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 18     W I N T E R   2 0 1 3 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