Christianity and the Natives of Turtle Island

By Brad Melle

August 1, 2016

When an indigenous girl refused chemotherapy, then died, it sparked a debate over the differences between traditional and Western medicine. But, according to Brad Melle, there are few differences between the two cultures when it comes to matters of faith. And one significant source of accord: Jesus

This brief overview barely begins to uncover the complexities of the story of Christianity among the First Nations of Turtle Island, but it is clear that Jesus continues to be honoured and to captivate hearts across native North America despite the extensive damage caused to indigenous minds, spirits and bodies over the past 400 years by Euro- American Christians By the early 20th century, the Statesponsored residential schools had co-opted the support of Christian churches, employing missionaries and clergy as the first line of offence against indigenous cultures, corporally punishing Native children for speaking the very languages missionaries had once worked so hard to learn I hope that my research into the history of indigenous evangelicalism in Canada widens the story of Christianity in Canada, illustrating that the residential school experiment represents a particularly abusive chapter in the history of First Nation Christianity rather than the entire story While the postwar evangelical missionary movement sought to be culturally sensitive, to promote native leadership and to use native languages as an effective agent of preaching, those who embraced the contextual movement sought to more explicitly embrace the God-honouring aspects of indigenous worldviews, formulate innovative indigenous Christian ceremonies and engage Native religious practices with more inclusivity

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