By LCR Member Brian R. Mette, on behalf of the LCR Navajo Committee
As part of LCR's Navajo Committee, on more than one occasion I have heard the question: “Why are we concerned about Native Americans?”
This comes from the assumption that there are no Native Americans around here in the Greater Cincinnati area. Many non-Indigenous people believe Indigenous people generally live out West and around the Great Lakes of Michigan and Superior.
However, the data from the National Council of Aging/International Association for Indigenous Aging paints a different picture: “In 2021, there were 9.7 million American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) people, comprising 2.9% of the total US population of 329.5 million. (Consider the additional 1.6 million+ Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Marian Islands; 92, 000 Taino descendants from Puerto Rico.) They are all considered the invisible minority.”
And yes, Native families do live in our communties! From the recent census*, we know the greater Cincinnati region is home to 31,000+ Native American and Alaska Native people, plus an additional 98,000 Central/South American and Pacific Islanders in the area.
They are served, in part, by the Native Sovereignty Center of the Urban Native Collective, located in Cincinnati's Northside neighborhood, which represents the broad interests of Indigenous Peoples throughout Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana.
It's another myth that Indigenous people live only on reservations.
The US government recognizes 574 AI/AN Native Tribes. Not all recognized tribes have a reservation—some may have more than one, others may share their reservation, yet others have no land.
In 2022, there were 324 federally recognized American Indian reservations, which are managed by the tribe under the United States Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs. Only about 22% of the AI/AN population lives on tribal lands due to migration to urban areas since 1970.
Being an "invisible minority" brings many challenges. According to the International Association for Indigenous Aging report, “AI/AN people rank at, or near the bottom of nearly every social, health and economic indicator. Lower life expectancy and disproportionate disease burden are a result of inadequate education, disproportionate poverty, discrimination in the delivery of health services and cultural differences.”
In addition, over 30% of the Native people descendants deal with depression and mental health issues due to the trauma and outcome of forced boarding schools and their current living situation.
For decades, one of LCR ministries has been to the Navajo Evangelical Lutheran Mission (NELM) in Rock Point, Arizona. Specifically, we have assisted the Lutheran School in a variety of ways including birthday gifts, quilts, clothing, school supplies, sports equipment, and scholarships.
November is national Native American Heritage Month, and we recently celebrated Indigenous People’s Day on Monday, October 14, 2024 (including in worship the weekend of October 12-13).
To keep learning about and celebrating with our native siblings, you might check out events hosted by the ELCA Truth and Healing Movement, the Native Sovereignty Center.
We also encourage you to travel north of Xenia on Route 68 to visit the newest Ohio State Park, Great Council State Park, to learn about the Shawnee people.
Lastly, we encourage you to participate in the zoom classes provided by the ELCA with Vance Blackfoot, the ELCA Director of Indigenous Ministries and Tribal Relations.
There's still time to attend a class session on Indigenous Thought & Theology via Zoom this Thursday, October 24, 3-5 p.m. (Learn more.)
In closing, in celebration of Native American month and Indigenous People’s Day, LCR's Navajo Committee would like you to consider making a designated donation for student scholarships at NELM.
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* Note: Since the US Census in 2000, people are allowed to indicate more than one race. So those marked American Indian or Alaska Native with one or more additional races are classified as American Indian or Alaska Native in combination. Those marked only as American Indian or Alaska Native are American Indian or Alaska Native alone.
Resources
“American Indians and Alaska Natives: Key Demographics and Characteristics,” International Association for Indigenous Aging/National Council on Aging. January 10, 2023
Website of the Native Sovereignty Center: https://urbannativecollective.org/
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