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Rough sailing for Columbus

18 Oct 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday's gospel Jesus criticizes earthly rulers who "lord it over" those in their power. Critics of Christopher Columbus, who returned to Spain with indigenous slaves in tow and opened the door to harsh exploitation of Native Americans, have been managing in many places to change the focus of the Columbus Day holiday celebrated on the second Monday of October. Philadelphia's annual Columbus Day parade was canceled. Brown University this year renamed the holiday "Fall Weekend" following a campaign by a Native American student group opposed to celebrating an explorer who helped enslave some of the people he "discovered." Mike Graham, founder of United Native America, a group fighting for a federal holiday honoring Native Americans, would like to see Columbus Day renamed "Italian Heritage Day" and put somewhere else on the calendar, with the second Monday in October renamed "Native American Day." South Dakota already calls it that. Other organizations want to rename the day "Indigenous Peoples' Day," as several California cities have done. In the classroom many teachers have been trying to present a more balanced perspective of what happened after Columbus reached the Caribbean that includes examination of the suffering of indigenous populations. "The whole terminology has changed," said James Kracht, executive associate dean for academic affairs at the Texas A&M College of Education and Human Development. "You don't hear people using the word 'discovery' anymore like they used to: 'Columbus discovers America.' Because how could he discover America if there were already people living here?" Columbus' defenders aren't prepared to watch their hero's holiday sail off the edge of the earth, however. They said he should be celebrated for risking his life to explore the world and for forging modern ties between Europe and the Americas. Source: Articles by Conor Dougherty and Sudeep Reddy for the Wall Street Journal and Christine Armario for the Associated Press

Teaching indigenous peoples day native american day united native america mike graham brown university native americans columbus day christopher columbus philadelphia james kracht

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Questions linger after bin Laden

08 May 2011 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The disciples on the road to Emmaus had many of their questions answered by their mysterious fellow traveler who turned out to be the risen Lord. Now that the mystery surrounding Osama bin Laden’s whereabouts has been laid to rest, questions of ethics and judgment have arisen in connection with the military operation that ended his life. It was revealed Tuesday that contrary to earlier accounts bin Laden was unarmed when he was shot to death by U.S. special forces. White House officials defended the killing, however, pointing out that there had been heavy fire from others in the house and that the commandos did not know whether the occupants were wearing suicide belts or other explosives. Trying to quell another brewing controversy, President Obama said Wednesday he's decided not to release death photos of bin Laden because their graphic nature could incite violence and create national security risks for the United States. "There's no doubt we killed Osama bin Laden," and there is no need to release the photographs or gloat, the president said. And even in this moment of national unity, partisan differences emerged over the contentious issue of the “enhanced interrogation techniques” such as water-boarding, enforced sleep deprivation, and painful shackling that were authorized by former President George W. Bush and have elsewhere been condemned as a form of torture. Chairman of the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee Rep. Peter T. King (R, N.Y.) claimed early this week that the success of the hunt for bin Laden was due to information gleaned from water-boarding prisoners. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D, Calif.), chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said just as flatly that “none of it came as a result of harsh interrogation practices.” Even a code name used in the operation is generating controversy. Native American leaders are upset that the government used the name Geronimo for Osama bin Laden. Fort Sill Apache Tribal Chairman Jeff Houser sent a letter to the president Tuesday saying that equating the legendary Apache warrior to a "mass murderer and cowardly terrorist" was painful and offensive to all Native Americans. "Right now Native American children all over this country are facing the reality of having one of their most revered figures being connected to a terrorist and murderer of thousands of innocent Americans," Houser wrote. "Think about how they feel at this point." And the manner in which bin Laden was located has started to raise larger questions about the purpose of the U.S.’s open-ended and costly global “war on terror,” now stretching into its 10th year. “Interesting that the over 100,000 troops in Afghanistan had nothing to do with the killing of Osama bin Laden even though that is why we invaded that country 10 years ago,” commented the author of a justice and peace blog post from the Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration of LaCrosse Wisconsin. “Equally interesting that the troops who have been in Iraq, our other war since 2003, were also not involved.” Source: Articles by Mark Halperin for TIME, Susan Montoya Bryan and Matthew Daly for the Associated Press, and a blog post at fspajusticeandpeace.wordpress.com

barack obama interrogation native americans peter king osama bin laden dianne feinstein geronimo jeff house

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Is there a path to a peaceful pipeline settlement?

04 Dec 2016 - Preaching the News for the Second Sunday of Advent, Cycle A

The author of the book of the prophet Isaiah promises that the “shoot of Jesse” will bring a "spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength.” Members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and fellow protesters at the site of the Dakota Access Pipeline are calling on pipeline builders and authorities to exercise wisdom and understanding and divert the pipeline from what the protesters consider sacred grounds. Thus far, authorities have shown little spirit to dialogue. Protesters fighting to block the Dakota Access Pipeline nevertheless have vowed to stand their ground despite growing calls for them to leave and threats of prosecution from law enforcement. Since late summer, protesters have stood beside members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in North Dakota who believe the $3.7 billion pipeline project, which would move 470,000 barrels of crude oil a day across four states, would affect its drinking water supply and place downstream communities at risk of contamination from potential oil spills. Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman Dave Archambault said the protest would continue even though protesters have been ordered to vacate an area where they have set up camp by December 5. “We are in for the long haul,” said Chase Iron Eyes, a member of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. A week ago, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers warned that activists who refuse to leave could face arrest. Since the statement's release, however, officials have backtracked, saying they have no plans to forcibly remove those who stay. Now, less than a week before the deadline, North Dakota Governor Jack Dalrymple has ordered protesters to clear out immediately, citing a reason other than trespassing: harsh winter conditions. In a statement, he said the protesters' temporary dwellings have yet to be inspected and approved, and failure to do so posed serious public safety concerns. He added that first responders would no longer be responsible for providing emergency services to those who remained. North Dakota officials on Tuesday moved to block supplies from reaching oil pipeline protesters at a camp near the construction site, threatening to use hefty fines to keep demonstrators from receiving such critical supplies as food, building materials, and even portable bathrooms. State officials said on Tuesday they would fine anyone bringing prohibited items into the main protest camp following Dalrymple's “emergency evacuation” order on Monday. Earlier, officials had warned of a physical blockade, but the governor's office backed away from that. Law enforcement would take a more “passive role” than enforcing a blockade, said Maxine Herr, a spokeswoman for the Morton County Sheriff's Department. “The governor is more interested in public safety than setting up a road block and turning people away,” said Herr. Officers will stop vehicles they believe are headed to the camp and inform drivers they are committing an infraction and could be fined $1,000. There will be no “hard road block,” according to Cecily Fong, a spokeswoman for the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services, but these penalties should serve as a hindrance. “So that effectively is going to block that stuff (supplies), but there is not going to be a hard road block,” Fong said. The 1,172-mile pipeline project, owned by Texas-based Energy Transfer Partners LP, is mostly complete except for a segment planned to run under Lake Oahe, a reservoir formed by a dam on the Missouri River. Thousands of people are protesting at camps located on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers land, north of the Cannonball River in Cannon Ball, North Dakota. The main protest camp is called Oceti Sakowin, near Cannon Ball. Protest leaders said state officials and local law enforcement officers were “bullying” protesters with the threat of fines. “It's bogus and I don't know about the legality of it,” said Kandi Mossett, an organizer with Indigenous Environmental Network. “We're not afraid. We're moving in and out of the camp at will. So people shouldn't be afraid of coming and supporting the water protectors. They've been bullying us since day one.” Lessons drawn from the readings John the Baptist appeared, preaching in the desert of Judea and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” We have heard assurances many times that oil pipelines are safe, and mostly they are—until something goes wrong and they leak or burst. Before running a pipeline under the Missouri River, there is still time to rethink, reroute, repent. But as John might say, the time is at hand! Final thought in light of the news The hundreds of arrests during the months of protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota have created an unprecedented burden for the state’s court system, which faces huge cost overruns and doesn’t have enough judges, lawyers, and clerks to handle the workload. Police have made nearly 575 arrests since August. Isn’t there a better way to work out differences than mass arrests? It behooves all involved in this controversy to sit down and try to work out a compromise. Surely there should be enough land and space for tribal lands and water supplies to remain undisturbed.

dakota access pipeline oil pipelines native americans sacred grounds

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Fact of the week

04 Dec 2016 - Preaching the News for the Second Sunday of Advent, Cycle A

Thirty-eight miles of the Dakota Access Pipeline cuts through territory that still belongs to Native Americans, based on a 1851 treaty signed at Fort Laramie in Wyoming. The sacred land at the center of the Dakota pipeline dispute

dakota access pipeline native americans treaty

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