Native American problems—Obama’s cabinet and Episcopal Church on the same page?

November 7, 9:37 PMBoston Episcopal ExaminerCoralie Jensen

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AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais Tribal Leaders in DC

On Thursday during the White House Tribal Nations Conference at the Interior Department in Washington, President Obama signed a memorandum for closer consultation between Native America tribes and the federal government. This was the first meeting of its kind in 15 years.

Leaders from 386 tribal nations watched as the president ordered every Cabinet agency to find ways to cooperate with the nations in their class-action lawsuit claiming that the federal government has long swindled the indigenous tribes out of land royalties.

During the conference, Interior Department officials and leaders discussed the problems:

1. economic development,
2. education,
3. health care,
4. public safety and
5. housing.

During July’s General Convention 2009 in Anaheim, the Episcopal Church passed six resolutions. Two of them included D035, “Repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery,” and A155, “To Establish a Program for the Alleviation of Domestic Poverty,” that calls the church to:

1. Recognize the pressing challenges to those living in poverty and the working poor throughout this nation;
2. Call for new and innovative strategies to address issues related to nutrition, employment, childcare, education, healthcare, environment and housing, as well as equal protect under the law and cultural affirmations;
3. Establish a community development initiative in Native Peoples' communities in the new triennium, recognizing the Native People live in some of the poorest counties in the United States and are experiencing increasing disparities in income, economic security, health and healthcare, and quality of life;
4. Ensure this community development initiative emerge from the visions and voices of the local Native Peoples, address community development opportunities using asset-based community development models, identify key federal, state, and local advocacy issues and access the abundant human and financial resources of The Episcopal Church.

The idea that the Episcopal Church can do ministries by actually working with the Native Americans to solve the problems is something that may now be picked up by the U.S. Government. According to an editorial in the November 7th Deseret News:

In the past, money has served as a substitute for involvement with the tribes. And, indeed, so far the administration has sent $3 billion in stimulus money to "Indian country." But more than money, respect and justice are the true currency in any relationship between Washington, D.C., and American Indians.