“It is no longer good enough to cry peace — we must act peace, live peace and live in peace.”
Such a saying might evoke thoughts of the Golden Rule or seem like a short summary of a lesson Jesus taught during his ministry, but it is actually a quote attributed to Leon Shenandoah, a 20th century Native American leader of the Onondaga Indians.
Many Michigan Area United Methodists might not realize there are nine Native American UMCs in the state or that many old Native American “grandfather teachings” have strong parallels with Christianity.
But in August Camp Kinawind in Boyne Falls made a splash with hopes of future ripples by offering a four-day/three-night Native American Connections camp for the first time.
Geared toward third- to eighth-graders, the camp strived to educate non-Native and Native youth alike about the history and lifestyle of their Native American ancestors, while providing plenty of time for hikes, boat trips, singing, cookouts and more.
The camp format focused on small groups, where the 21 total campers were divvied up with counselors into small groups where they learned to compromise and come to a consensus about what their daily schedule would be. Camp Kinawind Director Fred Elmore said he had considered the possibility of a Native American camp for quite sometime, but it was a conversation with Amy Alberts of Mt. Pleasant that took imagination to innovation.
“In a phone conversation with her probably a good year-and-a-half ago she said, ‘I noticed you had a Hispanic camp (in the Detroit Conference), can we do something that is Native American?’” Elmore said. “I said well, sure, because I had been interested in that but wasn’t real sure how to get that off the ground or who to turn to.”
Not long after, Elmore attended the Indian Workers Conference, which is a meeting Native American committee from both Michigan Area conferences. There he found the perfect Native American United Methodist couple to be camp deans for this inaugural celebration of the culture.
“(The idea) was well received and (people at the conference) said to me, ‘What do you need?’ I said, ‘I need a leader, someone who knows the people, knows the culture, solid United Methodists,’” he said. “Everybody looked around the room and ended up pointing to Judy Johnson and she said, ‘As long as my husband (Daugherty) helps me!’ They were wonderful — they both are active members of the Greensky Hill Indian (Mission) United Methodist Church, only about 25 miles from camp.”
They are both half Ottawa Indian, and the couple in their mid-60s said it was tough work helping coordinate everything, but it was a great way to use some of the conference’s money. Camp cost $162 per camper and Judy Johnson helped secure scholarships of $150 for each Native American child.
“I will recommend that again for many years. It was an absolute positive way to use money people have donated…if they could see how their money was spent they would give twice as much,” she said.
Johnson said making things like dream catchers and rain sticks were big hits, as were the community singing sessions.
“I think the kids especially liked the rattles and the drum music and the singing portion,” she said. “I hope they also enjoyed learning about the mix between Native American ‘grandfather teachings’ and how it runs parallel to Christianity.”
Elmore said the camp did not roll out to the public without a small amount of skepticism though.
“I had calls from people saying, ‘Are you going to be teaching that Indian religion?’ I’m not even sure what they meant, but I said no, these are active United Methodist leaders who are leading the camp, it’s just that some of the activities are focused around learning about Native Americans.”
He said the campers learned what it means to respect cultural traditions and understand the way contemporary cultural celebrates some Christmas traditions are “hardly Biblical,” but societal practices are an important part of who we are. Elmore has spent time at six of the Native American UMCs in the state and has talked with people at eight of the nine. He said he has found them to “be very accepting, understanding people who at the same time have gotten a raw deal in some ways.”
The trial run was considered a success, as Elmore will shortly begin planning for the 2011 camp and beyond.
There is hope that the Indian Workers Conference and other entities will continue to offer financial support, but the Johnson’s have stepped down as deans and Judy Johnson joked, “we’re in our mid-60s and that’s just way too old.”
Both the Johnson’s and Elmore said there is wonderful couple from the Kewadin United Methodist Church who helped with camp this year — and they have their eye on them as potential deans.
“Leaders are essential,” Elmore said. “If you’re going to have something focused that much on that theme you preferably need someone from that culture and someone who understands it. Getting a leader is key and that’s what we’ve got to be working on.”
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