Native American and Indigenous Dimensions

 

"You are not alone. I know it has been said many times, but it always bears repeating: you are not alone. There are many of us who share your values and visions. There are many who offer you their strength and support, who remember you in prayer, who are grateful for your presence in their lives. You are part of a deep community, an ancient community, one that will be with you always. Whatever direction you take, you never walk alone. You have the angels of this world and the ancestors of the next to help you and guide you. I know it has been said many times, but it needs saying again: you are not alone."---The Rt. Rev. Steven Charleston

"The Ghost Dance was brought to Native American people by the prophet, Wovoka. In the last decade of the 19th century his dance unified indigenous people in praying for an end to their suffering under American racism. It emerged from a vision Wovoka had of the afterlife. He saw the ancestors, the “ghosts”, living in peace. One of the less well known things about his vision is that it included those very Americans who were oppressing his people. The Ghost Dance was a visionary effort of racial reconciliation. It proclaimed our common humanity, even after long histories of conflict. From the ancient vision of Native America we are all related and we are all equal in the eyes of the Spirit."
---The Rt. Rev. Steven Charleston, Native American/Indigenous Ministries of the Episcopal Church