Christine Graef

Mending the Broken Land: Seven Stories of Jesus in Indian Country Christine Graef

After five centuries of oppressions committed in the name of Jesus, many hearts have hardened toward the name of Christ on the part of many of those native or original to the lands we now call America and Canada. The imposition of residential schools, removal policies, and forced adoptions left many angry about white man's religion, confused about a savior who would promote such violent ripping apart of families, deceitful taking away of lands, and forced assimilation away from natural heritages. Acknowledgment has been made and apologies given. In Canada large amounts of compensation are being paid out to survivors and their communities. But what does Scripture say about culture and what can original treaties teach us about healing from our shared history? In an era when America and Canada are being called to return to God, Mending the Broken Land provides a meeting ground in an ecotone of cultures as diverse as nature's meadows. Drawing on the example of the governance of a first people of the northeast, the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, it witnesses a new generation in a process of healing aligning with the teachings of Christ.