Ask an Indian: Part 2

Sarah and guest “answerers” Mark Charles and Phil Fox continue the conversation from the last episode. Questions include:

Settlers are often told to seek relationship with local Native people. But what if Native folks don’t seem to want this? What does it really mean to build right relationship with Native people?
I have grown up and lived most of my life with an understanding of human progress, that each successive generation lived better than the generation prior. Our medical treatments improve; our scientific knowledge advances; our technology gets better and better. For a variety of reasons, I am now questioning this view. Please comment on the idea of human progress. In particular, please share your thoughts on the idea of human progress in the area of morality. Dr. King famously said “The arc of the moral universe is long, but leans towards justice.“ But as I learn more about Indigenous societies, I am no longer confident that our modern society is more just than certain societies many centuries ago.
Mark also returns to the first question asked in our last podcast episode: How can you practice Christianity and your own Indigenous spirituality at the same time? Can you be true to yourself and your Indigenous identity and be a Christian at the same time?

Please consider signing the "I Support the Sacred" petition to show your support for Apache Stronghold's legal case to protect Oak Flat. Resolution Copper, a subsidiary of British and Australian mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP, proposes to completely destroy this sacred site and contaminate the surrounding land, water and air. Preserving the religious liberty of Apache peoples is essential to preserving our own. We must all join together to protect sacred land from the forces of destruction.

Sarah and Sheri wrote a book together! Find out more about So We and Our Children May Live: Following Jesus in Confronting the Climate Crisis here. We are also publishing a Substack with the same title based on the theme found in our book — ecological justice, decolonization, faith, and where we find hope for our future. We’re excited about this Substack because it’s a more personal, unfiltered space in which we can share our thoughts and writings. Please contact Sheri at [email protected] if you can’t afford the price and would like a complimentary subscription.

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