On "Sacred Relationship" -- an interview with Vance Blackfox
In this interview, Cherokee citizen and breakthrough Indigenous theologian, Vance Blackfox (MA, Lutheran School of Theology, Chicago), illuminates some of the gaps in today's understanding of Native American spiritual practices and identity.
Click below to listen to the interview.
"We weren’t worshiping the tree, or the land, or the plants, or the animals, or the waters -- we were giving thanks to and honoring the tree, or the plants, or the animals, or the water."
"We are dependent upon our non-human relatives for understanding how we are in relationship with Creator."
"Everyone says we have to give thanks to Jesus because he sacrificed himself for sins and our salvation… What is the difference between understanding that and understanding that we need to say thank you to the water for giving us life. We have to have water to survive, and this river is full of fish."
This episode of the AllCreation podcast, part 1 of our series exploring the Native American sense of "Sacred Relationship," was actually recorded during the interviews for our prior issue. Vance explained during those interviews that the annihilation and relocation of Native American peoples during the colonization of North America didn't just tragically and traumatically affect Native American lives -- it severed and destroyed sacred practices. In this recording, Vance shines a light on some of the gaps in the common understanding of Native American spirituality and relationship with our "non-human relatives." The Native American tragedy is not just about lives and lands lost, but also the loss of sacred relationship and ceremony.
Click here to listen to the podcast.
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Vance Blackfox is guest editor for AllCreation’s Fall Equinox 2021 collection, “Sacred Relationship.” This collection features articles, book excerpts, and media from an all-Native American team of contributors. Find out more about Vance and that collection here.
