An Indigenous Peoples' Prayer

It is no secret at this point that Columbus Day, in 1492, was just the beginning of a brutal history of violence and oppression toward indigenous peoples of North America. Columbus, and those who followed, were obsessed with conversion, brought over diseases the natives had no way to cure, and ultimately desecrated peoples and cultures. Today, we want to acknowledge this history and be honest about the ways our faith tradition has been used to colonize, abuse, and oppress people. We wish to bring acknowledgment to the Susquehannock Confederation: the displaced First Peoples and Treaty People of modern Howard County. And we seek to reclaim the truth of the Gospel - that Jesus Christ came to love and to serve, not to conquer and enslave.

We pray:

Creator, you bent the earth like a bow until it was one, round, shining planet. At Your word the land was drawn into mountains and deserts, forests, and plains; the waters were gathered together into rivers, lakes, and seas. The circle of Your creation has been broken time and again by greed and violence and many lives have been shattered. Renew the circle of the earth and turn the hearts of all Your people to one another; that they and all the earth may live, and be drawn toward You and through the power of Your son, Jesus Christ, who lives with You and the Holy Spirit now and always. Amen.

~ a prayer from an Indigenous Peoples’ Day liturgy prepared by the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona