Wheaton College Alumni Magazine Winter 2013 | Page 20
Other events on campus have brought guest speakers such as
Terry LeBlanc (Mi’kmaq), the executive director of NAIITS, who
discussed biblical and Native perspectives on our ties with creation,
and Dr. Alan Ray (Cherokee), president of Elmhurst College, who
examined the enduring social and legal effects of the 15th-century
“Doctrine of Discovery” that unleashed the conquest of the Americas.
Such exposure to Native challenges is stirring an awakening on
campus to the enduring Native presence among us, both beneath
our feet and in our communities. This awareness has also fostered
the development of new relationships with Native Americans.
This intentionality at Wheaton has also stimulated reflection on
contextualized Christian theology and practice. Not everyone involved
in Native North American ministries agrees that beating a drum or
burning sage in Christian worship are acceptable practices. Others like
Rick Woods, editor of Mission Frontiers, affirm that “Contextualizing
is the biblical approach used throughout the New Testament to
communicate the gospel. It has been used by missionaries all over
the world with great success, but it has been largely ignored by those
ministering to Native Americans” (Mission Frontiers 32 [2010]: 4).
NAIITS members and like-minded believers reject syncretism
that subsumes the gospel to culture, but assert that the gospel must
be contextualized for Native peoples to both uphold the authority of
God’s Word and celebrate culture. As they say, “Christianity always
expresses itself through a culture” ( Journal of NAIITS 1 [2003]: 27).
Traditional drums express worship to God as in Psalm 150 and burning
sage symbolizes prayer and cleansing, similar to the way Israel’s priests
offered incense in the temple. Ministries led by NAIITS members—
such as My People International, Wiconi International, and Eagle’s
Wings Ministries—seek to bring the gospel to Native North Americans
through outreaches that honor Christ above all, while respecting
Native cultures.
In the coming academic year, an interdisciplinary corps of faculty
will participate in a faculty development seminar on Native American
issues sponsored by Wheaton’s new Center for Global and Experiential
Learning (GEL). The goal of the seminar is to foster cultural
competence among Wheaton faculty and raise consciousness about
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Native history and culture, according to Dean Dr. Laura Montgomery.
Some professors are already involved in Native American issues,
including Dr. Melissa Franklin-Harkrider, associate professor of
history, who is pursuing an American Indian Studies Certificate
at the University of Wisconsin (see page 16); Dr. Rob Ribbe ’87,
M.A. ’90, assistant professor of Christian formation and ministry,
who is developing a network of relationships with Native American
communities around Wheaton’s HoneyRock Camp; and Dr. Brian
Howell, associate professor of sociology and anthropology, who
regularly takes students from HoneyRock to visit the Forest County
Potawatomi and the Lake Superior Band of Chippewa (Ojibwe).
During the 2012-13 academi 2