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Miami Acknowledgment |
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Acknowledgment
To the Miami Nation of Indians of Indiana
Signed Jan 30th, 2010
(Download a PDF)
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We, as pastors and spiritual leaders, representing a number of churches in Fort Wayne and the surrounding region, do corporately acknowledge our sins in relationship to the Miami peoples.
We not only acknowledge the unjust acts against your peoples by our ancestors, but also our failure to act on your behalf, to publicly acknowledge or attempt to rectify those wrongs, in the generations that followed.
In all of this we have corporately failed to represent a good witness to our faith in Jesus Christ.
We acknowledge the historical sins of our ancestors,
> In the unjust acquisition of your ancestral homelands and the breaking of treaties and covenants.
> In the forceful removal of your ancestors from their homeland and to bringing division and devastation to the many families represented.
> In the dehumanizing of the Miami peoples and the cultural genocide that followed.
> In the abuse of families and children by the removal of children to boarding schools that degraded their way of life and language.
Today we recognize and honor the authority and rights of the Miami peoples as the original gatekeepers and caretakers of this land. Even though we may differ in the beliefs and practices of our spiritual ways, we commit to respecting the Miami as a spiritual people who desire to honor the Creator of the world, who have a rich and beautiful cultural heritage, with a unique and important role in the healing of this land and the future well being of this city and region.
We realize that words will not make up for the wrongs done. So in the spirit of humility we now extend our hands in friendship to the Miami peoples in hope that we might begin a process that will allow us to walk forward to a better future for all our peoples.
Presented on January 30, 2010 at Kekionga/Fort Wayne Indiana. |
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