The World Council of Churches (WCC) has released a seminar report entitled Indigenous Spiritualities, Land Rights, and Climate Justice. Edited by Lori Ransom, WCC indigenous peoples consultant, the report serves as a platform for the clear, urgent, and much-needed voices of Indigenous peoples to expose the climate catastrophe through which we are living.
The report, a collection of voices that continue the tradition of Indigenous peoples in the ecumenical movement, is the fruit of the WCC Indigenous Peoples Network Reference Group and its first in-person gathering in October 2024.
“These voices can inspire and challenge a common witness to bring change and transformation,” notes Rev. Dr Peter Cruchley, director of the WCC Commission for World Mission and Evangelism, in the report’s preface. “The onslaught of climate change; the systemic violence of land loss, racism, poverty, and human rights violations; and the continuing legacies of colonization continue to disproportionately affect Indigenous peoples amongst all peoples.”
Contributor Anne Pattel-Gray, in her essay Freedom from Colonial Christian Oppression, notes that she struggles with any narrative that portrays a colonial God who favours one race over another.
“Our theology is born from our land, founded on our relationship with the Creator Spirit since time began; and it is this deep ancient wisdom that sustains and provides our resilience to survive,” she writes.
She effectively summarizes the Indigenous spiritual insights shared by the authors of this publication. Together, they reveal how Indigenous wisdom is essential to tackling the climate crisis and how that crisis is linked intrinsically to justice concerning land matters.
As contributor Shane Goldie seeks to capture the profound spiritual connection in his poem “Earth’s Pulse,” he speaks of the connection Indigenous peoples have with the land.
He notes: “The way we treat the Earth reflects how we treat ourselves and each other.”
The seminar and the publication were supported by a grant from the German Federal Foreign Office.
Download the “Indigenous Spiritualities, Land Rights, and Climate Justice report”
“Aprendamos de la Tierra – Learning from the Earth”
Ecumenical Indigenous Peoples Network
Commission on World Mission and Evangelism
Post expires on May 12th, 2025
