A Short History Lesson
Historically, contact with European immigrants proved disastrous for American
Indians. The Europeans arrived in waves, landing on the eastern shore of
what became the United States and began pushing westward. As they did so,
Native lands were stolen and the people forced onto reservations or exterminated. Sadly, every treaty (371 of them) made with Native Americans has been broken by he U.S. government.
Missionaries attempted bringing the Good News to the American Indians, but most
could not do so in a culturally relevant way. The few who did accept Jesus as
Lord were expected to become culturally European as well. Combined with the
assault on their lands, most Native Americans rejected the Gospel.
While the dominate U.S. culture sees this as history, Native people are still
coping with the physical, emotional and spiritual results today. Poverty,
alcoholism, and teen suicide are rampant on the reservations. Less than 5%
of Native people have accepted Jesus as their Savior.
ROJ Webmaster: Kelly J. Boos
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Last Updated: 8/22/07
Background courtesy of First People of America and Canada : Turtle Island.