This article first appeared in Anabaptist Climate Collaborative’s The Climate Pollinator newsletter.
Members of Waterford Mennonite Church in Goshen, Indiana, are baptized in a small pond behind the church that is home to beavers, fish and many species of insects.
The
Waterford Wetlands, a 55-acre area of undeveloped land along the Elkhart River, is a source of pride for the congregation.
Sunday school classes and small groups are invited to tromp through the forest to visit the river. Photographs of the insects, flowers and other critters that call the wetlands home hang in the church foyer as a reminder of the abundance of life it sustains.
Recently, a new piece of artwork was added to the display: a portrait of three Potawatomi dancers. The photograph, by Potawatomi artist
Sharon Hoogstraten, is a call for the congregation to dig deeper into the story of the land.
A brief history of the land on the church’s website begins in the 1950s, when a previous owner dug a pond to raise fish. But what about before that?
Like most of the United States, the land owned by Waterford Mennonite Church was taken from the Indigenous People who lived on it (in this case the Pokagon band of the Potawatomi) through treaties and forced relocation in the 1700-1800s. Mennonite settlers rarely participated directly in the removal of Indigenous Peoples, but they often moved in soon after, setting up homesteads in places like Goshen within the first decade of them being vacated.
“We’re living on Potawatomi land here and it was not taken in a just way from the people at all,” said Luke Gascho, a member of Waterford Mennonite Church who helped the church connect with
The Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery. His question is: “So what does one do?”
The Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery is an organization that works with settler churches and institutions to uncover their history and work to restore relations with the land and the people it was stolen from.
It’s important for people to realize, Gascho said, that the Doctrine of Discovery isn’t just a thing of the past. It continues to drive the exploitation, pollution and degradation of land today and systematically puts Indigenous and marginalized peoples in places most at risk for environmental hazards.
Changing this doctrine is critical because it lies at the root of environmental destruction contributing to climate change.
At Waterford Mennonite Church, more than 20 members have organized to work on this issue. They:
- Drafted a land acknowledgement statement
- Held Sunday school classes to discuss the book,
The Land is Not Empty by Sarah Augustine, executive director of The Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery - Participated in learning opportunities like a bike tour of Potawatomi and Miami tribal sites in the Goshen area
- Started conversations about where the church’s money is invested and the prospect of land-return
Physically bringing reminders of the land’s history into the church space in the form of Hoogstraten’s photograph is one step in the process of facing history and working to change it.
Learn more
Apache-Stronghold, defending sacred sites
