Native American Ministries
The Desert Southwest Conference is blessed to have among its many diverse faith communities, Native American Ministries. The Native American Ministries Team is led by chair Rev. Tweedy Sombrero, of Trinity United Methodist Church in Yuma, Arizona.
The Native American Ministries Team is dedicated to undergirding current Native American faith communities in Phoenix, Fort Yuma and Page. We desire to surface and nurture new leadership for our ministry work, and respond to issues of social justice that face indigenous people. If you would like to join the Native American Ministries Team, please contact Rev. Sombrero.
WALK TO EMMAUS
The season of Spring will soon be upon us and as the church moves into this wonderful season, there will be many churches hosting the Walk to Emmaus. This particular retreat is one of spiritual journey for many persons who want a deeper walk with God through Jesus Christ his Son.
I personally have not ever been on a walk and really have not had the desire to go until recently. I now serve a church in Yuma and many people here have been on this walk. As I watch them and hear them talk, I begin to think that maybe I would like to go on this walk. As a Pastor, I have been to many gatherings here in Yuma. The potlucks are great (of course), the fellowship grand and the meditations and singing are outstanding. I'm not always crazy about the questions that are asked but I still participate in answering them.
And so began my journey in whether I was going to walk or not. I started asking questions to other pastors about their walk, their experience and their understanding. Then I began to ask lay persons about their walk. I was coming to the conclusion that maybe this might be the year for me to attend, when one day I was attending a gathering and realized one of the reasons for my hesitation. I didn't want to be called a PILGRIM. I am a full blooded Native American and when I made this statement out loud, I heard a person chuckle.
When I made the statement even louder, many persons came to me trying to explain what the word meant. I know what the word means and I know what they meant by saying PILGRIM, I am not stupid! Yet my soul was uneasy and as the evening passed no one really understood what I was going through. Everything in side me was crying for my people, all the pain and hurt passed through my soul like the wind, as tears filled my eyes. People thought I was moved by the gathering when I was actually in pain.
I cannot go on this walk! I have to stand with my people and stand proud as a full blooded Navajo. I know the walk is not asking me to not stand with my people but no one seems to want to understand what it is I am going through. So on facebook I called out to all the UM Native Americans and asked them, how many of them have been on the walk. None of them have and I am not alone in the struggle for what this word stands for us. When we had our Native American Committee meeting, I talked about this with the committee and one of the Navajo women there said, "I went on the walk and that word bothered me and I kept trying to figure out why they were using that word, and calling me that." No one even bothered explaining to her what it was all about.
I then called the Board of Discipleship and left a message. To this day, sad to say I was never called back. So is the walk really for everyone? As a Native American, I have my own way of having spiritual retreats. Must I always have to go to one that is not even sensitive to who I am? So when is the church going to come and join me in sweat lodges or ceremonies, which are spiritual retreats for me? And I can promise you one thing for sure, is that we won't even call you by a different name that is not yours. As I continue to wrestle with this, may I add, this is a good time to wrestle with this for this is lent season. Please pray for me as I always pray for all of you.
In Jesus Name
Rev. Tweedy Navarrete Sombrero
Chair of Native American Ministries Committee
In The News
Severe Weather Devastating to US Reservations
The severe winter weather has been deadly to reservations throughout the United States, particularly in the northern part of the country as well as in the higher elevations. We know that in the Four Corners area UMCOR has been dropping off blankets for reservation residents, and food has been air-dropped into remote areas. Reservation areas in the United States equal the poverty in Haiti, and in some areas the poverty is worse.
Please do all you can to support Conference Native American ministries. For more information as to how you can help, please contact Rev. Tweedy Sombrero. There continues to be need in the Page area, both at the higher elevations as well as in the deep mud left behind from the winter storms. Dollars are needed for fuel and shelter needs.
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Native American Ministries Sunday
This year churches across the connection will celebrate Native American Ministries Sunday on April 18th, 2010, or on a Sunday of their choice fitting with the life of the local church.
In 1988, the General Conference of the United Methodist Church passed a petition from the Native American International Caucus to celebrate this Special Sunday with both awareness and a designated offering. The offering that is collected educates Native American seminarians, plants Native American churches, and cultivates Native American outreach. Native American Ministries Sunday serves to remind the Church of the gifts and contributions made by Native Americans to our society.
Letters will be mailed out to Desert Southwest Conference clergy the first week of March regarding more information on how you can participate this year.
Please contact CONAM Chair Rev. Tweedy Sombrero for more information on this special offering or how to invite a speaker to come to your church. Email: tweedyandfelipe(at)yahoo.com or check information from the general church at: http://www.umcgiving.org/site/c.qwL6KkNWLrH/b.3833863/
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Havasupai / ASU Case
(see article & updates below)
Recently the tribe saw victory with the Arizona Supreme Court on a procedural issue which allowed the cases to be reinstated. The case has returned to the Trial Court for a full trial on the merits. A recent status conference hearing that had been scheduled for September, was postponed for 2 months. The case is now in its sixth year.
At the June 2009 session of Annual Conference, members voted to fully support the tribe in its efforts, and to urge the court system to proceed in the judicial process. Our Bishop has written a letter in support of the Havasupai tribe, and other Conference boards and agencies are showing their support.
Phoenix Magazine - Broken Arrow: did Arizona State University
Genetically Rape the Havasupai Tribe? - A Must Read
This disturbing story is in the Nomber 2008 issue of Phoenix Magazine. Written by well known journalist Jana Bommersbach, the article chronicles the current legal battle between the Havasupai Tribe and Arizona State University about the tribe's claim of misued blood samples. The article can be accessed online at www.phoenixmag.com . Between 1990 and 1992, more than 200 blood samples were drawn, gathered under the pretense of studying the high rate of diabetes among tribe members. Unauthorized research followed, samples were used to study schizophrenia, inbreeding and prehistoric migration. Running contrary to Havasupai beliefs, the research never would have been permitted by tribal leadership, court records show.
In late 2008, The Arizona Court of Appeals reinstated the lawsuit. This action reversed an earlier decision to dismiss two previous lawsuits. The earlier suits were dismissed ostensibly because the claims did not clearly specify how the plantiffs had been harmed and why they deserved the damage award. The case is currently moving forward.