https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MaW0fk5tgo8u5WP41bL5c6Q8XFm5uWgA/view?usp=sharing LINK TO THE CHRISTIAN JOURNEY TO THE SACRED TREE
The American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) is conducted in the US to gather data on religious affiliation and identification among the American population.
ARIS survey 2014 found that 66% of Native Americans identified as Christians. So even if it is 50%, that is a large number. I expect about the same percentage in Canada.
From my perspective, the global genocide and colonization ordained by God's Divine Representative on Earth via the Papal Bulls of the 1400s, inflicted on "Non-Christians" members of our Human Family, has nothing to do with the Sacred Teachings of Jesus. I call it Churchianity.
THE CHRISTIAN JOURNEY TO THE SACRED TREE, linked above, is a draft curriculum we are getting ready to implement at the Four Worlds Indigenous University. The Curriculum's purpose is not to convert anyone, one way or another.
From our perspective, proselytization or trying to convert someone is disrespectful. It is the same as telling someone I know more about the Great Spirit than you do! If the Path we are walking is good, it will be reflected in our actions.
The learning process focuses on those friends and relatives seeking healing and mutual spiritual understanding and respect within our multifaith communities. Many friends and relatives realize that our communities' religious and spiritual disunity needs to be addressed and healed.
At the same time, we fully understand why some friends and relatives want nothing to do with organized religion And the ill feelings in our Indigenous against what I call Churchianity.
I have certainly felt those feelings, too. There were many years that I could not utter the word God unless I was reading out of a book.
I have made the link above so you can comment on the Draft and improve it. We have no desire to get into an argument with anyone over spirituality.
From our perspective, something that is spiritual in nature has infinite meanings. Therefore, most of humanity's Faith communities have a Sacred Tree in their Sacred Teachings.
This Curriculum could have just as easily have been about the Baha'i, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Latter-Day Saints, Taoist, Muslim, Sikh, Taoist, or Zoroastrian Journey to the Sacred Tree.
The symbolism of the Sacred Tree may also be found in most Indigenous cultures across the Americas and around Mother Earth, past and present. For instance, in Norse mythology, Yggdrasil is the Sacred Tree that connects the nine worlds. It is an immense ash tree and is a central symbol of cosmology, representing the interconnectedness of all things.
Celtic Mythology: The Celts revered trees, and certain trees held sacred significance. The Celtic concept of the "World Tree" or "Sacred Tree" represented a connection between the upper and lower worlds. The oak tree, in particular, was considered sacred and associated with several deities.
Sister Joan Henry and I will do an intensive Talking, Sharing, and Healing Leadership Program. We give our heartfelt thanksgiving to Cree Elders Abe Burnstick and Eddie Bellerose for sharing these Teachings with us back in 1976.
If you are interested in these unfolding developments, please email us at [email protected].
