Navajo Nation Christian Leadership Summit

[MarvelousMarvin]

Today (Fri., 19 Aug) I was privileged to attend the first annual Navajo Nation Christian Leadership Summit. (The Summit ends Saturday at noon, so I will be back in Tse Bonito in the morning.) As some of you might remember, my wife, Betsy, is Navajo. I am a member of a small church (8 members, 20-30 in attendance Sunday AM) where I am the only "paleface," other than an occasional visitor. (I'm also the oldest man in the church. Never thought I would be the "resident geezer!")

Navajo Nation President Russell Begaye was supposed to be the keynote speaker, but last minute, he had to make a trip to Albuquerque and so could not attend. Navajo Nation Vice President Jonathan Nez was also one of the scheduled speakers, as was Navajo Nation Chief Justice Honorable Tom Tso. Nez and Tso were there and spoke as scheduled. Begaye, Nez, and Tso are all born-again Christians. (Wish some of our federal officials were Christians!)

Seems like a very common topic discussed by all of the speakers was the plight of kids being raised by single moms, and how that is destroying churches and the Navajo Nation. And that, of course, is not something that is limited to the Navajo people; it is a problem in nearly all churches in America, as well as secular society, regardless of race or ethnicity. The solution? If we men who are living our lives as true Christians, raising our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and setting Godly examples for others, would marry those single moms who can't find an unmarried Christian man who wants to take on the responsibility (that is probably 99.9% of the single moms!), those kids would have a Godly father to teach them about living a life for Christ. But sadly, nearly all churches falsely say that it is a sin for a man to have more than one wife.

My Pastor and I are arguing the issue. Thankfully, he is willing to discuss it, unlike all other Pastors whose churches I have attended since discovering the truth about plural marriage. Please pray for us, that God will open Pastor Kane Healy's eyes. Not too many generations ago, before the white missionaries taught them that it is a "sin" to have more than one wife, polygyny was something that was practiced by the Navajo people, as well as many other Indian tribes.

At least there is one organization that is showing the way. Keep up the good work, members and leaders of Biblical Families!

 

[andrew]

Marvin, I don't know if you've had a chance to look through the new website, but please let me know if there's anything that you think would be particularly helpful to add to the site for the people you're speaking with. Meanwhile we'll be praying for your work there.

 

[aineo]

Marvin, you are right, polygyny was quite common amongst many natives prior to being 'educated' by the Europeans. In fact, I descend from a Chickasaw chief who was the product of a polygynous marriage and may have been himself. I find that interesting because in many ways they were a matriarchal society, but the men still sometimes had more than one wife, and I am not aware of any example of women having more than one husband.

 

[Moxy]

Do you know of what other tribes practiced it? I have Native American heritage on both sides of my family. My great grandmother on my dads side was full Cherokee. On the 0ther side of the family there was some heritage there too...but the family was torn apart by death and some children were sent to orphanages and not much is known. All my mother could tell me was that at one time there was some land our family had access too in southern Illinois that was granted by the President (possibly a reservation?). But the paperwork is lost now on that historical bit.

 

[aineo]

Moxy, I think most of the major tribes in the southeastern US practiced it. The Cherokee, as I understand it, practiced it, but not widely. The Chickasaw and Choctaw, who were closely related practiced both monogamy and polygyny, but as an interesting side note, in many cases the seem to have married sisters. My suspicion is, and I haven't studied it enough to prove this, that most Native Americans practiced polygyny, as I think it is so natural that it is common among indigenous people.

 

[A&J]

The Sioux practiced it as did the Blackfoot, it was a very common practice that had its own hierarchy within the mans lodge between him and his wives and played a part in spiritual gatherings for First Nation families.