Dr. Randy Woodley is a Cherokee teacher, historian, farmer and writer who has written several books in which he shows us how Indigenous values holistically relate to place-based ecology, earth stewardship and Christian faiths. Indigenous Theology and the Western Worldview is written as a series of three lectures, each followed by a question and answer style interview.

This was a particularly timely read for me, as I found that many of the things that have been on my heart for the past few years were things that he brought up throughout the book. His wisdom expanded my paradigm and made me think deeply about this land’s history, the history of the people who live on it, and how Christian faiths can intersect with a more conscious, healing worldview. The history of Christianity on Turtle Island is not pretty. It is messy, filled with blatant disregard for the teachings of its sacred writings, and is deeply linked to a system that is neither sustainable nor holistic. Dr. Randy shows us that there is a better way - a way that can bring healing both to our society and our planet; but it will take intentional work and humility, and that work must involve all of us.

I loved the way Dr. Woodley described his approach to teaching in the preface: “I feel that, when teaching or presenting, it is paramount to hear all the other voices in the room, not just my own.” This is a mark of wisdom. I also really appreciated that when asked questions that would have made it easy for him to broad-brush large groups of people in his answers, he acknowledged that he cannot speak for the whole of the Indigenous peoples, but that he can speak for himself.

In the third lecture, Dr. Randy shares ten values that comprise what he calls “the harmony way” - a principle rooted in both Indigenous and scriptural values. I enjoyed seeing everything he had been teaching and all of the stories he had shared really come together in this section.

Here are a handful of the quotes that I underlined or annotated in my copy:

“North America came to be by means of land theft, armed removal and relocation, forced breakup of families, the outlawing of Indigenous religion, bureaucratic policies of extermination, assimilation and racism, rape of the land - in other words, terrorism. Methods and policies may have changed over time, but intent did not.”

“If you live in the Americas or another colonized country, you are a direct beneficiary of this genocide and theft. Consider your forebearers, and ask what effect this has or should have on your own spirituality… …Peoples, including the church, live on stolen land. And initial relationships on the land were based on violence, a violence that still distorts those relationships.”

“All of creation is sacred, and there is a problem with one’s worldview when one is considered sacred and not the other.”

“The way of life demonstrated by Western peoples leads to alienation from the earth, hostility toward others, and estrangement from all of creation. It creates a false bubble…”

“…this is how you know you have shalom - how are the least of these doing?”

“Love includes respect for the other person’s dignity.”

“My Kiowa mother said it this way: ‘Before the White man came, we knew who God was. We knew God was the Creator. We knew God was powerful. We knew God was loving. We knew God was sacred. We didn’t quite know how much God loved us, because we didn’t know the story of Jesus.’ Then she looked at me and said, ‘But we were this close’ (holding her fingers apart an inch). ‘But when the missionaries came and gave us their theology, that made the gap as wide as the Grand Canyon.’”

“We need to lament together because that is part of becoming a community.”

The book is thought-provoking, inspiring and beautifully written. It is definitely one that I want to pick up and read again. I highly recommend it. In fact, I think it is absolutely necessary for people who occupy stolen land on Turtle Island and who choose to call themselves Christians to read it. It allows Truth to illuminate a worldview based on a fictional narrative that has been passed down through generations of believers and it is well past time to shine Light on the lies that have made the oppression of Indigenous peoples and the destruction of our planet possible. Truth brings freedom, including the freedom to heal. ( )

Until recent times, not only the history of our relations with indigenous peoples, but also our theology has been written by Euro-Americans. Randy Woodley, as he introduces himself in the beginning of this work is a mixed blood Cherokee who grew up in a Detroit suburb where his father worked in the auto industry. He came to faith in a revival meeting in a Baptist church, delivered of a drug habit. Educated from a Western perspective, he engaged in missions and pastoral work among indigenous peoples, learning their history and spiritual outlook in his efforts to communicate Christ, and became convinced in many respects, that the indigenous worldview, in many respects was closer to the way of Christ than the Western worldview.

In this work, he engages in three conversations, in indigenous fashion, telling stories and answering questions that contrast indigenous theology and the Western worldview. The first discusses the Western, progressive narrative of history versus the high civilizations of indigenous peoples that existed for centuries before they were “discovered,” likening the encounter to the story of the wolves (indigenous peoples) and the terrapin (the discoverers). They failed to understand the covenant Jesus had with all peoples and the strong indigenous sense of relationship between creator, people, and land.

The second conversation contrasts Western dualism and the much more integral understanding where all of life is both physical and spiritual, where the life of a people is integral with the land they inhabit, and one seeks to live in harmony (shalom) with creation. Western thought “othered” indigenous people, marginalizing and killing them. Healing this begins with acknowledgement, recognizing we are latecomers and usurpers, and working together to repair the damage.

The last conversation gestures toward a decolonized, indigenous theology rooted in what he calls the “harmony way”–ten indigenous values held in common by a wide representation of indigenous groups;

1. Tangible spirituality/our spirituality must be practiced. Respect everyone. Everything is sacred.
2. Our lives are governed by harmony. Seek harmony.
3. Community is essential. Increase your friends and family.
4. Humor is sacred and necessary. Laugh at yourself.
5. Feeling of cooperation/communality. Everyone gets a say.
6. Oral communications and traditions. Speak from your heart.
7. Present and past time orientation. Look forward by looking back.
8. Open work ethic. Work hard but rest well.
9. Great hospitality/generosity. Share what you have.
10. Natural connectedness to all creation. We are all related.

What connects all this to Christianity is the idea of shalom, and the healing of creation in the vulnerable shalom of the cross. Woodley contrasts this with Western ideas of conquest, control and power.

Is this orthodoxy or syncretism? Woodley would contend that this is for indigenous believers to work out among themselves. Others are interlopers who might better listen to the stories and reflect where they are being invited to walk more closely in the way of Jesus rather than in the distortions of the Western worldview. Does that mean Western Christians have nothing to offer? Woodley would affirm that they do, owing his faith at least in part to Western Christians. But he would resist any efforts to control from the outside as opposed to engaging in the way of harmony, where growth comes in community, as we engage from the heart in sharing our stories and listening to those of others.

Other indigenous writers like Robin Wall Kimmerer invite us to listen to indigenous wisdom in books like Braiding Sweetgrass. What Randy Woodley adds to this is the opportunity in listening to indigenous believers, we might not only gain insight in living wisely on the land that was once theirs alone as a gift of the Creator, but may also walk more wisely with the Creator of the land and with one another.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher. ( )