Categories of Content

Explore the Globe of Witnesses Archives by subject matter:

• Anglican/Episcopal News

• Criminal Justice

• Environmental Justice

• Globalization & the Economy

• Health, Hunger & Housing

• Human Sexuality

• Indigenous Peoples

• Peace, Human Rights and Democracy

• Race & Ethnicity

• Refugees & Immigration

• Religious Study & Interfaith Relations

• Science & Technology

• Women & Gender

Indigenous Peoples
This section includes articles with themes that include aboriginals, native peoples, First Nations, and sacred sites.

Blessedness

The Sermon on the Mount, the focus of the gospel story for Epiphany 4 (Jan. 30, 2005), tells us that the persecuted are blessed. Ginny Doctor grew up on an impoverished Indian reservation, where the concept of persecution was ever-present; but she says such pain can be transformed. [posted 1/26/05]

Leadership

What is the definition of true leadership? In indigenous Lakota culture, an individual can only be defined within the context of the community, according to Donald Whipple Fox. The lectionary readings for Dr. Martin Luther King Day (Jan. 17, 2005) offer a focus for his reflection. [posted 1/14/05]

Thanksgiving Mythology

American stereotypes and false myths about the “meaning of Thanksgiving” have come at the expense of Native peoples. The lectionary readings for the holiday (Nov. 25) also tell stories of land and food. Robert Two Bulls weaves them together. [posted 11/19/04]

January/February 2001 issue of The Witness magazine Challenging a Greedy World: ‘The People of the Land’ in the Americas Articles from Guatemala, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Chiapas, Canada, and El Salvador, with the collaboration of Bishop Steven Charleston (Choctaw) and Dr. Owanah Anderson (Choctaw), give diverse perspectives on the challenges facing First Nations peoples in the Americas.

In the Spirit of Crazy Horse

A huge monument to the famous Lakota chief, Crazy Horse, is being built in South Dakota. Robert Two Bulls considers the theme of “humility” addressed in the lectionary readings for Pentecost 13 (Aug. 29), and wonders what Crazy Horse would think. [posted 8/11/04]

Patient Compassion but Delayed Justice?

For 15 tumultuous years, Ted Scott served as the head of the Anglican Church of Canada and one of the leaders in the ecumenical movements and the international Anglican Communion. One of his former key staff, Tom Anthony, reviews a new book about Scott's life, Radical Compassion, and considers his legacy. [posted 6/18/04]

Dealing with Demons

Are there really physical manifestations of evil? The Pentecost 3 gospel reading discusses Jesus' encounter with a man possessed by demons. Donald Whipple Fox compares the scripture with Native stories about the spirit world, exemplified in his own Dakota community. [posted 6/17/04]

Indigenous Spirituality and the Creation

We must choose between profit and life, argues Tom Trimmer. Offering a Native American perspective on environmental issues, he believes that the church bears great responsibility for the problems we face today. [posted 4/21/04]

Relationship: A Lakota View of the Good Friday Story

What do we learn from the Good Friday story? Robert Two Bulls emphasizes how differently Jesus responds to his impending death than all those around him. Like many of the disciples, our society focuses on looking out for ourselves first. [posted 4/7/04]

A Tibetan Monk Escapes . . . to Brooklyn

Amchok Thubten spent three years in prison in China, jailed and tortured as a supporter of the Dalai Lama. An arduous path around the world landed him homeless and destitute in New York City, reports Robert Hirschfield, struggling with his pain and anger but finding hope in helping others. [posted 11/25/03]

Pacific Women and the Law: The Status of Fiji

Women in the South Pacific face many social, cultural and legal challenges. In an interview with Fijian activist and lawyer Imrana Jalal, journalist Cristina Verán learns about inter-ethnic tensions, and discovers that the Christian church supports patriarchal models of oppression. [posted 9/17/03

Voices from the Past, Voices for the Future
For most of Christian history, theology was an enterprise jealously guarded by a small elite, composed almost entirely of clergy professionals, white and male. The Indigenous Theological Training Institute is working to change that. John Kater reviews the first two editions of ITTI’s First Peoples Theology Journal. [posted 4/26/02]

Special Report: Human Rights Versus Oil
by Julie Wortman Few non-Native people accept that fighting oil drilling in ANWR is a human rights battle.

ANWR: Worth My First Arrest
What leads to your first participation in civil disobedience? Attending a protest against proposed oil drilling in Alaska, Sally Bingham was moved to stand up — by kneeling down — for what she believes.

Quebec and the FTAA: Protesting "Free" Trade
Activist Grace Braley went to Quebec City for the Summit of the Americas and found a fence in her path. She challenges the religious community to take a stronger stand on free trade issues.