Invisible No More

By Reverend David Bailey, Assistant Director of Native American Affairs 

Throughout the Old and New Testaments, there are several tracts which pertain to one's civic responsibility toward their neighbor. But who are our neighbors?  Sometimes, our neighbors can be long-standing enemies. Look at Jesus with the Samaritan woman for example (John 4:1-42). Jews and Samaritans were enemies, yet that didn't stop Jesus from having an authentic encounter with the Samaritan woman in which he didn’t see her as an enemy. Instead, he saw her humanity.

As Catholics, we believe in the imago Dei-Image of God. This means that all men and all women—regardless of race, culture, country of origin, or first language—ALL of us are created in the image and likeness of God and, therefore, entitled to be treated with dignity. In John 13:35, Jesus tells us, "This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." This is our mandate as Catholics: love each other and treat everyone with dignity. 

In the US today, there are 574 federally recognized Native American nations. There are at least 2 million Natives in the US and about the same number in Canada. Yet, how many times do we consider Natives when we have conversations about equality, or human dignity, or race relations? In recent years, Native activists have adopted a slogan: #notinvisible. 

Native Americans are often called the Invisible Minority. Yet, there are tribally enrolled Native men and women who live and work and go to school and raise their children in major cities all across North America. So, why are they invisible? It's about perspective. You usually don’t think about someone until you’re looking for them. In life, it is often the case that ignorance is a choice. We can be willfully ignorant by refusing to look for ways to encounter the neighbors we do not yet know. 

The second Monday in October is Indigenous Peoples’ Day. November is Native American Heritage Month. As those dates approach, here are two points I’d like you to consider. 

Ask yourself two questions: 

  1. Whose ancestral land am I on? Wherever you live now was part of the traditional land base of at least one tribe and probably several. Who are these people? Where are they now? What do you know about them?
  2. Where is the closest tribe or Native cultural center to where I live? There are 567 reservations in the US and many more in Canada. What reservation is closest to you? Most reservations have visitor’s centers, almost all have websites, and many offer events throughout the year which are open to the public. 

Do you know any Natives? If not, there’s something you can do about that. Native Americans are not invisible. They’re here. They are alive. They have survived and they thrive. And it only takes a little effort to get to know them. As Catholics we believe that all men and women are created in the image and likeness of God and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. All means all… including the ones we don’t yet know.