Christian colonial capitalist violence
The first step in addressing colonialism is to determine an accurate diagnosis of the problem, which Native people say is Christian colonial capitalist violence. Christian refers to the church’s blessing to conquer lands not inhabited by Christians, and the ongoing refusal of most Christians to address colonialism today. Capitalism is a fundamentally unjust system of wealth accumulation and economic oppression.
You cannot begin to understand colonialism until you understand and acknowledge this country’s history of Christian colonial capitalist violence. I discuss this extensively on this blog, and have combined the posts about my own decolonial journey here: compiled decolonial journey
Spiritual crisis
The historical record presents my Quaker meeting with a profound spiritual crisis. Our ancestors’ settled on the land around Earlham, Iowa. And built the meetinghouse on the land. Subsequent generations either continue living on it, or have sold it. Additionally, Quakers were very involved in the Indian boarding schools and the forced assimilation of Native children into settler culture. Settler-colonialism a fundamental concern we need to deal with because of these past injustices and because it continues to this day.
A previous difficult issue
As I prepare to pray, explore and write more about how Quakers can decolonize ourselves, I’m reflecting on previous times I’ve been led to urge Quakers to join me in other work, specifically my life-long journey to drastically reduce our fossil fuel emissions and the infrastructure they need, like pipelines.
My environmental journey began in 1971 when I moved to Indianapolis, and was horrified by the filthy air, this being before catalytic converters hid the visible exhaust, but didn’t stop the fossil fuel emissions. Seeing that triggered a defining spiritual experience, a vision of my beloved Rocky Mountains hidden in smog. At the time, there was no way of knowing how widespread the polluted air would become. I was thinking of this specific photo I had taken of Long’s Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park, and developed in my bathroom darkroom.
As a scientist, I was aware of the consequences of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. I knew the fossil fuel industry’s attempts to minimize the consequences were lies, but those lies were accepted by many people, for many years. I knew this could lead to our eventual extinction if we didn’t get the emissions under control.
The power of that vision, and the existential threat to Mother Earth, defined my life’s work, outside my professional career. I was led to live without a car, which was possible in Indianapolis, if often inconvenient, by walking, running, and public transportation.
The lack of public transportation in rural areas, such as where my Bear Creek Friends meeting is located, makes it really difficult to figure out how to reduce fossil fuel emissions there. Friends do things like combine multiple trips into one, and grow food, which avoids the emissions of transporting goods from many miles away.
How this story evolved illuminates how Quakers respond to challenges, and provides insights on how to deal with decolonizing ourselves.
Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative)
My home Quaker meeting, Bear Creek, is part of the Midwest organization of Quaker meetings, Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative). Conservative refers to preserving spiritual practices, not political orientation. As the name implies, each year the monthly meetings gather for several days for business discussions and social interactions. These meetings are held at Scattergood Friends School and Farm that is under the care of the yearly meeting.
Quakers believe we can continue to receive spiritual guidance throughout our lives. We sometimes refer to the “Inner Light”. This means we are open to change as our understanding unfolds over time.
Our Quaker meetings involve gathering for about an hour together, sitting in silence, as we listen for what the Spirit might be saying to us. This gathering together for shared worship is different from individual meditation.
The meetings aren’t always totally silent, aside from the creaking benches or an occasional cough. Sometimes a Friend is led to share a message by speaking into the silence.
It is this spirituality that is the basis of our justice work.
Faith and Practice
Most yearly meetings have a document about Quaker faith and practice. These practices can vary from yearly meeting to yearly meeting. This is the link to Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative)’s Faith and Practice https://www.iymc.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Faith-and-Practice-with-links.pdf
Advices and Queries
One of the main ways Quakers continue to explore their spirituality is through the use of advices and queries. There are twelve sets of advices and queries. Common practice is for a monthly meeting to consider one set of queries and advices each month.
These are the topics of Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative)’s Advices and Queries.
- Meeting for worship
- Outreach
- Meeting for business
- Harmony within the meeting
- Mutual care
- Education
- Home and family
- Personal responsibility
- Civic responsibility
- Environmental responsibility
- Social and economic justice
- Peace and nonviolence
The advice is a statement about the subject being explored, such as environmental responsibility. The queries are a set of questions designed to stimulate prayer and discussion about the subject.
ADVICES AND QUERIES
Quakerism is a living faith made real through the inward light of the living Christ. This faith holds that our individual lives and the corporate life of the Meeting can be guided by continuing revelation through the Holy Spirit. When we behold the splendor of creation, we realize that knowledge of what is divine is beyond description. Traditionally, Friends have referred to the divine in such terms as God, the Inward Light, the Living Water, the Creator, the Christ Within, and the Spirit. Many believe that when we limit the divine to one gender we also limit ourselves and each other. Becoming aware of how we discern Spirit is important to our worship. The Quaker faith is not written in the form of a creed, but is experienced in our lives as a vibrant, living truth. Advices and queries serve to engage our minds and hearts in a process which may provide openings to the leadings of the Spirit within us. These leadings may speak to our individual and corporate needs. The advices and queries reflect experiences from many lives as they contribute to the gathered wisdom of the group. They serve to guide us on our spiritual journeys by opening our hearts and minds to the possibility of new directions and insights.
Environmental responsibility
10. ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY
ADVICE
All of creation is divine and interdependent: air, water, soil, and all that lives and grows. Since human beings are part of this fragile and mysterious web, whenever we pollute or neglect the earth we pollute and neglect our own wellsprings. Developing a keen awareness of our role in the universe is essential if we are to live peacefully within creation.
The way we choose to live each day—as we manufacture, package, purchase and recycle goods, use resources, dispose of water, design homes, plan families and travel— affects the present and future of life on the planet. The thought and effort we give to replenishing what we receive from the earth, to keeping informed and promoting beneficial legislation on issues which affect the earth, to envisioning community with environmental conscience, are ways in which we contribute to the ongoing health of the planet we inhabit.
Preserving the quality of life on Earth calls forth all of our spiritual resources. Listening to and heeding the leadings of the Holy Spirit can help us develop qualities which enable us to become more sensitive to all life.
QUERIES
What are we doing about our disproportionate use of the world’s resources? Do we see unreasonable exploitation in our relationship with the rest of creation? How can we nurture reverence and respect for life? How can we become more fully aware of our interdependent relationship with the rest of creation? To what extent are we aware of all life and the role we play? What can we do in our own lives and communities to address environmental concerns?
Decolonial repair
An important step in Iowa Yearly Meeting (Conservative)’s decolonial journey could be to bring settler-colonialism into the advices and queries. This revision should explicitly name and reject settler-colonialism as a system of violence
contrary to the Spirit and should include a clear commitment to decolonial repair into the core testimonies of Peace, Equality, and Integrity. This would bring these matters to the spiritual attention of each monthly meeting in an ongoing manner, year after year. In addition, selected pieces from the query responses from the monthly meetings are read during the annual yearly meeting sessions.
- LANDBACK is the necessary expression of Integrity. It is the only honest response to a history built on stolen land, moving beyond symbolic acknowledgment to material restitution.
- Mutual Aid is the necessary expression of Equality. It creates communities of care that dismantle the hierarchies of capitalism and white supremacy, affirming in practice that of God in every person by ensuring their needs are met through solidarity, not charity.
- Abolition is the necessary expression of Peace. It is a commitment to dismantle the internal instruments of state violence—the police and prisons that enforce colonial order—and to build a world where conflict is resolved through justice and healing, not coercion.
Urgency
This process of revising the queries would be long term, if done at all.
But Indigenous peoples have to deal with the consequences of settler-colonialism every day, in many ways.
Decolonial Repair Network
Several Iowa Friends and I are involved in the Decolonial Repair Network that was formed by Eric Anglada and Sikowis Nobiss to provide the space for Friends and allies to work together on decolonization. This would be a great way for more Iowa Friends to engage in decolonial repair. And the funds go to the Great Plains Action Society that Iowa Friends have a long term relationship with.
There are monthly calls to educate ourselves, work on what we can do for decolonization, and for announcements of upcoming events.
Monthly Calls: First Wednesday of the month, 7-8 CT
Sign Up Here
The Decolonial Repair Network is a network of non-Native individuals, communities and organizations in Iowa, the Midwest, and beyond who strive to be good allies to Indigenous people through actively working to repair the harms of colonization. Our network currently organizes itself through monthly online calls and occasional in-person gatherings.
We understand that the dominant white culture bears the primary responsibility for this immense damage, and therefore we believe that white people bear a particular responsibility to repair the harm. We recognize this truth while welcoming the unique perspective and collaboration of non-Native People of Color and committing to listen to the needs of Indigenous leadership. We understand that the work of repair is not only about healing damage done to Indigenous peoples and the land, but that it is also about healing ourselves.
We ask that those who join this network are willing to make the following commitments:
- Contributing ongoing financial support to Honor Native Land Fund
- Regularly attending monthly learning and organizing calls on the first Wednesday of each month that will focus on building community, sharing resources, learning Indigenous and colonial history, current issues facing Indigenous communities, engaging guest speakers (both Native and non-Native), healing, and networking
- Willingness to confront racism in all its forms, such as racist mascots and cultural appropriation
- Willingness to work to dismantle legal and cultural systems of white supremacy
- Inner transformation and healing the wounds of colonialism within
- Healing land in whatever places we inhabit
- As able, showing up when Indigenous leaders call for solidarity and support
