the women hold the hereditary titles of the chief--and meet in council to chose his next successor.


5)
HOLISTIC HEALING
Indians have always understood that a disturbance of the mind lays the ground for physical illness. A most extreme example is in the Wintu dialect where there is no word for body. Instead a single word denotes “the whole person” and suggests the role of temperament and emotion in disease.



6)
A BELIEF IN DREAMS AND VISIONS
Indians have long relied on dreams and visions---and intuition---to help them in decision making. The word powwow literally means “he dreams.



7)
GENEROSITY
Because the land was bountiful the Native people shared their goods and crops with the white man. On feast days, they also held “giveaways” honoring one another with gifts. Eventually New England settlers adopted a similar feast day called Thanksgiving----but the average Indian had not one, but nine of these holidays each year!


8)
BELIEF IN TRANSFORMATION
Native Americans had rites and rituals whereby an individual could adopt a new identity, a new set of beliefs, and take a new name at any stage of life. These ceremonies reflect a profound respect for inner changes.



9) A SENSE OF HEROISM
The Indian has never accepted human life as ordinary, as something to be managed in a superficial manner. His rituals test the deepest qualities in himself: his courage is shown not only in heroic combat with others but in combat with himself and with the powers of the universe. During his lifetime, an individual Indian faces several trials to develop his physical and emotional endurance.


10)
AN INCLUSIVE VALUE SYSTEM
The Native American believes in multiple realities. Thus there can be no “outsiders” within the tribe. Unusual talent or behavior is assimilated and accepted. No one personal experience is given more validity than another. The American Indian lives in a world of many truths and intertwined cultural complexities.


Values


VALUES:
Respect for creation
Worship and prayer
Humility (compassion, truth, sacrifice, love)
Sense of community
Relationships--importance of extended family
Importance of elders
Give-away
Oral tradition and preservation of language/traditions

Quiz

QUIZ:
1) The Pomo Basket is a story nearly lost to history but is one that is instructive in understanding traditional Native cultural practices. For Indian girls to learn how to weave a basket is to learn a marketable craft.
T or F
2) At the time of Columbus’ arrival in America, there were approximately 100 million Native Americans. The 2000 figures show the Native populations in the United States at about:
a) 10 million c) 4 million
b) 6 million d) 2 million
3) During the treating making period between 1776 and 1871, the United States entered into well over_________treaties with Native American tribes and nations.
a) 100 c) 300
b) 200 d) 400
4) In the case of the Plains Indians, what finally caused defeat was:
a) Killing of the buffalo
b) The strength of the military
c) The killing of their leaders
d) Building fences along the rivers
5) In the 1970s, Congress heard testimony of the work of American drug companies who used Indian school children to test new drugs before marketing.
T or F
6) There are 562 federally recognized tribes or nations in the United States.
7) Many of the problems Native Americans struggle with are the result of poverty. Alcoholism is ___% higher than national average and diabetes is _____% higher.
a) 200 c) 600
b) 350 d) 950
8) All Native American tribes have Powwows.
T or F
9) _________has the largest number of tribes. __________has the largest population of Native people.
a) Alaska b) South Dakota
c) North Carolina d) Oklahoma
10) One in four (25%) of American Indian women in the U.S. live in poverty.
T or F
11) Only 83% of Native American mothers begin prenatal care in the first trimester of pregnancy.
T or F
12) Native American women in Oklahoma are twice as likely to experience domestic violence as the average American woman.
T or F

Quiz

TRUE OR FALSE:
1) Native Americans get special privileges, including a monthly check, from the U.S. government.
2) Native Americans do not pay U.S. taxes.
3) Native Americans are rich from gambling revenues.
4) Native American tribes are not subject to U.S. law.
5) Sporting teams honor Native Americans by using cultural symbols for names and mascots.
6) All Native Americans live on reservations.
7) American Indians are a dying race.
8) Native American all have the same culture.
9) Native Americans are not full citizens of the United States because they belong to their own sovereign nations.
10) The Native American population is decreasing.
(All are false--these are common myths circulating.)

Revised Time Line

WALKING THROUGH NATIVE HISTORY:
EUROPEAN CONTACT THROUGH PRESENT DAY
1492 – 2007


1492
Christopher Columbus explores Native lands in the Americas.
Estimated 12.5 million Native persons live in region that will become North America.
1492

Largest population of Native people and number of distinct tribes located in the region.



1494
Columbus ships Native people to Spain to be sold as slaves (200 years of forced labor and slavery of Native people in the Southwest would follow).


1621
Native children attend school in Jamestown, Virginia.





1638
First reservation established in Connecticut for the Qinnipiacs.





1670
Indian slave trade instituted by the English in the American southwest (Indian slave trade in the southeast would continue until 1717).



1700
Indian population in California area estimated at 750,000.





1827
Constitution of the Cherokee Nation adopted.






1830
Congress affirms forced Indian removal from the southeast to Indian Territory (three Methodist Episcopal annual conferences would support the removal).


1831
The United States Supreme Court passes ruling that tribes possess “unquestionable rights” to all lands on which they live unless they give them up voluntarily.

1834
Indian Country Crimes Act.







1836
Forced removal of Creek Nation.
Beginning of 34 years of smallpox epidemics among Plains tribes (smallpox-infected blankets deliberately distributed to Native people).
1836
First of forced removals of Cherokee to Indian Territory (Native Methodists bring their churches to Indian territory).



1841
First Methodist hymnal in Creek language.






1844
First Annual Conference of the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference held.




1848
Indian population in California estimated at 150,000. In 1870, only 30,000 remain.




1860
The Massacre of the Wyot Tribe (California).






1863
Forced removal of Mescalero Apache and Navajo, known as the Long Walk.
Emancipation Proclamation – end of Indian Slavery.

1864
Teaching Native children in their own language prohibited by Congressional action.




1868
Fort Laramie Treaty.







1870
Supreme Court ruling affirms that Indians are not U.S. citizens.
Beginning of slaughter by non-Native hunters of ten million buffalo for hides alone. Continuing until 1886, this program was designed to starve and demoralize Native people.
1875
Seventy-two warriors of the Cheyenne, Kiowa, Comanche, and Caddo nations sent to Ft. Augustine, Florida in chains and held hostage to insure that their people remain “good.”

1876
Gold discovered in Black Hills. Congress “takes back” the Black Hills from land given to the Lakota Sioux.



1876
Battle of the Little Big Horn.





1879
Carlisle Indian School founded in Carlisle, PA. Native children as young as four ears old are sent to boarding schools run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) or sponsored by churches. Five generations of Native children raised in institutions without their families.
1880
Sun Dance outlawed by the U.S. government.






1881
Beginning of a series of policies making Native religions and customs illegal.





1885
Congress passes the Major Crimes Act.





1887
The General Allotment Act (The Dawes Act) requires tribal persons to register and allots each family a portion of land. The vast majority of lands granted under treaty are then declared excess, taken from the tribes and made available for general settlement.

2008 NA Timeline

1492
Christopher Columbus explores Native lands in the Americas.
Estimated 12.5 million Native persons live in region.
1492
Largest population of Native people and number of distinct tribes located in the region.



1494
Columbus ships Native people to Spain to be sold as slaves (200 years of forced labor and slavery of Native people in the Southwest would follow).
1621
Native children attend school in Jamestown, Virginia.





1638
First reservation established in Connecticut for the Qinnipiacs.





1670
Indian slave trade instituted by the English in the American southwest (Indian slave trade in the southeast would continue until 1717).
1700
Indian population in California area estimated at 750,000.





1827
Constitution of the Cherokee Nation adopted.






1830
Congress affirms forced Indian removal from the southeast to Indian Territory (three Methodist Episcopal annual conferences would support the removal).
1831
The United States Supreme Court passes ruling that tribes possess “unquestionable rights” to all lands on which they live unless they give them up voluntarily.
1834
Indian Country Crimes Act.







1836
Forced removal of Creek Nation.
Beginning of 34 years of smallpox epidemics among Plains tribes (smallpox-infected blankets deliberately distributed to Native people).
1836
First of forced removals of Cherokee to Indian Territory (Native Methodists bring their churches to Indian territory).



1841
First Methodist hymnal in Creek language.






1844
First Annual Conference of the Oklahoma Indian Missionary Conference held.




1848
Indian population in California estimated at 150,000. In 1870, only 30,000 remain.


1860
The Massacre of the Wyot Tribe (California).






1863
Forced removal of Mescalero Apache and Navajo, known as the Long Walk.
Emancipation Proclamation – end of Indian Slavery.
1864
Teaching Native children in their own language prohibited by Congressional action.



1868
Fort Laramie Treaty.






1870
Supreme Court ruling affirms Indians are not U.S. citizens.










1870
Beginning of slaughter by non-Native hunters of ten million buffalo for hides alone.
Continuing until 1886, this program was designed to starve and demoralize Native people.
1875
Seventy-two warriors of the Cheyenne, Kiowa, Comanche, and Caddo nations sent to Ft. Augustine, Florida in chains held hostage
to insure their people remain “good.”
1876
Gold discovered in Black Hills. Congress “takes back” the Black Hills from land given to the Lakota Sioux.


1876
Battle of the Little Big Horn.







1879
Carlisle Indian School founded in Carlisle, PA.
Native children as young as four years are sent to boarding schools run by BIA or sponsored by churches. Five generations of Native children raised in institutions without families.
1880
Sun Dance outlawed by the U.S. government.






1881
Beginning of a series of policies making Native religions and customs illegal.




1885
Congress passes the Major Crimes Act.






1887
The General Allotment Act
(The Dawes Act) requires tribal persons to register and allots each family a portion of land. The vast majority of lands granted then taken from the tribes and made available for general settlement.
1890
Massacre of Lakota Sioux at Wounded Knee.






1900
Only about 250,000 Native people survive in the U.S.





1906
Cherokee Nation and other Oklahoma tribes officially terminated.




1912
Jim Thorpe
(Sac and Fox tribe) wins the pentathlon and decathlon at the Olympic games in Stockholm, Sweden.

1924
Native Americans are granted U.S. citizenship.






1935
Indian Reorganization (lasting until 1953).






1940
Indian men register for draft for the first time.
(Native men had fought in every war since the Revolution. As new citizens, their names are entered into the draft).

1944
Navajo “code talkers” develop secret codes used in South Pacific field of WWII. Comanche, Cheyenne, and others develop different codes also used in war. During WWI, Choctaw soldiers had developed codes.
1946
Policy of Indian relocation to urban centers is instituted to break down reservation systems. Families are often split up.

1953
Termination of tribes by the U.S. federal government
(15 year period whereby the U.S. federal Government removes tribal status and reservation lands from tribes).
1958
Lumbees force Ku Klux Klan to leave Robeson County, NC.





1968
Congress passes Indian Civil Rights Act, basically requiring tribes to grant Native people the same rights guaranteed to most Americans by the Bill of Rights.
1971
Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (Federal recognition of Alaska Native people. Establishment of 13 Native corporations).
1972
Cherokee Nation re-established.







1973
American Indian Movement occupation of Wounded Knee.





1978
Congress passes the American Indian Religious Free Act.
Indian Child Welfare Act (prohibiting states & social agencies from removing and adopting Native children without consent of parents or tribes).
1979
Florida Seminole Nation begins first Native high-stakes bingo.





1980
Kateri Tekakwitha beatified – First Native Roman Catholic saint.





1988
Indian Gaming Regulatory Act.






1989
Congress passes the National Museum of the American Indian Act.




1990
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (requiring return of Native religious artifacts and bones by museums).
1990
Congress passes the Indian Arts and Crafts Act, stipulating that only enrolled tribal members may display in Indian Arts Shows or use the term “Indian made.” Many well-known, non-enrolled artists are disenfranchised.
1993
Congress passes the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.





1995
One million Native people are members of federally recognized tribes.
BIA estimates that over 500,000 U.S. born, ethnic Native people are ineligible for various reasons.
2000
Jim Thorpe
(1887-1953) named by Congress as Athlete of the Century.



2007
Less than 200 Native languages still surviving.
As many as 50 percent of Native people in the U.S. ineligible for tribal membership.

08 GC Resolutions

NOTE: Attached are the changes and/or new resolutions and Social Principles regarding Native Americans from 2008 General Conference. There are others from previous years (also in Appendix of text) that were not changed.

Social Principles
¶163.G Ammended by 2008 General Conference as follows:
Gambling is a menace to society, deadly to the best interests of moral, social, economic, and spiritual life, destructive of good government and good stewardship. As an act of faith and concern, Christians should abstain from gambling and should strive to minister to those victimized by the practice. Where gambling has become addictive, the Church will encourage such individuals to receive therapeutic assistance so that the individual's energies may be redirected into positive and constructive ends.
The Church acknowledges the dichotomy that can occur when opposing gambling while supporting American Indian tribal sovereignty and self-determination. Therefore the Church’s role is to create sacred space to allow for dialogue and education that will promote an holistic understanding of the American Indians’ historic quest for survival. The Church’s prophetic call is to promote standards of justice and advocacy that would make it unnecessary and undesirable to resort to commercial gambling—including public lotteries, casinos, raffles, Internet gambling, gambling with emerging wireless technology and other games of chance—as a recreation, as an escape, or as a means of producing public revenue or funds for support of charities or governments.











The petition was approved by General Conference 2008 without ammendments. Submitted by General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns

SAND CREEK MASSACRE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE SUPPORT
The United Methodist Church will contribute $50,000 to the development of the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site Research and Learning Center, and the General Conference directs the General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns to work with the United States National Park Service in the conveyance of the funds and in the development of the Research and Learning Center.
Rationale:
On November 29, 1864 at Sand Creek, Colorado, Colonel John Chivington, a Methodist lay preacher as well as commander of the local military district of the United States Army, led a combined force of 800 soldiers in an early morning attack on a Native American village in which the people had been given a guarantee of safety and security by United States representatives after their having been moved from their previous homelands to that location by the government.
As many as 180 men, women, and children of the village were killed in the event which has come to be called the Sand Creek Massacre. The United Methodist Church at its 1996 general conference expressed deep regret and apology for the actions of a prominent Methodist and reiterates its sorrow and its concern for the well-being of all Native American people.
The United States Government has designated the site of the event the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, and the National Park Service (NPS) which has management responsibility for the site has proposed development of a Research and Learning Center to promote awareness of the site and its use for Native American services of remembrance and commemoration.
The NPS estimates that $2,000,000 will be required to establish the Research and Learning Center, and the NPS proposes to raise $1,000,000 of this amount from the private sector which it will match
The Protection of Native American Sacred Sites
Amendments to Resolution 148 approved by General Conference 2008.
In 1978 and 1992, Congress passed legislation entitled "The American Indian Religious Freedom Act," and “The Religious Freedom Restoration Act” which declared that it was the policy of Congress to protect and preserve the inherent right of American Indians to believe, express, and practice their traditional religions.; Native American love for and identity with the land resonates with the theology of land in Scripture. The loss of sacred land leads to a loss of identity and even freedom for the people of Israel (Genesis 15:13), and that loss of freedom can prevent full religious expression, as the Psalmist asks, “How could we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” (Psalms 137:4) Native American religious understandings of the sacredness of land resound and even precede the Christian theology of land by thousands of years. Today a crisis exists in that there is no real protection for the practice of traditional Indian religions within the framework of American constitutional or statutory law, and courts usually automatically dismiss Indian petitions without evidentiary hearings.; While Congress has passed many laws that are designed to protect certain kinds of lands and resources for environmental and historic preservation, none of these laws are designed to protect the traditional sacred sites of Native American tribes for the purpose of Native American traditional religious practice.;
The only existing law directly addressing this issue, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, is simply a policy that provides limited legal relief to aggrieved American Indian religious practitioners.; The 1992 General Conference of The United Methodist Church went on record as supporting the rights of all Native Americans, Christian and traditional alike, Therefore, the General Board of Church and Society shall continue to support legislation that will provide for a legal cause of action when sacred sites may be affected by governmental action; and proposed legislation should also provide for more extensive notice to and consultation with tribes and affected parties.; On behalf of the whole United Methodist Church, the General Board of Church and Society may enter and support court cases relating to the American Indian Religious Freedom Act.; The General Board of Church and Society shall communicate with the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs, declaring that the position of The United Methodist Church, expressed through the 20080 General Conference, is to strengthen the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 and preserve the God-given and constitutional rights of religious freedom for American Indians, including the preserving of traditional Native American sacred sites of worship. Social Principles, ¶ 164A.








Native American Tribal Sovereignty
Adopted as submitted, General Conference 2008
Indigenous people were once sole occupants of this continent. Scholars vary greatly in their estimates of how many people were living in the Americas when Columbus arrived in 1492; however estimates range from 40 million to 90 million for all of the Americas. 1 <> American Indian tribal populations wereas decimated after the arrival of Europeans. This decimation was rationalized according to (a) the European belief in their "discovery" of the new world, (b) the arrogance of “manifest destiny”,
(c) the cavalier destruction of the Native concept of tribal communal land, and (d) lack of immunity to diseases carried by Europeans to the Americas. ,According to the 2000 census, the American Indian population stands at 2.48 million people.
Pprior to European contact, the indigenous nations of this continent were sovereign, aautonomous and self-regulating. ;
During the American Revolution, American Indian tribes and confederations of tribes wereas recognized as sovereign indigenous nations in nation-to-nation relationships with the major European powers. Later, these relationships were maintained with the newly-formed U.S.government, whicho formulated 371 treaties with Indian nations between 1778-1871.;
1 MSN Encarta website 2007
Treaties are regarded as binding, sacred and enduring texts by American Indians and Alaska Natives, comparable to the U. S. Constitution and U.S. Bill of Rights. Therefore, it is disturbing that the U.S government ignored its trust responsibilities through the violation of treaties and other promises.;
Tribal sovereignty is an inherent international right of Native nations, and it encompasses various matters, such as jurisdiction over Indians and non-Indians on tribal lands, education and language, child welfare and religious freedom. Land is both the physical and spiritual foundation of tribal identity, as stated by Kidwell, Noley and Tinker (2001) in their book, A Native American Theology: "Land is today the basis upon which tribal sovereignty rests, the rights of Indian people to live upon, use and to govern in a political sense the members of the tribe who live on the land and those whose tribal membership gives them an association with it" (p. 15).; Early U.S. Supreme Court decisions support and affirm tribal sovereignty, most notably the Marshall trilogy of cases in the 19th century, and Winter v. S. (1908). However, recent Court decisions have ignored previous precedent and contradicted earlier rulings undermining tribal sovereignty.;
A survey conducted by an independent research firm demonstrateds that 75 percent of the American public supports tribal governance over Native lands, and 74 percent believe that federal and state officials should make tribal self-governance a priority. ;
A United Methodist Resolution 2 <>outlined support for the rights of Native people relative to self-determination and sovereignty, which includes the right of Native people to:
 be self-determining, and make their own decisions;
 plan for a future in this nation, and to expect a fulfillment of commitments that have been made previously by the government, as well as equitable treatment of those who were not afforded legal protection for their culture and lands; and
2 Resolution 146 (2004 UM Book of Resolutions).
exercise their sovereignty consistent with treaty provisions, executive orders, and acts of Congress.;
The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) has appealed to religious institutions and their congregations to urge the U.S. government to exercise moral responsibility in upholding treaty obligations and trust responsibilities with Native peoples. NCAI has implemented the Tribal Sovereignty Protection Initiative as a proactive effort to counter recent threats to tribal sovereignty from the federal government, especially within the U.S. Supreme Court that has disregarded the historic agreements with American Indian tribes.
Therefore, be it resolved that:
The United Methodist Church reaffirms its support for tribal sovereignty and commends the following guiding principles for the total Church:
Guiding Principles:
1. We believe in redemption, transformation, and reconciliation; people can change and that is representative of the incarnational witness in the world.
2. We believe in John Wesley’s directive to connect social and personal holiness; that advocacy and action, speaking out in the public square, truth-telling in love are intrinsic to who we are as United Methodists.
3. We believe that the intentions and politicization of Christianity distorted the Gospel/Good News for the purpose of colonization and must be decolonized.
4. We affirm that American Indian sovereignty: -Is a historical fact, is significant, and it cannot be disregarded in favor of political expediency. -American Indians have a right to self-govern. -Preserves culture, land, religious expression, and sacred spaces. -Ensures survival-allows for the survival of American Indian people
5. We need to demythologize and move from fiction to fact in our understanding of American Indians and Indian Country.
6. We affirm the sacredness of humankind -Affirming all persons as equally valuable in God’s sight. -Resources of the world are sacred and deplore practices of exploitation
7. We reject stereotypes and frames that depict American Indians as less than sacred or in harmful or distorted ways.
8. We observe that there are belief systems of Native American Indians and non-natives and that they do not always have commonality. (i.e. “Fair play” /Justice-
e.g. land claims, treaties vs. constitutional rights, citizen’s rights)
In response to the Tribal Sovereignty Protection Initiative, the United Methodist Church:
1. Calls upon the United States government to exercise moral responsibility in upholding and honoring all treaty obligations and trust responsibilities to Native peoples;
2. Directs the General Board of Church and Society present this resolution to Members of the United States Congress, the President of the United States, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Interior-Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the National Congress of American Indians; and
3.Urges all clergy and laity to educate themselves and their congregations about historical and contemporary aspects of tribal sovereignty, including action steps that concerned individuals and congregations can take to support American Indians and Alaska and Hawaiian Natives.
(See R. 215)











Gambling
Amended Resolution 203 – General Conference 2008
The Social Principles state that, "Gambling is a menace to society, deadly to the best interests of moral, social, economic, and spiritual life, and destructive of good government. As an act of faith and concern, Christians should abstain from gambling and should strive to minister to those victimized by the practice. Where gambling has become addictive, the church will encourage such individuals to receive therapeutic assistance so that the individual's energies may be redirected into positive and constructive ends. The church should promote standards and personal lifestyles that would make unnecessary and undesirable the resort to commercial gambling—including public lotteries—as a recreation, as an escape, or as a means of producing public revenue or funds for support of charities or government" (¶ 163)
When asked which commandment is first of all, Jesus answered, "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength" (Mark 12:29-30, NRSV). Gambling feeds on human greed and invites persons to place their trust in possessions rather than in God. It represents a form of idolatry that contradicts the first commandment. Jesus said “You shall love your neighbor as yourself'." (Mark 12:31b, NRSV). In relating with compassion and love to our sisters and brothers, we are called to resist those practices and systems that exploit and leave them impoverished and demeaned. The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 6:9-10a: "People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil." Gambling, as a means of acquiring material gain by chance and at the neighbor's expense, is a menace to personal character and social morality. Gambling fosters greed and stimulates the fatalistic faith in chance. Organized and commercial gambling is a threat to business, breeds crime and poverty, and is destructive to the interests of good government. It encourages the belief that work is unimportant, that money can solve all our problems, and that greed is the norm for achievement. It serves as a "regressive tax" on those with lower income. In summary, gambling is bad economics; gambling is bad public policy; and gambling does not improve the quality of life.
We oppose the growing legalization and promotion of gambling. Dependence on gambling revenue has led many governments to exploit the weakness of their own citizens, neglect the development of more equitable forms of taxation, and thereby further erode citizens' confidence in government.
We oppose the legalization of pari-mutuel betting1, for it has been the opening wedge in the legalization of other forms of gambling that has fostered the growth of illegal bookmaking. We deplore the establishment of lotteries and their use as a means of raising public revenues. The constant promotion and the wide advertising of lotteries have encouraged large numbers of persons to gamble for the first time.
We express our concern for the increasing development of the casino enterprises which haves taken captive entire communities and corrupted many levels of government with its fiscal and political power. Public apathy and a lack of awareness that petty gambling feeds organized crime have opened the door to the spread of numerous forms of legal and illegal gambling.
We especially express our deep concern at the rapid growth of two forms of gambling: Internet Gambling: Because computer usage is available in the privacy of one’s home and even in churches, the potential for access to gambling websites and addiction to Internet gambling is great. Internet Gambling is an international problem and it is virtually unregulated which has led to corruption, money laundering, and funding of terrorist organizations. Individuals and local churches should seek to educate themselves on the easy access to Internet gambling websites. The social cost of addiction to Internet gambling is great and leads to bankruptcy, suicide, and family discord. Young adults and senior citizens are among the most vulnerable populations at risk to gambling addiction. Parents and caregivers should take steps to ensure that children and the elderly with access to computers not be exposed to Internet gambling websites. Local Churches and Annual Conferences should provide educational resources for parents and caregivers on the dangers of Internet gambling and enact strict oversight of church-owned computers.
U.S. Tribal Gambling: We grieve over the expansion of gambling onto tribal reservations and lands. Gambling expansion on tribal lands has fostered racism and hate crimes, has caused discord between and among tribal members, and has led to divisions in churches and families. While we support tribal self-determination and self-governance, resorting to gambling as a form of economic development is regrettable. We acknowledge and recognize the dichotomy created when the Church’s positions oppose gambling and at the same time support tribal self-determination. We urge annual conferences and local churches, which reside near tribal casinos or are facing expansion of tribal gambling ventures, to build partnerships with churches on reservations and Indian lands to foster mutual trust and understanding of tribal history and of the United Methodist position on gambling without resorting to diminishing tribal sovereignty.
The church has a key role in fostering responsible government and in developing health and moral maturity that free persons from dependence on damaging social customs. We urge national, tribal, state and local governments to read, analyze and implement the recommendations of the National Gambling Impact Study report released by the United States in 1999. We encourage tribal governments to wean themselves from gambling as a form of economic development; and we encourage and fully support tribal efforts to diversify economically away from gambling. We support the strong enforcement of anti-gambling laws and, the repeal of all laws that give gambling an acceptable and even advantageous place in our society. It is expected that United Methodist churches abstain from the use of raffles, lotteries, bingo, door prizes, other drawing schemes, and games of chance for the purpose of
gambling or fundraising. United Methodists should refrain from all forms of gambling practices and work to influence community organizations and be supportive of American Indian tribes in developing forms of funding that do not depend upon gambling. Furthermore, it is incumbent upon local churches to reach out with love to individuals who are addicted, compulsive or problem gamblers and support efforts at recovery and rehabilitation. We oppose coalitions, groups, organizations, and campaigns which claim opposition to gambling, yet at the same time undermine or oppose tribal sovereignty, which fosters a climate of hate and racism. An alarming trend is the attempt to use local churches in order to increase support for this destructive agenda. We believe that these groups operate contrary to Christian teachings. Therefore we strongly discourage United Methodist members and local churches from participating in such efforts.

Economic Development for Native American Peoples
Approved by 2008 General Conference (Revision of Resolution #215)
Christians are called to celebrate and protect the worth and dignity of every human being
and to struggle against oppression and exploitation. We are called to "proclaim release to
the captives . . . to set at liberty those who are oppressed" (Luke 4:18, RSV).
Economic realities, such as "one world economies" and "mega-mergers," can have a negative impact on both the rich and poor of this world. Native American spirituality speaks to and challenges inequities with its understanding of how to care for the whole family of God. Native American United Methodists believe their cultural understanding of stewardship is God-given and has been distorted from its intended purpose; God's creation has been used with greed rather than care. Native Americans in The United Methodist Church believe that the Church must take a proactive stand for reform of church and society that will introduce a radically different model of economic relationships into the new century--a God-centered model. The United Methodist Church believes that models of economic development should not have a negative impact on Native American people.
For more than five hundred years, Native Americans have lived and survived in the context of first, colonialism and second, capitalism and have been impacted by the economics of greed. Many have been forced to live in poverty; however, a small segment of the Native American population is surviving through tribal economic development based on gambling. Unfortunately, tribal gambling casinos have had negative social consequences beyond and even within tribes. The need for economic development and growth is critically acute in most Native American communities across the United States. Economic conditions are appalling, with some reservations facing exceptionally high rates (some as high as 80-90 percent) of unemployment well above the national average.
In fact, many reservations have very high poverty rates in the United States and rank very low in health and education indicators. There is little or no tax base on many reservations. Equity for investment is practically nonexistent or equity comes from questionable sources and at an exorbitant rate. As a result, some tribes have resorted to gambling endeavors in an effort to improve their economies. However, the vast majority of tribes remain in desperate need of meaningful, diversified economic development.
Economic development encompasses everything from job creation to reform in tax codes, from the creation of banking institutions to the expansion of tribal autonomy; development of basic physical infrastructure (roads and sewers);, telecommunications to bridge the digital divide;, fiscal literacy development for Native American people. Collectively, these basic essentials are requirements for effective economic development.
Tribal sovereignty is historical, legal, and sacred to American Indian people. We affirm autonomous decision-making by Native American tribes. After all, the primary goal of economic development is to create self-sufficiency in Native American tribes. Ultimately, sovereignty ensures and enables tribes to deliberate and map out a strategy that will hopefully lead to self-sufficiency. The U.S. Department of the Interior has grossly mismanaged tribal lands and has lost track of billions of dollars in mining, logging, and other royalties that should have gone to benefit Native American tribes. Fiscal accountability and ethical management of trust funds is an absolute necessity in the quest for tribal economic self-sufficiency.
Therefore, be it resolved that The United Methodist Church:
1. Supports the efforts of sovereign Native American nations to create means and methods of economic development that do not depend on gambling and do not disrupt or destroy sacred sites.
2. Urges the U.S. government to affirm tribal sovereignty and work with Native American tribes in a genuine partnership to support economic development and trust reform.
3. Directs the General Board of Church and Society and the General Board of Discipleship in collaboration with Native Americans to develop educational tools for local churches and individuals as a study on contemporary Native American issues; especially tribal sovereignty as it relates to effective economic development. The studies should also include the Church’s role in influencing contemporary mission and ministry with Native people and create strategies and actions which can allow active participation of local churches in assisting Native Americans to find a God-centered alternative to gambling as a form of economic development.
4. Authorizes the General Board of Church and Society to work with the National Congress of American Indians and other Native American organizations in advocating for federal economic development programs and initiatives.
5. Encourages the General Board of Church and Society to facilitate participation of United Methodist Native Americans in the work of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and other advocacy events which influence economic development for Native Americans.
6. Urges the General Board of Global Ministries to support funding of economic development projects of Native American tribes.
7. Urges the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits to invest funds in Native American financial institutions and community organizations.

08 GC Resolutions

NOTE: Attached are the changes and/or new resolutions and Social Principles regarding Native Americans from 2008 General Conference. There are others from previous years (also in Appendix of text) that were not changed.

Social Principles
¶163.G Ammended by 2008 General Conference as follows:
Gambling is a menace to society, deadly to the best interests of moral, social, economic, and spiritual life, destructive of good government and good stewardship. As an act of faith and concern, Christians should abstain from gambling and should strive to minister to those victimized by the practice. Where gambling has become addictive, the Church will encourage such individuals to receive therapeutic assistance so that the individual's energies may be redirected into positive and constructive ends.
The Church acknowledges the dichotomy that can occur when opposing gambling while supporting American Indian tribal sovereignty and self-determination. Therefore the Church’s role is to create sacred space to allow for dialogue and education that will promote an holistic understanding of the American Indians’ historic quest for survival. The Church’s prophetic call is to promote standards of justice and advocacy that would make it unnecessary and undesirable to resort to commercial gambling—including public lotteries, casinos, raffles, Internet gambling, gambling with emerging wireless technology and other games of chance—as a recreation, as an escape, or as a means of producing public revenue or funds for support of charities or governments.











The petition was approved by General Conference 2008 without ammendments. Submitted by General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns

SAND CREEK MASSACRE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE SUPPORT
The United Methodist Church will contribute $50,000 to the development of the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site Research and Learning Center, and the General Conference directs the General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns to work with the United States National Park Service in the conveyance of the funds and in the development of the Research and Learning Center.
Rationale:
On November 29, 1864 at Sand Creek, Colorado, Colonel John Chivington, a Methodist lay preacher as well as commander of the local military district of the United States Army, led a combined force of 800 soldiers in an early morning attack on a Native American village in which the people had been given a guarantee of safety and security by United States representatives after their having been moved from their previous homelands to that location by the government.
As many as 180 men, women, and children of the village were killed in the event which has come to be called the Sand Creek Massacre. The United Methodist Church at its 1996 general conference expressed deep regret and apology for the actions of a prominent Methodist and reiterates its sorrow and its concern for the well-being of all Native American people.
The United States Government has designated the site of the event the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, and the National Park Service (NPS) which has management responsibility for the site has proposed development of a Research and Learning Center to promote awareness of the site and its use for Native American services of remembrance and commemoration.
The NPS estimates that $2,000,000 will be required to establish the Research and Learning Center, and the NPS proposes to raise $1,000,000 of this amount from the private sector which it will match
The Protection of Native American Sacred Sites
Amendments to Resolution 148 approved by General Conference 2008.
In 1978 and 1992, Congress passed legislation entitled "The American Indian Religious Freedom Act," and “The Religious Freedom Restoration Act” which declared that it was the policy of Congress to protect and preserve the inherent right of American Indians to believe, express, and practice their traditional religions.; Native American love for and identity with the land resonates with the theology of land in Scripture. The loss of sacred land leads to a loss of identity and even freedom for the people of Israel (Genesis 15:13), and that loss of freedom can prevent full religious expression, as the Psalmist asks, “How could we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” (Psalms 137:4) Native American religious understandings of the sacredness of land resound and even precede the Christian theology of land by thousands of years. Today a crisis exists in that there is no real protection for the practice of traditional Indian religions within the framework of American constitutional or statutory law, and courts usually automatically dismiss Indian petitions without evidentiary hearings.; While Congress has passed many laws that are designed to protect certain kinds of lands and resources for environmental and historic preservation, none of these laws are designed to protect the traditional sacred sites of Native American tribes for the purpose of Native American traditional religious practice.;
The only existing law directly addressing this issue, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, is simply a policy that provides limited legal relief to aggrieved American Indian religious practitioners.; The 1992 General Conference of The United Methodist Church went on record as supporting the rights of all Native Americans, Christian and traditional alike, Therefore, the General Board of Church and Society shall continue to support legislation that will provide for a legal cause of action when sacred sites may be affected by governmental action; and proposed legislation should also provide for more extensive notice to and consultation with tribes and affected parties.; On behalf of the whole United Methodist Church, the General Board of Church and Society may enter and support court cases relating to the American Indian Religious Freedom Act.; The General Board of Church and Society shall communicate with the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs, declaring that the position of The United Methodist Church, expressed through the 20080 General Conference, is to strengthen the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 and preserve the God-given and constitutional rights of religious freedom for American Indians, including the preserving of traditional Native American sacred sites of worship. Social Principles, ¶ 164A.








Native American Tribal Sovereignty
Adopted as submitted, General Conference 2008
Indigenous people were once sole occupants of this continent. Scholars vary greatly in their estimates of how many people were living in the Americas when Columbus arrived in 1492; however estimates range from 40 million to 90 million for all of the Americas. 1 <> American Indian tribal populations wereas decimated after the arrival of Europeans. This decimation was rationalized according to (a) the European belief in their "discovery" of the new world, (b) the arrogance of “manifest destiny”,
(c) the cavalier destruction of the Native concept of tribal communal land, and (d) lack of immunity to diseases carried by Europeans to the Americas. ,According to the 2000 census, the American Indian population stands at 2.48 million people.
Pprior to European contact, the indigenous nations of this continent were sovereign, aautonomous and self-regulating. ;
During the American Revolution, American Indian tribes and confederations of tribes wereas recognized as sovereign indigenous nations in nation-to-nation relationships with the major European powers. Later, these relationships were maintained with the newly-formed U.S.government, whicho formulated 371 treaties with Indian nations between 1778-1871.;
1 MSN Encarta website 2007
Treaties are regarded as binding, sacred and enduring texts by American Indians and Alaska Natives, comparable to the U. S. Constitution and U.S. Bill of Rights. Therefore, it is disturbing that the U.S government ignored its trust responsibilities through the violation of treaties and other promises.;
Tribal sovereignty is an inherent international right of Native nations, and it encompasses various matters, such as jurisdiction over Indians and non-Indians on tribal lands, education and language, child welfare and religious freedom. Land is both the physical and spiritual foundation of tribal identity, as stated by Kidwell, Noley and Tinker (2001) in their book, A Native American Theology: "Land is today the basis upon which tribal sovereignty rests, the rights of Indian people to live upon, use and to govern in a political sense the members of the tribe who live on the land and those whose tribal membership gives them an association with it" (p. 15).; Early U.S. Supreme Court decisions support and affirm tribal sovereignty, most notably the Marshall trilogy of cases in the 19th century, and Winter v. S. (1908). However, recent Court decisions have ignored previous precedent and contradicted earlier rulings undermining tribal sovereignty.;
A survey conducted by an independent research firm demonstrateds that 75 percent of the American public supports tribal governance over Native lands, and 74 percent believe that federal and state officials should make tribal self-governance a priority. ;
A United Methodist Resolution 2 <>outlined support for the rights of Native people relative to self-determination and sovereignty, which includes the right of Native people to:
 be self-determining, and make their own decisions;
 plan for a future in this nation, and to expect a fulfillment of commitments that have been made previously by the government, as well as equitable treatment of those who were not afforded legal protection for their culture and lands; and
2 Resolution 146 (2004 UM Book of Resolutions).
exercise their sovereignty consistent with treaty provisions, executive orders, and acts of Congress.;
The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) has appealed to religious institutions and their congregations to urge the U.S. government to exercise moral responsibility in upholding treaty obligations and trust responsibilities with Native peoples. NCAI has implemented the Tribal Sovereignty Protection Initiative as a proactive effort to counter recent threats to tribal sovereignty from the federal government, especially within the U.S. Supreme Court that has disregarded the historic agreements with American Indian tribes.
Therefore, be it resolved that:
The United Methodist Church reaffirms its support for tribal sovereignty and commends the following guiding principles for the total Church:
Guiding Principles:
1. We believe in redemption, transformation, and reconciliation; people can change and that is representative of the incarnational witness in the world.
2. We believe in John Wesley’s directive to connect social and personal holiness; that advocacy and action, speaking out in the public square, truth-telling in love are intrinsic to who we are as United Methodists.
3. We believe that the intentions and politicization of Christianity distorted the Gospel/Good News for the purpose of colonization and must be decolonized.
4. We affirm that American Indian sovereignty: -Is a historical fact, is significant, and it cannot be disregarded in favor of political expediency. -American Indians have a right to self-govern. -Preserves culture, land, religious expression, and sacred spaces. -Ensures survival-allows for the survival of American Indian people
5. We need to demythologize and move from fiction to fact in our understanding of American Indians and Indian Country.
6. We affirm the sacredness of humankind -Affirming all persons as equally valuable in God’s sight. -Resources of the world are sacred and deplore practices of exploitation
7. We reject stereotypes and frames that depict American Indians as less than sacred or in harmful or distorted ways.
8. We observe that there are belief systems of Native American Indians and non-natives and that they do not always have commonality. (i.e. “Fair play” /Justice-
e.g. land claims, treaties vs. constitutional rights, citizen’s rights)
In response to the Tribal Sovereignty Protection Initiative, the United Methodist Church:
1. Calls upon the United States government to exercise moral responsibility in upholding and honoring all treaty obligations and trust responsibilities to Native peoples;
2. Directs the General Board of Church and Society present this resolution to Members of the United States Congress, the President of the United States, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Interior-Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the National Congress of American Indians; and
3.Urges all clergy and laity to educate themselves and their congregations about historical and contemporary aspects of tribal sovereignty, including action steps that concerned individuals and congregations can take to support American Indians and Alaska and Hawaiian Natives.
(See R. 215)











Gambling
Amended Resolution 203 – General Conference 2008
The Social Principles state that, "Gambling is a menace to society, deadly to the best interests of moral, social, economic, and spiritual life, and destructive of good government. As an act of faith and concern, Christians should abstain from gambling and should strive to minister to those victimized by the practice. Where gambling has become addictive, the church will encourage such individuals to receive therapeutic assistance so that the individual's energies may be redirected into positive and constructive ends. The church should promote standards and personal lifestyles that would make unnecessary and undesirable the resort to commercial gambling—including public lotteries—as a recreation, as an escape, or as a means of producing public revenue or funds for support of charities or government" (¶ 163)
When asked which commandment is first of all, Jesus answered, "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength" (Mark 12:29-30, NRSV). Gambling feeds on human greed and invites persons to place their trust in possessions rather than in God. It represents a form of idolatry that contradicts the first commandment. Jesus said “You shall love your neighbor as yourself'." (Mark 12:31b, NRSV). In relating with compassion and love to our sisters and brothers, we are called to resist those practices and systems that exploit and leave them impoverished and demeaned. The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 6:9-10a: "People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil." Gambling, as a means of acquiring material gain by chance and at the neighbor's expense, is a menace to personal character and social morality. Gambling fosters greed and stimulates the fatalistic faith in chance. Organized and commercial gambling is a threat to business, breeds crime and poverty, and is destructive to the interests of good government. It encourages the belief that work is unimportant, that money can solve all our problems, and that greed is the norm for achievement. It serves as a "regressive tax" on those with lower income. In summary, gambling is bad economics; gambling is bad public policy; and gambling does not improve the quality of life.
We oppose the growing legalization and promotion of gambling. Dependence on gambling revenue has led many governments to exploit the weakness of their own citizens, neglect the development of more equitable forms of taxation, and thereby further erode citizens' confidence in government.
We oppose the legalization of pari-mutuel betting1, for it has been the opening wedge in the legalization of other forms of gambling that has fostered the growth of illegal bookmaking. We deplore the establishment of lotteries and their use as a means of raising public revenues. The constant promotion and the wide advertising of lotteries have encouraged large numbers of persons to gamble for the first time.
We express our concern for the increasing development of the casino enterprises which haves taken captive entire communities and corrupted many levels of government with its fiscal and political power. Public apathy and a lack of awareness that petty gambling feeds organized crime have opened the door to the spread of numerous forms of legal and illegal gambling.
We especially express our deep concern at the rapid growth of two forms of gambling: Internet Gambling: Because computer usage is available in the privacy of one’s home and even in churches, the potential for access to gambling websites and addiction to Internet gambling is great. Internet Gambling is an international problem and it is virtually unregulated which has led to corruption, money laundering, and funding of terrorist organizations. Individuals and local churches should seek to educate themselves on the easy access to Internet gambling websites. The social cost of addiction to Internet gambling is great and leads to bankruptcy, suicide, and family discord. Young adults and senior citizens are among the most vulnerable populations at risk to gambling addiction. Parents and caregivers should take steps to ensure that children and the elderly with access to computers not be exposed to Internet gambling websites. Local Churches and Annual Conferences should provide educational resources for parents and caregivers on the dangers of Internet gambling and enact strict oversight of church-owned computers.
U.S. Tribal Gambling: We grieve over the expansion of gambling onto tribal reservations and lands. Gambling expansion on tribal lands has fostered racism and hate crimes, has caused discord between and among tribal members, and has led to divisions in churches and families. While we support tribal self-determination and self-governance, resorting to gambling as a form of economic development is regrettable. We acknowledge and recognize the dichotomy created when the Church’s positions oppose gambling and at the same time support tribal self-determination. We urge annual conferences and local churches, which reside near tribal casinos or are facing expansion of tribal gambling ventures, to build partnerships with churches on reservations and Indian lands to foster mutual trust and understanding of tribal history and of the United Methodist position on gambling without resorting to diminishing tribal sovereignty.
The church has a key role in fostering responsible government and in developing health and moral maturity that free persons from dependence on damaging social customs. We urge national, tribal, state and local governments to read, analyze and implement the recommendations of the National Gambling Impact Study report released by the United States in 1999. We encourage tribal governments to wean themselves from gambling as a form of economic development; and we encourage and fully support tribal efforts to diversify economically away from gambling. We support the strong enforcement of anti-gambling laws and, the repeal of all laws that give gambling an acceptable and even advantageous place in our society. It is expected that United Methodist churches abstain from the use of raffles, lotteries, bingo, door prizes, other drawing schemes, and games of chance for the purpose of
gambling or fundraising. United Methodists should refrain from all forms of gambling practices and work to influence community organizations and be supportive of American Indian tribes in developing forms of funding that do not depend upon gambling. Furthermore, it is incumbent upon local churches to reach out with love to individuals who are addicted, compulsive or problem gamblers and support efforts at recovery and rehabilitation. We oppose coalitions, groups, organizations, and campaigns which claim opposition to gambling, yet at the same time undermine or oppose tribal sovereignty, which fosters a climate of hate and racism. An alarming trend is the attempt to use local churches in order to increase support for this destructive agenda. We believe that these groups operate contrary to Christian teachings. Therefore we strongly discourage United Methodist members and local churches from participating in such efforts.

Economic Development for Native American Peoples
Approved by 2008 General Conference (Revision of Resolution #215)
Christians are called to celebrate and protect the worth and dignity of every human being
and to struggle against oppression and exploitation. We are called to "proclaim release to
the captives . . . to set at liberty those who are oppressed" (Luke 4:18, RSV).
Economic realities, such as "one world economies" and "mega-mergers," can have a negative impact on both the rich and poor of this world. Native American spirituality speaks to and challenges inequities with its understanding of how to care for the whole family of God. Native American United Methodists believe their cultural understanding of stewardship is God-given and has been distorted from its intended purpose; God's creation has been used with greed rather than care. Native Americans in The United Methodist Church believe that the Church must take a proactive stand for reform of church and society that will introduce a radically different model of economic relationships into the new century--a God-centered model. The United Methodist Church believes that models of economic development should not have a negative impact on Native American people.
For more than five hundred years, Native Americans have lived and survived in the context of first, colonialism and second, capitalism and have been impacted by the economics of greed. Many have been forced to live in poverty; however, a small segment of the Native American population is surviving through tribal economic development based on gambling. Unfortunately, tribal gambling casinos have had negative social consequences beyond and even within tribes. The need for economic development and growth is critically acute in most Native American communities across the United States. Economic conditions are appalling, with some reservations facing exceptionally high rates (some as high as 80-90 percent) of unemployment well above the national average.
In fact, many reservations have very high poverty rates in the United States and rank very low in health and education indicators. There is little or no tax base on many reservations. Equity for investment is practically nonexistent or equity comes from questionable sources and at an exorbitant rate. As a result, some tribes have resorted to gambling endeavors in an effort to improve their economies. However, the vast majority of tribes remain in desperate need of meaningful, diversified economic development.
Economic development encompasses everything from job creation to reform in tax codes, from the creation of banking institutions to the expansion of tribal autonomy; development of basic physical infrastructure (roads and sewers);, telecommunications to bridge the digital divide;, fiscal literacy development for Native American people. Collectively, these basic essentials are requirements for effective economic development.
Tribal sovereignty is historical, legal, and sacred to American Indian people. We affirm autonomous decision-making by Native American tribes. After all, the primary goal of economic development is to create self-sufficiency in Native American tribes. Ultimately, sovereignty ensures and enables tribes to deliberate and map out a strategy that will hopefully lead to self-sufficiency. The U.S. Department of the Interior has grossly mismanaged tribal lands and has lost track of billions of dollars in mining, logging, and other royalties that should have gone to benefit Native American tribes. Fiscal accountability and ethical management of trust funds is an absolute necessity in the quest for tribal economic self-sufficiency.
Therefore, be it resolved that The United Methodist Church:
1. Supports the efforts of sovereign Native American nations to create means and methods of economic development that do not depend on gambling and do not disrupt or destroy sacred sites.
2. Urges the U.S. government to affirm tribal sovereignty and work with Native American tribes in a genuine partnership to support economic development and trust reform.
3. Directs the General Board of Church and Society and the General Board of Discipleship in collaboration with Native Americans to develop educational tools for local churches and individuals as a study on contemporary Native American issues; especially tribal sovereignty as it relates to effective economic development. The studies should also include the Church’s role in influencing contemporary mission and ministry with Native people and create strategies and actions which can allow active participation of local churches in assisting Native Americans to find a God-centered alternative to gambling as a form of economic development.
4. Authorizes the General Board of Church and Society to work with the National Congress of American Indians and other Native American organizations in advocating for federal economic development programs and initiatives.
5. Encourages the General Board of Church and Society to facilitate participation of United Methodist Native Americans in the work of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and other advocacy events which influence economic development for Native Americans.
6. Urges the General Board of Global Ministries to support funding of economic development projects of Native American tribes.
7. Urges the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits to invest funds in Native American financial institutions and community organizations.

08 GC Resolutions

NOTE: Attached are the changes and/or new resolutions and Social Principles regarding Native Americans from 2008 General Conference. There are others from previous years (also in Appendix of text) that were not changed.

Social Principles
¶163.G Ammended by 2008 General Conference as follows:
Gambling is a menace to society, deadly to the best interests of moral, social, economic, and spiritual life, destructive of good government and good stewardship. As an act of faith and concern, Christians should abstain from gambling and should strive to minister to those victimized by the practice. Where gambling has become addictive, the Church will encourage such individuals to receive therapeutic assistance so that the individual's energies may be redirected into positive and constructive ends.
The Church acknowledges the dichotomy that can occur when opposing gambling while supporting American Indian tribal sovereignty and self-determination. Therefore the Church’s role is to create sacred space to allow for dialogue and education that will promote an holistic understanding of the American Indians’ historic quest for survival. The Church’s prophetic call is to promote standards of justice and advocacy that would make it unnecessary and undesirable to resort to commercial gambling—including public lotteries, casinos, raffles, Internet gambling, gambling with emerging wireless technology and other games of chance—as a recreation, as an escape, or as a means of producing public revenue or funds for support of charities or governments.




The petition was approved by General Conference 2008 without ammendments. Submitted by General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns
SAND CREEK MASSACRE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE SUPPORT
The United Methodist Church will contribute $50,000 to the development of the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site Research and Learning Center, and the General Conference directs the General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns to work with the United States National Park Service in the conveyance of the funds and in the development of the Research and Learning Center.
Rationale:
On November 29, 1864 at Sand Creek, Colorado, Colonel John Chivington, a Methodist lay preacher as well as commander of the local military district of the United States Army, led a combined force of 800 soldiers in an early morning attack on a Native American village in which the people had been given a guarantee of safety and security by United States representatives after their having been moved from their previous homelands to that location by the government.
As many as 180 men, women, and children of the village were killed in the event which has come to be called the Sand Creek Massacre. The United Methodist Church at its 1996 general conference expressed deep regret and apology for the actions of a prominent Methodist and reiterates its sorrow and its concern for the well-being of all Native American people.
The United States Government has designated the site of the event the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, and the National Park Service (NPS) which has management responsibility for the site has proposed development of a Research and Learning Center to promote awareness of the site and its use for Native American services of remembrance and commemoration.
The NPS estimates that $2,000,000 will be required to establish the Research and Learning Center, and the NPS proposes to raise $1,000,000 of this amount from the private sector which it will match





The Protection of Native American Sacred Sites
Amendments to Resolution 148 approved by General Conference 2008.
In 1978 and 1992, Congress passed legislation entitled "The American Indian Religious Freedom Act," and “The Religious Freedom Restoration Act” which declared that it was the policy of Congress to protect and preserve the inherent right of American Indians to believe, express, and practice their traditional religions.; Native American love for and identity with the land resonates with the theology of land in Scripture. The loss of sacred land leads to a loss of identity and even freedom for the people of Israel (Genesis 15:13), and that loss of freedom can prevent full religious expression, as the Psalmist asks, “How could we sing the Lord’s song in a foreign land?” (Psalms 137:4) Native American religious understandings of the sacredness of land resound and even precede the Christian theology of land by thousands of years. Today a crisis exists in that there is no real protection for the practice of traditional Indian religions within the framework of American constitutional or statutory law, and courts usually automatically dismiss Indian petitions without evidentiary hearings.; While Congress has passed many laws that are designed to protect certain kinds of lands and resources for environmental and historic preservation, none of these laws are designed to protect the traditional sacred sites of Native American tribes for the purpose of Native American traditional religious practice.;
The only existing law directly addressing this issue, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, is simply a policy that provides limited legal relief to aggrieved American Indian religious practitioners.; The 1992 General Conference of The United Methodist Church went on record as supporting the rights of all Native Americans, Christian and traditional alike, Therefore, the General Board of Church and Society shall continue to support legislation that will provide for a legal cause of action when sacred sites may be affected by governmental action; and proposed legislation should also provide for more extensive notice to and consultation with tribes and affected parties.; On behalf of the whole United Methodist Church, the General Board of Church and Society may enter and support court cases relating to the American Indian Religious Freedom Act.; The General Board of Church and Society shall communicate with the Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs, declaring that the position of The United Methodist Church, expressed through the 20080 General Conference, is to strengthen the American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 and preserve the God-given and constitutional rights of religious freedom for American Indians, including the preserving of traditional Native American sacred sites of worship. Social Principles, ¶ 164A.



Native American Tribal Sovereignty
Adopted as submitted, General Conference 2008
Indigenous people were once sole occupants of this continent. Scholars vary greatly in their estimates of how many people were living in the Americas when Columbus arrived in 1492; however estimates range from 40 million to 90 million for all of the Americas. 1 <> American Indian tribal populations were decimated after the arrival of Europeans. This decimation was rationalized according to (a) the European belief in their "discovery" of the new world, (b) the arrogance of “manifest destiny”,
(c) the cavalier destruction of the Native concept of tribal communal land, and (d) lack of immunity to diseases carried by Europeans to the Americas. ,According to the 2000 census, the American Indian population stands at 2.48 million people.
Prior to European contact, the indigenous nations of this continent were sovereign, autonomous and self-regulating. ;
During the American Revolution, American Indian tribes and confederations of tribes were recognized as sovereign indigenous nations in nation-to-nation relationships with the major European powers. Later, these relationships were maintained with the newly-formed U.S. government, which formulated 371 treaties with Indian nations between 1778-1871.;
Treaties are regarded as binding, sacred and enduring texts by American Indians and Alaska Natives, comparable to the U. S. Constitution and U.S. Bill of Rights. Therefore, it is disturbing that the U.S government ignored its trust responsibilities through the violation of treaties and other promises.;
Tribal sovereignty is an inherent international right of Native nations, and it encompasses various matters, such as jurisdiction over Indians and non-Indians on tribal lands, education and language, child welfare and religious freedom. Land is both the physical and spiritual foundation of tribal identity, as stated by Kidwell, Noley and Tinker (2001) in their book, A Native American Theology: "Land is today the basis upon which tribal sovereignty rests, the rights of Indian people to live upon, use and to govern in a political sense the members of the tribe who live on the land and those whose tribal membership gives them an association with it" (p. 15).; Early U.S. Supreme Court decisions support and affirm tribal sovereignty, most notably the Marshall trilogy of cases in the 19th century, and Winter v. S. (1908). However, recent Court decisions have ignored previous precedent and contradicted earlier rulings undermining tribal sovereignty.;
A survey conducted by an independent research firm demonstrateds that 75 percent of the American public supports tribal governance over Native lands, and 74 percent believe that federal and state officials should make tribal self-governance a priority. ;
A United Methodist Resolution 2 <>outlined support for the rights of Native people relative to self-determination and sovereignty, which includes the right of Native people to:
 be self-determining, and make their own decisions;
 plan for a future in this nation, and to expect a fulfillment of commitments that have been made previously by the government, as well as equitable treatment of those who were not afforded legal protection for their culture and lands; and exercise their sovereignty consistent with treaty provisions, executive orders, and acts of Congress.;
The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) has appealed to religious institutions and their congregations to urge the U.S. government to exercise moral responsibility in upholding treaty obligations and trust responsibilities with Native peoples. NCAI has implemented the Tribal Sovereignty Protection Initiative as a proactive effort to counter recent threats to tribal sovereignty from the federal government, especially within the U.S. Supreme Court that has disregarded the historic agreements with American Indian tribes.
Therefore, be it resolved that:
The United Methodist Church reaffirms its support for tribal sovereignty and commends the following guiding principles for the total Church:
Guiding Principles:
1. We believe in redemption, transformation, and reconciliation; people can change and that is representative of the incarnational witness in the world.
2. We believe in John Wesley’s directive to connect social and personal holiness; that advocacy and action, speaking out in the public square, truth-telling in love are intrinsic to who we are as United Methodists.
3. We believe that the intentions and politicization of Christianity distorted the Gospel/Good News for the purpose of colonization and must be decolonized.
4. We affirm that American Indian sovereignty: -Is a historical fact, is significant, and it cannot be disregarded in favor of political expediency. -American Indians have a right to self-govern. -Preserves culture, land, religious expression, and sacred spaces. -Ensures survival-allows for the survival of American Indian people
5. We need to demythologize and move from fiction to fact in our understanding of American Indians and Indian Country.
6. We affirm the sacredness of humankind -Affirming all persons as equally valuable in God’s sight. -Resources of the world are sacred and deplore practices of exploitation
7. We reject stereotypes and frames that depict American Indians as less than sacred or in harmful or distorted ways.
8. We observe that there are belief systems of Native American Indians and non-natives and that they do not always have commonality. (i.e. “Fair play” /Justice-e.g. land claims, treaties vs. constitutional rights, citizen’s rights)
In response to the Tribal Sovereignty Protection Initiative, the United Methodist Church:
1. Calls upon the United States government to exercise moral responsibility in upholding and honoring all treaty obligations and trust responsibilities to Native peoples;
2. Directs the General Board of Church and Society present this resolution to Members of the United States Congress, the President of the United States, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Interior-Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the National Congress of American Indians; and
3.Urges all clergy and laity to educate themselves and their congregations about historical and contemporary aspects of tribal sovereignty, including action steps that concerned individuals and congregations can take to support American Indians and Alaska and Hawaiian Natives.
(See R. 215)













Gambling (Amended Resolution 203 – General Conference 2008)
The Social Principles state that, "Gambling is a menace to society, deadly to the best interests of moral, social, economic, and spiritual life, and destructive of good government. As an act of faith and concern, Christians should abstain from gambling and should strive to minister to those victimized by the practice. Where gambling has become addictive, the church will encourage such individuals to receive therapeutic assistance so that the individual's energies may be redirected into positive and constructive ends. The church should promote standards and personal lifestyles that would make unnecessary and undesirable the resort to commercial gambling—including public lotteries—as a recreation, as an escape, or as a means of producing public revenue or funds for support of charities or government" (¶ 163)
When asked which commandment is first of all, Jesus answered, "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength" (Mark 12:29-30, NRSV). Gambling feeds on human greed and invites persons to place their trust in possessions rather than in God. It represents a form of idolatry that contradicts the first commandment. Jesus said “You shall love your neighbor as yourself'." (Mark 12:31b, NRSV). In relating with compassion and love to our sisters and brothers, we are called to resist those practices and systems that exploit and leave them impoverished and demeaned. The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Timothy 6:9-10a: "People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil." Gambling, as a means of acquiring material gain by chance and at the neighbor's expense, is a menace to personal character and social morality. Gambling fosters greed and stimulates the fatalistic faith in chance. Organized and commercial gambling is a threat to business, breeds crime and poverty, and is destructive to the interests of good government. It encourages the belief that work is unimportant, that money can solve all our problems, and that greed is the norm for achievement. It serves as a "regressive tax" on those with lower income. In summary, gambling is bad economics; gambling is bad public policy; and gambling does not improve the quality of life.
We oppose the growing legalization and promotion of gambling. Dependence on gambling revenue has led many governments to exploit the weakness of their own citizens, neglect the development of more equitable forms of taxation, and thereby further erode citizens' confidence in government.
We oppose the legalization of pari-mutuel betting1, for it has been the opening wedge in the legalization of other forms of gambling that has fostered the growth of illegal bookmaking. We deplore the establishment of lotteries and their use as a means of raising public revenues. The constant promotion and the wide advertising of lotteries have encouraged large numbers of persons to gamble for the first time.
We express our concern for the increasing development of the casino enterprises which haves taken captive entire communities and corrupted many levels of government with its fiscal and political power. Public apathy and a lack of awareness that petty gambling feeds organized crime have opened the door to the spread of numerous forms of legal and illegal gambling.
We especially express our deep concern at the rapid growth of two forms of gambling: Internet Gambling: Because computer usage is available in the privacy of one’s home and even in churches, the potential for access to gambling websites and addiction to Internet gambling is great. Internet Gambling is an international problem and it is virtually unregulated which has led to corruption, money laundering, and funding of terrorist organizations. Individuals and local churches should seek to educate themselves on the easy access to Internet gambling websites. The social cost of addiction to Internet gambling is great and leads to bankruptcy, suicide, and family discord. Young adults and senior citizens are among the most vulnerable populations at risk to gambling addiction. Parents and caregivers should take steps to ensure that children and the elderly with access to computers not be exposed to Internet gambling websites. Local Churches and Annual Conferences should provide educational resources for parents and caregivers on the dangers of Internet gambling and enact strict oversight of church-owned computers.
U.S. Tribal Gambling: We grieve over the expansion of gambling onto tribal reservations and lands. Gambling expansion on tribal lands has fostered racism and hate crimes, has caused discord between and among tribal members, and has led to divisions in churches and families. While we support tribal self-determination and self-governance, resorting to gambling as a form of economic development is regrettable. We acknowledge and recognize the dichotomy created when the Church’s positions oppose gambling and at the same time support tribal self-determination. We urge annual conferences and local churches, which reside near tribal casinos or are facing expansion of tribal gambling ventures, to build partnerships with churches on reservations and Indian lands to foster mutual trust and understanding of tribal history and of the United Methodist position on gambling without resorting to diminishing tribal sovereignty.
The church has a key role in fostering responsible government and in developing health and moral maturity that free persons from dependence on damaging social customs. We urge national, tribal, state and local governments to read, analyze and implement the recommendations of the National Gambling Impact Study report released by the United States in 1999. We encourage tribal governments to wean themselves from gambling as a form of economic development; and we encourage and fully support tribal efforts to diversify economically away from gambling. We support the strong enforcement of anti-gambling laws and, the repeal of all laws that give gambling an acceptable and even advantageous place in our society. It is expected that United Methodist churches abstain from the use of raffles, lotteries, bingo, door prizes, other drawing schemes, and games of chance for the purpose of gambling or fundraising. United Methodists should refrain from all forms of gambling practices and work to influence community organizations and be supportive of American Indian tribes in developing forms of funding that do not depend upon gambling. Furthermore, it is incumbent upon local churches to reach out with love to individuals who are addicted, compulsive or problem gamblers and support efforts at recovery and rehabilitation. We oppose coalitions, groups, organizations, and campaigns which claim opposition to gambling, yet at the same time undermine or oppose tribal sovereignty, which fosters a climate of hate and racism. An alarming trend is the attempt to use local churches in order to increase support for this destructive agenda. We believe that these groups operate contrary to Christian teachings. Therefore we strongly discourage United Methodist members and local churches from participating in such efforts.





















Economic Development for Native American Peoples
Approved by 2008 General Conference (Revision of Resolution #215)
Christians are called to celebrate and protect the worth and dignity of every human being and to struggle against oppression and exploitation. We are called to "proclaim release to the captives . . . to set at liberty those who are oppressed" (Luke 4:18, RSV).
Economic realities, such as "one world economies" and "mega-mergers," can have a negative impact on both the rich and poor of this world. Native American spirituality speaks to and challenges inequities with its understanding of how to care for the whole family of God. Native American United Methodists believe their cultural understanding of stewardship is God-given and has been distorted from its intended purpose; God's creation has been used with greed rather than care. Native Americans in The United Methodist Church believe that the Church must take a proactive stand for reform of church and society that will introduce a radically different model of economic relationships into the new century--a God-centered model. The United Methodist Church believes that models of economic development should not have a negative impact on Native American people.
For more than five hundred years, Native Americans have lived and survived in the context of first, colonialism and second, capitalism and have been impacted by the economics of greed. Many have been forced to live in poverty; however, a small segment of the Native American population is surviving through tribal economic development based on gambling. Unfortunately, tribal gambling casinos have had negative social consequences beyond and even within tribes. The need for economic development and growth is critically acute in most Native American communities across the United States. Economic conditions are appalling, with some reservations facing exceptionally high rates (some as high as 80-90 percent) of unemployment well above the national average.
In fact, many reservations have very high poverty rates in the United States and rank very low in health and education indicators. There is little or no tax base on many reservations. Equity for investment is practically nonexistent or equity comes from questionable sources and at an exorbitant rate. As a result, some tribes have resorted to gambling endeavors in an effort to improve their economies. However, the vast majority of tribes remain in desperate need of meaningful, diversified economic development.
Economic development encompasses everything from job creation to reform in tax codes, from the creation of banking institutions to the expansion of tribal autonomy; development of basic physical infrastructure (roads and sewers);, telecommunications to bridge the digital divide;, fiscal literacy development for Native American people. Collectively, these basic essentials are requirements for effective economic development.
Tribal sovereignty is historical, legal, and sacred to American Indian people. We affirm autonomous decision-making by Native American tribes. After all, the primary goal of economic development is to create self-sufficiency in Native American tribes. Ultimately, sovereignty ensures and enables tribes to deliberate and map out a strategy that will hopefully lead to self-sufficiency. The U.S. Department of the Interior has grossly mismanaged tribal lands and has lost track of billions of dollars in mining, logging, and other royalties that should have gone to benefit Native American tribes. Fiscal accountability and ethical management of trust funds is an absolute necessity in the quest for tribal economic self-sufficiency.
Therefore, be it resolved that The United Methodist Church:
1. Supports the efforts of sovereign Native American nations to create means and methods of economic development that do not depend on gambling and do not disrupt or destroy sacred sites.
2. Urges the U.S. government to affirm tribal sovereignty and work with Native American tribes in a genuine partnership to support economic development and trust reform.
3. Directs the General Board of Church and Society and the General Board of Discipleship in collaboration with Native Americans to develop educational tools for local churches and individuals as a study on contemporary Native American issues; especially tribal sovereignty as it relates to effective economic development. The studies should also include the Church’s role in influencing contemporary mission and ministry with Native people and create strategies and actions which can allow active participation of local churches in assisting Native Americans to find a God-centered alternative to gambling as a form of economic development.
4. Authorizes the General Board of Church and Society to work with the National Congress of American Indians and other Native American organizations in advocating for federal economic development programs and initiatives.
5. Encourages the General Board of Church and Society to facilitate participation of United Methodist Native Americans in the work of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and other advocacy events which influence economic development for Native Americans.
6. Urges the General Board of Global Ministries to support funding of economic development projects of Native American tribes.
7. Urges the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits to invest funds in Native American financial institutions and community organizations.