From working to repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery to standing with First Nations to protect indigenous cultures, treaty rights of First/American Indian Nations, sacred lands, and Mother Earth herself, UUs in the Northwest are becoming an ever stronger voice of support, compassion and activism on behalf of indigenous nations everywhere. They come to this work by asking the First/American Indian Nations not how they can fix problems for them, but how we can work together to save their people and ours.
All across the country, UUs are working diligently with the Nations and Tribes to address many issues that impact not only the Nations and Tribes themselves, but ourselves as settler communities as well. No where is this solidarity more evident in the Pacific Northwest. Solidarity teams are walking in tandem with Tribes like the Lummi Nation located in Bellingham, Washington. Lummi Nation was the focal point for the Public Witness event at the UUA General Assembly in Portland, OR in 2016 (see video in upper left). Beyond the Pacific Northwest we are witness and participants in such events as the opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline in the traditional territories of the Standing Rock Sioux Nation in North Dakota.
UUs are also involved in other interfaith groups that are also working on issues and relationships in Indian Country. We work with:
- Rapid Response Team through Earth Ministry, Washington’s Chapter of Interfaith Power and Light,
- Interfaith Network for Indigenous Communities (INIC) organized through the Faith Action Network in Washington
- and the InterNational Initiative for Transformative Collaboration (INITC), based in the North Midwest
We also have two Facebook communities: