Southside Presbyterian Church’s the Rev. Alison Harrington is speaking the truth on the Huffington Post.
(Southside Presbyterian has been part of a new emergence of the Sanctuary Movement. The church has housed undocumented mother Rosa Robles Loreto for nearly one year as she fights her deportation order.)
To paraphrase, this country is continuing to do what’s been done since the conquest: devaluing and trying to destroy all that is sacred to Native American tribes, over some man-made rule that Christian religious traditions and practices are above the beliefs and traditions of Native Americans. The most recent example being Oak Flat.
Harrington points to an op-ed in the New York Times by Lydia Millet, where she says that if Oak Flat were a Christian, Jewish or Muslim holy site, no senator “who wished to remain in office would dare to sneak a backdoor deal for its destruction into a spending bill—no matter what mining company profits or jobs might result.”
As the fight to save Oak Flat from the hooves of money-hungry politicians and Resolution Cooper mining, be aware of Christian privilege. “And I must confess that as much as I think about privilege related to my race, class and sexual orientation, I have not spent enough time thinking about what it means to have Christian privilege,” she writes.
Here’s part of her post. I highly recommend reading the rest, here.
Of course, there are those who will argue that somehow Christianity is under attack and perhaps not surprisingly, their arguments sound a lot like the arguments of those who say the Confederate Flag shouldn’t be removed. But the truth is that not only are our religious traditions respected but they are defended viciously from every corner when there is even a perceived slight to us. And even as these same people fight to defend constitutionally guaranteed religious freedoms, the religious traditions of native peoples are outright dismissed and denigrated and at best co-opted for our own enlightenment and entertainment. Its time for us to be honest about this privilege and the way in which this mentality is threatening to destroy Oak Flat.
In the beginning of July, members of the Apache Stronghold began a journey to Washington, D.C. in their struggle to defend Oak Flat. As they journey, it is my hope that white Christians might also be inspired to begin a journey of our own as well; a journey deep into our own history and religious traditions; a journey of courage as we seek to be painstakingly honest with ourselves about the way in which our faith and our holy texts have been manipulated and used as a deadly weapon against this earth and against native people. We need to be really honest with ourselves about our own complicity in the mentality that sees no problem treating sacred land like a commodity and the religious practices of native people as something less than our own practices.
This article appears in Jul 9-15, 2015.
Wow – how much guilt can one person have for nothing but the birth color of their skin.
Does the pastor have guilt for the murder of Kate Steinle, murdered by a low life piece of scum illegal alien guilty of multiple felonies. Or how about all the violence, the kidnappings, the beatings, the shootings happening right here in Tucson at the hands of illegals.
After all, it’s her support, and the ‘progressives’ sanctuary of illegals that led directly to her death.
We are watching the convergence of religion and government. Can you identify the prevalent one?
So harboring one illegal/undocumented woman in a church led directly to the shooting death of a woman at the hands of a totally unrelated illegal/undocumented male in SF who had been deported five times? Directly. Right.
Also a complete red herring as this story is about the hypocrisy of stuffing a land swap deal for a sacred area (Oak Flat) into a defense spending bill by bought politicians (after numerous tries and failures to get the swap approved on its own merit) to benefit a foreign mining corporation at the expense of local interests and Native heritage and religious practices. No such back room nonsense would ever happen at the expense of christian religious sites or groups.
Christian Privilege? That is a new one. Follow the money, nothing to do with religion. The powers that be will rip off profit no matter without regard for race, color, or creed.
Christian privileged is a delusion. Christianity and Judaism are under attack to make way for secularism. If Christianity was so prized by our government, why is Pastor Saeed still still rotting in a prison in Iraq when his release could have been a condition of the deal that Kerry/Obama just struck with Iraq. Liberals are insane and delusional.
The best way for people to steal what they want is to claim everybody else is privileged. From housing to banking to education to healthcare. What next reduced purchase pricing for gold jewelry for the poor?
It also gets one political party lots of votes without spending their own money.
The first problem is that you read the Huffington Post. Expand your mind and read other sources.
Mining companies have been exploring this area for more than 50 years. And only now we are hearing claims that this area is a scared site. It really makes one wonder about the validity of these claims, particularly when there are members of the San Carlos tribe, who state, “Oak Flat is not Holy Ground.”
Link
http://www.eacourier.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/letter-to-the-editor-return-the-holy-ground-crosses-from/article_db1423ea-1f7e-11e5-8e59-c354f02c70ca.html
Every hill, large rock, flat area, etc. can be called a holy site.
I wonder if they’d change their tune if the Apaches go a 50% stake. Of course the tribe doesn’t want land they’ve used destroyed for white owners’ enrichment. Just look at how the Hopis fought the Snowbowl ski area for ever (they get no money from the area), while the Apaches rake in the dough from developing every mountain around sunrise peak for a ski area. Nevermind that area is as ‘holy’ as Oak Flat.
I think it is amazing that there are so many justifications here for a ‘land swap’ which the rightful owners do not want for whatever reason. They are being stolen and it is no different than any other land theft the U.S. has done for a variety of entitlement reasons for decades and decades when the Native Americans have something they want. It doesn’t matter what this one is called. It doesn’t matter bslap what they use it for. It is theirs and we are taking it. I don’t think this is an assault on Christianity. I think people want to sidetrack theft to make it look different. Talk to the Native Americans who received land in the Phoenix area who have been trying to build a casino and our governors block them. THey were given terrible land and are doing their best to make money off of it. However, now the governors (Brewer also) are blocking it. So quit the lies folks. If you support the people who ‘arranged this land swap’ then you are justifying theft…. again and again. You are also justifying white entitlement for whatever reason… I don’t care if any of you nor do they care if you understand their ‘holy site’. It is theirs and they can call it whatever they want. I don’t care what the Apaches do with their land . It is theirs. BTW for those of you who feel it is an assault on Christianity, there is a commandment that says, “Thou shalt not steal”. Don’t be a hypocrite.
Oh and just in case any of you are wondering what the outcome is of Brewer and Ducey holding up the building of the casino in the Phoenix area: THe courts did rule in favor of the Native Americans and now they (the last I read) are trying to figure out how much money is owed the Native Americans… I have heard 100s of millions to over a billion for holding up the creation of their business which caused the Natives to lose a vast amount of money.
So now the state under Republican leadership owes at least 100s of millions to Native Americans because it is their land to do with as they wish, it owes education 1.2 billion for stealing the taxes voters said they wanted to go to education and now they are stealing again.
The amazing part is that so many on these blogs support the corruption and harm to education, to Native Americans, to people in general. A discussion about illegals or anything else is moot or a red herring. Look at what the Republican leadership is doing in this state.
I started to read this again as a point of understanding reasoning of the argument. When I have read extensively on the Apache Indians and Arizona History. The Apache and Navajo didn’t come to the southwest till around 1350 AD fighting and killing all the way till they found the refuge off the plains to the mountains in the west. At that point they decimated the indigenous tribes and took over making their lands Scared lands. Can anyone tell me why their triumphs over others should prevail?
artifacts… because they were here and we took their land. With your reasoning, we don’t have any right to the land in the U.S if someone else decides they want it. We have done unspeakable things to Native Americans. Did you read your history on that? Even in peaceful communities where ‘white men’ were allowed, Natives were hounded because their spiritual beliefs were ‘wrong’. So then it was ‘suggested’ they move west. Some stayed and were allocated little huts on the edge of town where I lived. I read the history of where I grew up.
We have such a generational sense of entitlement, many do not even know how we are just stealing land again like our ancestors. Treaties were broken. Agreements were broken. Ducey and Brewer and ??? broke the agreements we had with these tribes. We are still doing it. Where is our integrity? It doesn’t appear Arizona has much…. at least from what I can tell. I don’t care what they do with their land as long as we leave them alone for God’s sake. I think I have said it before but I will say it again… I am a Christian and cannot be quiet when people do and say things to defend their faith. Stealing, belittling is not part of a Christianity I accept.
Guardians – regarding the casino in Glendale, you have it all wrong. First of all, the Tohono O’Odham were not “given terrible land” in Glendale. It is a site that they chose as part of their compensation for land that was flooded approximately 30 years ago on the TO reservation. They chose this location with a casino endeavor in mind and bought it using a shell corporation to obfuscate their true intentions. It is being opposed because the construction of a casino in this area violates a tribal gaming compact that expires in something like 2025. When the compact was being negotiated, the TO agreed that they could have 4 casinos total, and that they could build in either Pima or Pinal counties. All tribes verbally agreed, and it very publicly understood that there would be no further casinos added in the Phoenix metro area. Unfortunately, this condition was never included in writing in the compact. The resistance to this casino was originated by the Gila River tribe and is backed by practically all other tribes in Arizona. There have been many lawsuits filed over this casino over the last 10 years, and there is a bill in the House of Representatives, co-authored by Anne Kirkpatrick to put a stop to it; however, that bill has never made it to a vote. There are still one or two unsettled cases in court. This was halted by the Governor and the state gaming commission because the TO pressed forward with construction despite the unresolved legal issues surrounding this enterprise. This is a tribe on tribe conflict. Privilege – Christine, Jewish, White, or otherwise – has no bearing on this situation.
Game over try again, (I do not have to…)
Anyone can read the whole timeline I just posted. However, other than whether it was good land or not, they got it because of what AZ did and left ‘many members impoverished’.
In 1986, the only restriction put on the land given was that it not be in city limits.
Then 1988 feds enact the framework for Indian gaming nationwide.
In 2002, Voters approve pact between Arizona and Indian tribes that gives exclusive rights to AZ gambling industry.
this is well after the payback with no strings attached other than not be in the city limits.
AZ government kept changing rules . There was no secret that a casino was to be built.
2014 courts agree that the land is not in city limits which was the only restriction put on the land given to the Native Americans.
2015 Building starts because they can legally build a casino.
Last I heard, they are in negotiations about how much they owe the tribe.
So I was correct ….. Someday I will find the article that said it was bad land. It may have been given that description in comparison to what they had. The Native Americans did not have to pull any ‘tricks’ to build because it was their land and not in the city limits. Your reasoning is exactly why I get upset with the sense of entitlement. You seemed to miss the whole point that AZ ruined their land, gave them new land, and now are stopping them from doing what is lawfully their right. The courts have affirmed it. Now let’s see how much they are awarded because of Arizona state’s slight of hand changes throughout the years has cost us. You know and I know they are winning in court because they are in the right.
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/…
Guardians – nice cherry picking. You appear to know about 1/10th of the whole story (if that). This has been going on for at least 10 years and is not comprehensively covered by one or two stories. However, you have beautifully demonstrated how laziness and ignorance makes the American public easy prey to unscrupulous politicians and a in-the-pocket MSM. Keep on keepin’ on!
game over try again, Yes of course I cherry picked. There was no reason for me to rewrite the history that the AZCENTRAL did so well. Did you even look at the story? Most important point that you just slid over: The courts’ verdicts continue to be what the conclusion was that I stated. They are very smart and know the whole story. I am in no one’s pocket. There is no profit in standing up for people who are having their rights trampled on. Unlike those like you whose benefactors want to steal and steal and weave fairy tales that it is not theft. The Native Americans have not broken the agreement created when they were given the land originally because AZ destroyed their land. Oh AZ has tried so many times to have new laws made so that it gives the appearance they have.
Guardians – You’ve missed the whole point. Glendale originally opposed the casino because, although unincorporated, the land was largely surrounded by the city. They’ve changed their position and are OK with it now and, in fact, support the project. The continued opposition comes from the other tribes because they feel that they’ve been hoodwinked by the TO as they 1) chose this specific property (in Maricopa County…think about that for a second) and bought it under a shell corporation to hide the fact that they were the owners; and 2) backpedaled on a verbal agreement during the gaming compact negotiations that was well publicized and assumed to be a part of the act but somehow never made it into writing. I’m not going to get into the big and largely unrelated guilt trip of what the white man did to the Indians…I’m talking about this specific case where the largest opposition to this casino comes from most of the rest of the other tribes in Arizona because they feel swindled by the TO. The political mechanisms are on behalf of the other tribes. Sorry dude, not gonna feel any white guilt over this one…this is a tribe vs. tribe issue.