Overview

According to the U.S. Census, the Native American and Alaska Native populations stand at 4.5 million, or 1.5% of the total population. Their median age is 30.7 years (younger than the population as a whole, which is 36.2 years); and the states with the highest Native American populations are California, Oklahoma and Arizona. At this time, Native Americans make up about one half of one percent of the church’s U.S. membership.

A major ongoing focus of GCORR includes efforts to stop the demeaning use of Native American mascots, names and imagery by numerous professional, collegiate and amateur sports teams.To justify the continuation of those mascots, the response from supporters has usually included verbiage relating to “tradition.” What we ask people to consider is what do they mean by “tradition?” When we talk about “tradition” we refer to a practice or image that adheres to a specific time frame. In this instance, who has the longer established “tradition” – sports teams or Native Americans? Who’s “tradition” is being defiled? In reality, the mascot portrayals are fictional replicas fabricated from the Hollywood cinema, not traditional images from the Native American culture.

If we were to look at the supposed “tradition” of other races of people, and caricaturize them for possible sport team mascot names, how would they respond to “Spicks,” “Blackskins,” or “Yellowskins?” These harmful, demeaning imagery depictions of Native Americans have left our Native American people with deep scars.

Read more about GCORR's reaction to a recent Supreme Court decision

Read how United Methodist leaders vow to continue struggle against “offensive” names and symbols

Visit the Native American International Caucus of the United Methodist Church website for more information about their work in the Church. 

Selected Biblography

Brown, Dee A. BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1970).

Deloria, Vine, Jr. RED EARTH, WHITE LIES, NATIVE AMERICANS AND THE MYTH OF SCIENTIFIC FACT (Fulcrum Publishing, 1997).

Deloria, Vine, Jr. THE SPIRIT AND REASON: THE VINE DELORIA, JR. READER (Fulcrum Publishing, 2003).

Deloria, Vine, Jr. THE WORLD WE USED TO LIVE IN: REMEMBERING THE POWERS OF THE MEDICINE MEN (Fulcrum Publishing, 2006).

Deloria, Vine, Jr. GOD IS RED: A NATIVE VIEW OF RELIGION, 30th Anniversary Edition (Fulcrum Publishing, 2003).

Fassett, Thom White Wolf. GIVING OUR HEARTS AWAY ADULT STUDY: NATIVE AMERICAN SURVIVAL (New York: Women's Division the General Board of Global Ministries, 2008).

Gattuso, John, Ed. A CIRCLE OF NATIONS: VOICES AND VISIONS OF AMERICAN INDIANS (Hilsboro, OR: Beyond Words Publishing, 1993).

Hifler, Joyce Sequichie. A CHEROKEE FEAST OF DAYS, DAILY MEDITATIONS (Council Oak Books, 1992).

Hifler, Joyce Sequichie. A CHEROKEE FEAST OF DAYS, VOLUME 11: DAILY MEDITATIONS (Council Oak Books, 1997).

United Methodist Women 2008: GIVING OUR HEARTS AWAY: NATIVE AMERICAN SURVIVAL Retrieved from The General Board of Global Ministries: http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/NA/

Kidwell, Clara; Noley, Homer; and Tinker, George. A NATIVE AMERICAN THEOLOGY (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2001).

LaDuke, Winona. RECOVERING THE SACRED: THE POWER OF NAMING AND CLAIMING (Cambridge, MA: South End Press, 2005).

Noley, Homer. First White Frost: NATIVE AMERICANS AND UNITED METHODISM (Nashville: Abbington Press, 1991).

Spindel, Carol. DANCING AT HALFTIME: SPORTS AND CONTROVERSY OVER AMERICAN INDIAN MASCOTS (New York: NYU Press, 2002).

Springwood, Charles F. and King, Richard (eds). TEAM SPIRITS: THE NATIVE AMERICAN MASCOTS (University of Nebraska Press, 2001).

Tinker, George E. AMERICAN INDIAN LIBERATION: A THEOLOGY OF SOVEREIGNTY (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 2008).

Tinker, George E. MISSIONARY CONQUEST: THE GOSPEL AND NATIVE AMERICAN CULTURAL GENOCIDE (Fortress Press, 1993).

Zona, Guy A. THE SOUL WOULD HAVE NO RAINBOW IF THEY EYES HAD NO TEARS AND OTHER NATIVE AMERICAN PROVERBS (New York: Touchstone, 1994).