Apocalypse? with Vance Blackfox, pt. 2

Raised on the Cherokee reservation in Northeastern Oklahoma, Vance Blackfox has dedicated his life to living "en dios," with God. He's also a leading educator on Native American culture. In this episode Vance talks about how Development has forever changed the Native American way of life, what the conversation on reparations is about today, and what non-native people should learn from Native Americans.

Show Notes

Vance Blackfox, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, is director of Other+Wise, coordinator for the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America’s Theological Round Table, creator and producer of the Vine Deloria Jr. Theological Symposium at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago, Indigenous theologian for the Faith-based initiative for the City of San Antonio, and a freelance educator on Cherokee and Native American culture. In this episode, Vance explains: 

• How "Development" has impacted Native Americans, their lands, and their relationships with Creation
• What the conversation on "reparations" is like today
• What non-Native people should do or learn from Native Americans

To learn more about, or connect to, Vance visit VanceBlackfox.com or contact Vance via LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.

A few key quotes: 

What does it mean to survive in a new way?

(Paraphrasing) Our lands were stolen, our diets taken away, we lost our medicines; the gifts of Creation were taken away from us.

One of the things that makes this conversation so challenging... Let the Indigenous population and our unhealthiness, because of our apocalypse, be an example to you for what you're about to experience that you created yourselves, as a people, as a culture...
 
I don't hate. What I hate is that no one is listening to the experience Indigenous Peoples have had, nor the wisdom that we can offer. Not just for our survival, but so that we can live in a new way.

(America's) need for comfort and self-gratification is so much more highly-valued than caring for your neighbor. 

For the most part it's built into the system and the culture in the United States, and now the rest of the world. . . Is there turning back? Absolutely. But will we? 

We don't want money, we want to return to our way of understanding how to be most healthy. 

Address the many things that can be repaired: relationships, resources held in the lands, get educated about Native Peoples... Who's land are you on? What was their culture? 

Become an ally; an advocate. 

Appreciate our experience and all the gifts we were blessed with and have been robbed of because of your ancestors. 

Our Creation stories are here. Ask, try to understand, what those gifts were like and what it might be like to be robbed. 

I want to challenge you to think about what it is that we might still be able to offer you: Take and Live. 

Our Creator created all of it that we might live, that we might love. 

Terms 

• Colonization
• The Colonial Project
• Reparations
• Landback

References 

• Maps of Native American territories: native-land.ca
• We have to consider the Seven Generations
• #landback

This episode is hosted by Chris Searles, co-founder and exec. editor of AllCreation.org.

Listen to episode 1: https://share.transistor.fm/s/2abf61b6

What is The AllCreation Podcast?

AllCreation.org: Faith • Spirit • Biodiversity • Connections