Reverend Calvin Hill outlines the four “C’s” of Cross-Cultural Outreach and Discipleship from the Indigenous perspective in a recent article written for the UMC Discipleship Ministries website. Rev. Hill gives clear instructions to decolonize our liturgies and rituals. He outlines the ways that Clarity, Consistency, Communication, and Compassion are needed. Today’s Indigenous People do not want to maintain assimilation rituals. Many know the reality of spirituality and want expressions of spiritual formation that ensure the survival of creation. Read the entire article at: https://www ..read more

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 25, 2023 Contact: Morgan Pottle Urquhart, 207-659-4064, Ariel Ricci, 207-530-7437 AUGUSTA – The Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous, and Tribal Populations issued the following statement after the Maine House of Representatives failed by a vote of 61 to 61 to override Governor Mills’ veto of LD 398,“An Act to Make Agricultural Workers and Other Related Workers Employees under the Wage and Hour Laws.” The bill would have established farmworkers as employees under Maine law, making them eligible to be paid the state’s minimum wage.   ..read more

Book Resources The Committee on Native American Ministries has created this list of book resources to allow people to educate themselves on Indigenous culture, New England contexts of Indigenous people and some of the issues that face Indigenous people. NEAC Book Recommendations ..read more

This November, during Indigenous Peoples’ History Month, the New England Conference Committee on Native American Ministries is encouraging churches in the New England churches to challenge the histories in their towns and cities. Too often, city and town histories are white washed and Indigenous stories are lost or misrepresented.  Stories are often told by the victor, and in most cases these stories are written by white individuals that lived in these places soon after the events they are writing about. This is a chance to learn more about the history of the town or city that you live i ..read more

Back in May 2022, our committee created an important video to encourage people to wear RED to honor Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. The video can be viewed here. One of our members, Todd Warfield, worked with St. John’s United Methodist Church to create a Red Dress Art Display. Over twenty red dresses were put on display outside on the church grounds. Two dresses were displayed within the front entry way of the church as well to remind those worshipping that Sunday of the event and the cause. Individuals were provided a brochure explaining why this exhibit existed and ho ..read more

MMIWG Awareness The New England Committee on Native American Ministries created a video for churches to use for Native American Ministries Sunday. It is designed to bring awareness to the issue of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) and encouraging individuals to wear red on May 5th. May 5th is the National Day of Awareness for Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls. The video is available here ..read more

Education is a crucial first step The New England Conference Committee on Native American Ministries encourages everyone to read this important story by United Methodist News on the history and impact of Native American Boarding Schools. Here’s the link to the UM News story:    https://www.umnews.org/ en/news/pastor-reflects-on-dark-days-at-indian-boarding-schools Day of repentance called for Oct. 6 The Native American International Caucus of The United Methodist Church is calling on United Methodists to observe Oct. 6 this year as a day of truth and repentance for children who ..read more

In 2015, at Annual Conference, the New England Conference held their Act of Repentance service. Jesus taught in parables, in stories, including the parable of the sower that offers images of the kind of conditions in which things cannot grow, in which things cannot flourish and increase and yield their most. And Jesus reminds us that we must listen deeply in order to learn and to change. In our opening worship, we engage in the beginning of an Act of Repentance regarding the Church’s history of the oppression of indigenous persons. Pat Warrior Woman Parent, chair of the Conference Committee o ..read more

by Todd Warfield I am a member of the New England Conference Committee on Native American Ministries and as such I get to attend regional meetings. This year, our yearly meeting was held in Carlisle, PA. I knew we were going to tour the Carlisle Barracks, which is where the Carlisle Indian School was in the late 1800’s through early 1900’s. For those who don’t know, Indian boarding schools became a way to deal with the Indian “problem”. In the beginning, Army Lt. Richard Henry Pratt was in charge of 72 Indian prisoners who had been fighting the Army in the southern plains. Pratt transported t ..read more

Patricia Warrior Woman Parent, chair New England Conference Committee on Native American Ministries (CONAM), shares this piece on how United Methodists in New England can fulfill our vow at the 2015 Annual Conference to stand with and support our Native American brothers and sisters. “And so this is Christmas – and what have you done? Another year over, a new one just begun.” So wrote the late John Lennon many years ago, a question of challenge to the complacent who have, about those who have not. I was thinking of this song as I put together my thoughts for this piece. At our 2015 Annual C ..read more