We, the Catholic Bishops of Minnesota, wish to share with the Catholic faithful our understanding of the relationship of the Catholic Church with Native American People. We call on all Catholic people and institutions to address this concern through reflection and specific activities which will affect both their attitudes and their actions.

LOOKING TO THE PAST

New beginnings demand that we take an honest look at the past. We realize and acknowledge that our deeds, although done in good faith, were sometimes, in fact, a disservice to Indian People.

We are grateful for the priests, religious and lay workers who left their own country and friends and came, in good faith, to form new friendships in the hospitality of Indian communities. They wanted to share with Indian People their own lively experience of Jesus, the Son of God, who had come to give people a new and more complete life with the Father and the Holy Spirit. These Missionaries learned the Indian languages and often compiled dictionaries and grammars; they studied and adjusted to Indian cultures insofar as they were able within their own cultural limits; they started schools -- often at the request of Indian leaders -- to provide opportunities for Indian children to learn the ways of the white world; they used their medical knowledge to help the sick and injured; they introduced new ways of farming and building. 

We recognize, however, that many Missionaries in teaching Christianity to those whom they originally considered heathen, communicated a feeling that the Native American cultural institutions were inferior. Their teaching was culturally bound to the advent and ascendancy of white Europeans on the North American continent. While Missionaries only rarely identified with exploitative activities of commercial developers and land speculators, the unconscious limitations of their missionary efforts frequently contributed to the disruption of Indian cultures by undermining the people's pride in self, community and heritage. 

We look to the past in order to learn. If we remain enslaved to the past, we remain guilt-ridden. Our need is to be free and to act reasonably and responsibly in the present. 

THE PRESENT SITUATION

In light of current anthropological and psychological knowledge we understand that culture works deeply within individuals. We realize that culture is not static but changes perceptibly as time passes. We can always grow in understanding ourselves and our neighbor. We appreciate the strong need people have to accept themselves with their cultural formation and to know that others also accept them, whether they be Americans of native or immigrant descent. 

We are conscious of the movement among Native Americans to identify with and regain the special values of their unique cultural heritage. The ease with which their ancestors lived close to the all powerful Creator, so that their world did not divide into secular and sacred parts, demands appreciation. Their ancient reverence for the earth as God's gift to themselves, His children, inspired admirable ideals of respect for self, relatives and tribal members, of generosity and sharing, of honor for the old, the wise and the brave. 

Today our nation is composed of many identifiable cultural communities, distinct from one another yet united by their members' common citizenship. Each individual must have cultural freedom and recognition. Above all, communities, especially those of the Native American who descend from the original occupants of this continent, must be able to be themselves. Indians have a right to be Indian and to be accepted as such by other Americans. 

Motivated by the desire to preserve their cultural values and ideals, Indians are earnestly seeking to plan and make their own decisions, and to obtain economic and political power in order to achieve their own goals. We deplore the sinful fact that Native American people, as a group, are among the economically poorest and most dependent of Minnesota's citizens. The average Indian income is lower and unemployment higher than for any other group in Minnesota. Indian health services are in deep need of improvement; educational opportunities for Indian people are limited. We further regret that the resources and land of the Native American people were not passed on to their descendants, but were often taken away through the greed of economic and political systems. We, therefore, affirm the rights of people to share economic productivity in such a way that their material needs and desire for intellectual, moral, spiritual and religious growth are met. We pledge our cooperation in this endeavor. 

CALL TO RECONCILIATION

As a first step it is necessary for us to examine the Church's way of acting, her attitudes and life styles. 

MINISTRY FOR JUSTICE

Of particular significance at this time must be our efforts in ministry for justice for Native American people. We have a responsibility to assert the Gospel command of love through the virtue of social justice in complex human relationships. We must guarantee basic human rights, cultural dignity and just social systems. We call on all Catholic people and institutions to cooperate with Indian people in laboring for justice. Together we must join in the struggle to secure equitable resolutions of past injustices inflicted on Indian People by the United States government and other public and private institutions. Not only in the obvious areas of land rights, treaty and statute questions, but also in matters of economic development, political power and delivery of social, educational and health care services to the American Indian, a cooperative role seems appropriate. In such ministry for justice, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached and our God is revealed as Liberator of the oppressed. Further, this ministry for justice can and must be a significant point of ecumenical convergence. 

RESPONSIBILITIES OF COMMUNITY

We urge our Catholic parishes, communities and organizations to become credible signs of faith, hope and love in their relationships among themselves and with one another. In such an experience of community, the life of the Spirit unites the faithful in a unique and intimate fellowship that Saint Paul likens to a body of which each individual is a part and Jesus Himself the Head. All Catholic parishes should effectively educate their people about the culture and needs of the Native American people. In those parishes with an Indian population, opportunity must be provided for their full participation in the life of the parish. Our local Indian parishes are called upon to manifest their love for all people, and especially those of their own village and culture by sharing in and serving the problems and hopes of the larger Indian community. 

We accept our responsibility to provide adequate training for religious leaders involved in ministry and service to Indian people. Such training should include a wide background in the history and culture of American Indian people. Religious leaders among American Indians should include American Indians as well as Caucasians. We recommend that programs of permanent diaconate make special efforts to encourage the emergence of such leadership in the Native American Community, and that modes of training for Indian candidates to the ordained priesthood take into account the special cultural gifts of the Indian people. 

Our educational mission must embrace three interlocking dimensions: the message revealed by God which the Church proclaims, fellowship in the life of the Holy Spirit, and service to the entire human community. Our schools at the service of the American Indian people must meet their need to be self-determining, free persons in all areas of individual and social life. Finally, we urge those responsible for curriculum development in all Catholic schools to include materials and programs that exhibit an appreciation for Indian culture and history. 

PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL

We believe all peoples are called by the revelation who is Jesus Christ to redemption in His Name. This new life in Christ ennobles and enriches all cultures. WE hold that the expression of our faith and the Gospel of Jesus Christ must be made concrete in customs, in structures and in values, consecrating the way of life of the people in whom it takes root. Respect and reverence for the people we serve demand that we have a practical knowledge of their culture and mentality with an abiding sensitivity to their needs and the needs of the times. Consistent with present Church policy, our sacred liturgy, as expressed in Indian Catholic parishes, must reflect an appreciation for the customs, insights and culture of the Native American people. 

CONCLUSION

The Holy Year is especially a year of reconciliation. It is a time when the People of God go, with fresh and deeper purpose, to the sources of life and salvation. It must be a time when the power of the Spirit, which raised Jesus from the dead, is allowed to deepen its work in the world. It is the time to renew our hope for the coming Kingdom which dwells even now in the hearts of people. We renew our commitment to radically transform ourselves and our society in the Lord's Passover. His Life and Death give meaning to the efforts of those who struggle to overcome injustice, violence and hatred. His Resurrection makes it possible for all peoples to grow together in justice, in freedom, in solidarity and love. In extending anew the hand of friendship to our Indian People, we proclaim the 1975 Holy Year to be a time of reconciliation, a time of NEW BEGINNING for us all.