Since Indigenous Peoples’ Day is next week, I asked Mariah Humphries, our Native Justice Consultant, for advice about what we should do or say to mark the occasion. She sent me what she wrote last year (which I’ll share with you), and then said something to the effect of, “If it’s important to you, why don’t you write something about it.” The subtext being, we keep asking people from the marginalized communities to do the work for us, and it’s time that the rest of us speak up. So here’s what I have to say about the upcoming holiday.

100 years ago, June 2, The Indian Citizenship Act of 1924 granted dual citizenship for Native Americans.

Hesci (Hello)!

Native existence has been through so much removal from land, culture and language over the centuries and we are still working for justice to be served to Native communities. One area, here at Fellowship Southwest, we have been staying updated on the process with San Carlos Apache Tribe’s Chí’chil Biłdagoteel, "the place where the Emory oak grows” — today known as Oak Flat.

Fellowship Southwest is committed to compassion and justice around four priorities: immigration, racial justice, hunger and Native American topics. To help us navigate our work with Native compassion and justice, we are currently working with Mariah Humphries, a Mvskoke citizen. She is guiding us in a process of discernment toward our place in this conversation.