A New Trauma
We heard the warnings and followed the rules: Stay home, social distance, self-quarantine for 14 days. We did our best, and we flattened curves. Yeah, us! But, what about the individuals who, because of the forced isolation, were exposed to abusive relationships, addictions, and worsening physical and mental health issues. This pandemic has made Native ministry even more relevant.
Though many Native tribes experience isolation due to the nature of Indian reservations, they value relationships and family ties above all else. Take the Navajo people for example, the Navajo Nation covers over 27,000 square miles and spans across four states in the southwest. With just over 173,000 Navajo living on that land, the Navajo Nation has a population density of 6.5 people per square mile, less dense than Montana. The Navajo know isolation. But isolation is not the same as loneliness. The Navajo gather frequently for ceremonies, worship, and family events.
Loneliness, however, is the feeling that your social needs are not being met. Loneliness is medically linked to poor health, disease, and early mortality, as well as increased anxiety and depression. For Native peoples, who lived through the forced imprisonment of residential schools and heard stories of ancestors wiped out by epidemics like smallpox or the Spanish Flu, this pandemic has heightened fear. For those already medically delicate and isolated by distance from medical facilities, it has reignited feelings of abandonment. The fear of this pandemic wiping out the elders of a tribe is real, but the loneliness it has caused is just as real and dangerous – and not just for the elders.
This spring, at the beginning of the pandemic closings, Haskell Indian Nations University experienced the death of a student. In an effort to protect students and their Native communities, the school was closed, and the students were told to stay in their dorms until arrangements were made to get them home.
“For many at Haskell, school is their safe place,” Deon Prue, LIM ministry staff at Haskell LIGHT, explained. “Not all of them, but many of the students have escaped abusive homes and addictions and will stay in Lawrence as long as they can. There a number who, also, have no home to go back to.”
This was the case for this student who, homeless and struggling to figure out where to when the school completely closed, turned to alcohol.
“It was devastating,” Bob Prue (Rosebud Sioux), LIM ministry director at Haskell LIGHT, recalled. “The students were stuck inside. No one could leave, and we couldn’t go in to provide any support. At a time like this, these students needed someone to talk to, and it was hard not being able to help.” Bob and Deon both stated their sadness and concern about school closing in the spring.
“It was disappointing the timing of everything,” they explained. “We had just finished up a really successful Sacred Story program, 37 students and members of the Haskell community coming together to share their stories of trauma and begin their healing journey. Normally, we would follow the program with one-on-one meetings, building relationships, and helping individuals move forward. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to do as much as we would like.”
But Bob and Deon keep working! They create weekly Facebook live videos and make one-on-one phone calls with a number of students they had built relationships with in the past year.
Bob went on to say, “Now those students have returned home, some to abusive situations and the draw of addiction, we are doing what we can to keep their faith strong and their lives joyful. We are hoping to be open for the fall semester. If not, it’s likely a lot of students will never come back to school.”
Warring Interests
So, we see warring interests. The value of protecting the medically fragile against the long-term consequences of Stay-at-Home orders. The value of human life versus the struggle of mental health.
Native communities already struggle. According to various resources:
32% grew up in poverty
(https://assets.aspeninstitute.org/content/uploads/files/content/images/Fast%20Facts.pdf)22% of the females and 12% of males have attempted or planned their own suicide; nearly all of them have been affected by the suicide of a friend or family member;
(https://assets.aspeninstitute.org/content/uploads/files/content/images/Fast%20Facts.pdf)
84% of the women have experienced violence at the hands of a family member or boyfriend; 67% of those experienced sexual violence;
(https://www.lakotalaw.org/news/2017-12-05/notinvisible)
15% have some sort of substance dependence.
(https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/topics/tribal_affairs/ ai-an-data-handout.pdf)
Add to this the external stresses of job loss and isolation present during the pandemic, and you have the perfect opportunity for overdoses, abuse, and self-harm.
Several of our ministry staff have expressed, single-parent houses are being hit the worst, particularly single dads.
“The normal stresses of single parenthood are being compounded by the stress of keeping the lights on in the house and food on the table when the parent is a non-essential worker,” one ministry leader explained. “Keep in mind over 50% of Native households are single-parent homes, and you see the magnitude of stress happening in our communities.”
But there is hope
Tribes and organizations have created virtual communities and are encouraging people to join. And while zoom calls and text messages cannot replace the face-to-face relationships humans crave, they can take some of the sting out of isolation.
Organizations and the school districts are creating places to meet and learn about culture, creating conversations and relationships across long distances.
LIM’s staff has had to modify their way of ministry, and the results have been amazing. We are remembering the Church isn’t the building but the community of people who strive to love like Jesus.
Alaska
In Alaska, the closing of remote villages has forced volunteer groups to cancel their summer plans. So, LIM’s Alaska Team, Nate and Sarah Milan, created a Vacation Bible School video series. We may not be able to get to the families, but we can use the technology and resources available to reach them with the good news of Jesus. Nate also stated that the strange and difficult winter helped their family to build relationships and trust among the people and organizations in Fairbanks.
“They realized we’re here for the long haul,” Nate laughed. “I guess they figure if we didn’t run away after this winter, we can survive nearly anything!”
New Mexico
Tim Norton, serving in Navajo, New Mexico, explained Navajo’s weekend quarantine was difficult to work around, and, obviously, canceled Sunday services. The weekend quarantine has since lifted. For the third year, Tim plans to welcome two Concordia University-Irvine students as interns and is hoping restrictions continue to lift so they can still come and participate in ministry.
“This summer will definitely look different than past summers,” Tim said. “But we can work around small group restrictions and still provide a great time. The Navajo people are ready to get their community back, and we are ready to help as best we can.” Tim saw this desire for socializing recently when he put together a Travelling Communion Event.
“Nobody in our congregation came out and said, ‘I really miss communion,’” Tim recalled. “But, when I arrived, fully masked and gloved, you could see the joy on their faces as they received the sacrament for the first time in months. It was such a great day – filled with the Gospel and love and friends! It made us all really excited to get back together again.”
Washington State
In Neah Bay, Ben and Natalie (Makah) Maxson have taken serving to a new level. In the midst of closing schools and food services, Ben and Natalie bought a food truck. During certain periods of the day, the food is free and provided to those in need in the community.
“It has been a unique way to reach out to the community and show them we are here to serve,” Ben said. “Not only that, but it’s also been a lot of fun. We’ve built new relationships and are creating a sense of trust and community around ministry. The church board has been great for letting us keep the truck on the property for the time being, so it also acts as a stopping ground for youth.
“Funny story: my littles: Elijah, Elsie, and Judah love the youth group so much. The first weekend we opened the truck, a youth came by and all three go running up to her. She was a little shocked to have someone approach her, but my kids have recently learned the value of an air hug. So, when the teenager comes by, they all air hug! Crazy world we live in where a 7, 5, and 4-year-old are taught to air hug, but we do what we can to keep spreading love!”
Canada
Rick and Linda (Cree) Martin have been staying busy with numerous tele-counseling sessions.
Rick explained, “we recently formed a relationship with the Nations Alliance Health Center in Canada, which consists of five Indigenous communities who come together to provide health wellness. It has been a great relationship. We were able to expand our ministry to new remote areas through technology, and we see this is a way to reach out even further despite vast distances.”
Rick and Linda also had a tremendous break-through with a friend in one village they frequent. Linda recalled, “This man experienced a lot of heartbreak in his life. His brother committed suicide last summer, and he had turned to drugs and alcohol to cope. We have been working with him and trying to get him into a rehabilitation center, but he had always been resistant. Now, after the isolation and anxiety of the pandemic, we think he finally felt he had hit rock bottom and reached out to us to help get him into a facility. While we don’t ever want people to hit rock bottom, in this man’s case, it was the event he needed to finally make changes in his life, and for that we praise God!”
Arizona
In Phoenix, Arizona, the Sacred Ground staff has continued to plunge further into Native recovery ministry. Though their facility was closed, they did not stop. Kevin Maulson (Lac du Flambeau), ministry leader in Arizona, created traveling education teams who visited the residential facility where most of our clients live. They were able to not only minister to those who were already in treatment in with but reach more individuals who, because they were stuck inside the house, decided to sit and see what Sacred Ground was all about.
“This pandemic was hard,” Kevin stated. “But the growth that came with it can only be attributed to God’s will. We don’t always understand, but we know God works all things for good for those who love Him. And we definitely saw this during the last few months in Phoenix.”
The Phoenix ministry staff also teamed up with other Native organizations in the area to organize and deliver food to closed reservations in Arizona.
Overall, this may not be the winter and spring we wanted or could ever have imagined, but we can see how God has taken it and made it work to increase the footprint and ministry work for Lutheran Indian Ministries.
Rick McCafferty (Inupiaq) recently said, “What if we look at the pandemic and the social unrest, not as a burden, but as an opportunity to reach more Native men and women with the hope and healing that comes from our Savior, Jesus Christ.”
All of this, overlapped with an outpouring of racial tension and protests has only increased anxiety in Native communities.
Native ministry is more important than ever. Lutheran Indian Ministries is poised at the starting gate. Our Sacred Story Travelling Team is packing their bags, with plans to visit the Montana tribes again and continue the work we started early this year. Haskell LIGHT is reopening its doors. People everywhere are attempting to return to normal. But for those whose quarantine created more trauma, they need help finding their new normal. And LIM wants to be there to assist in their healing.
We can’t wait to tell you all about it!
Read more about the effects of trauma: LutheranIndianMinistries.org/news/the-effects-of-trauma