‘It may be that we are the ones in need of saving’
By Eileen Schuhmann | Presbyterian Hunger Program Staff
Participants march back from the mining road to the Oak Flat circle on Nov 4. Photo by Eileen Schuhmann.
OAK FLAT, Arizona — On Nov. 4, about 150 people gathered in prayer at Chi’chil Biłdagoteel (Oak Flat) in the Tonto National Forest of Arizona, sacred land of the San Carlos Apache and other Indigenous nations.
Eileen Schuhmann, Associate for Global Engagement and Resources in the Presbyterian Hunger Program, traveled to Oak Flat representing the Hunger Program and as a delegate with the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery.
That day, people came together to repair the broken circle, a circle that was broken with the arrival of colonizers who murdered Indigenous peoples and stole their lands. We settlers were invited to take our place in the circle alongside our Indigenous siblings. We were invited to join in solidarity and unity as relatives, as family, in defense of Mother Earth and in defense of Indigenous sovereignty and freedom of religion.
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