{"id":290,"date":"2019-02-25T23:54:22","date_gmt":"2019-02-25T23:54:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/presence\/?p=290"},"modified":"2019-02-26T00:09:32","modified_gmt":"2019-02-26T00:09:32","slug":"indians-on-the-reservation-missionary-priests-from-india-and-catholic-settler-colonialism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/presence\/2019\/02\/25\/indians-on-the-reservation-missionary-priests-from-india-and-catholic-settler-colonialism\/","title":{"rendered":"Religious Prejudice on the Reservation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sonja Thomas, Associate Professor, gave a powerful lecture regarding Indians on the Reservation: Missionary Priests from India and Catholic Settler Colonialism. Her speech really opened my eyes to the injustice which Native American people must overcome in the United States. I find it extremely shocking and almost saddening that I have made it two decades into my life and still have never heard of majority of these issues before this talk. I was alarmed that I have been so isolated from the struggles of Native Americans. I believe that our education system and even new outlets should place a greater emphasis on reporting what is happening on these Reservations. Since without knowledge, Americans are just falling to be bystanders to these hateful acts. <\/span><\/p>\n

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I found that the most impactful aspect of Professor Thomas\u2019s lecture to be was her personal narratives. She really captivated the audience by first and foremost stating why she had a passion for this topic. One was able to see her enthusiasm for being able to share her thoughts with the crowd. Professor Thomas grew up in a devoted Catholic community in Montana. She was highly devoted to her religion to the point where she never missed Sunday Mass, read the Bible everyday, and even read the Bible multiple times. This was something that was relatable to my upbringing. While growing up in McLean, Virginia, my family placed a heavy emphasis on our Episcopalian faith. We said Grace every night, attended church every Sunday, volunteered through our Church, and much more. I always had a connection with my Priest and leadership team at Church, and I enjoyed hearing about Professor Thomas\u2019s similar experience. I especially found it interesting how she shared a story about knowing all the Indian Priest throughout the country, no matter where she is. It appeared that those within the Church were her support system. As well, it must have been such an eye opening opportunity to have multiple Priests constantly moving in and out of your family home.<\/span><\/p>\n

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As \u00a0well, I felt like Professor Thomas\u2019s lecture allowed me to gain a lot of knowledge that I honestly should have already known. I was shocked and saddened to hear about the physical and sexual abuse that infested the Catholic Schools on the Reservation for these Native Americans. It is horrible that such hateful acts continue to happen in today\u2019s day of age. I hope that through spreading the news and educating the general population on what is really happening in these communities, America will feel the pain which is impacting this group of Native Americans. Then hopefully through education, the injustices which were highlighted in Professor Thomas\u2019s lecture will eventually disappear.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Following the lecture, an attendee posed a question to Professor Thomas regarding if there were any other reservations in the United States that shows parallels to what is happening in Montana, since this is where the focus of her research is coming from. Professor Thomas took a moment to think and then responded in a very eloquent manner. She started with a smile, as she reflected on a phone call she actually had with an Indian priest about the same topic yesterday. She then talked about how having such a strong faith drives the sense of community. Professor Thomas then noted that these Native American reservations were mostly visible in the rural areas of the United States. However, these reservations deal with far different issues beyond what is happening in typical society. She then dived into the other issues beyond religious prejudice which faces these communities. As well, she notes that Priests have different relationships with their communities and how this differs between reservations. Overall, I was extremely impressed by Professor Thomas\u2019s vast knowledge and passion for spreading this topic and I now know I will have a greater appreciation for it going forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sonja Thomas, Associate Professor, gave a powerful lecture regarding Indians on the Reservation: Missionary Priests from India and Catholic Settler Colonialism. Her speech really opened my eyes to the injustice which Native American people must overcome in the United States. I find it extremely shocking and almost saddening that I have made it two decades … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Religious Prejudice on the Reservation”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8565,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[440730],"tags":[906,938],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/presence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/presence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/presence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/presence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8565"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/presence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=290"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/presence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":293,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/presence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290\/revisions\/293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/presence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/presence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/presence\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=290"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}