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BY KATE THOMAS
UMCONNECTION STAFF

It?s not every day that you cross paths with someone who allows you to see life in a new light. Often these are people who have a unique way of awakening a deep part of our soul that we didn?t know had been sleeping.

I recently had this experience when I spoke with Ray Buckley, Director of Connectional Ministries and Native Discipleship for the Alaska Missionary Conference. As I learned about his ministry and heritage, my eyes were opened to a new world that I had been living in all along.

When Ray was a child, every morning his father would wash his own hair, braid it and then pray while burning sweet grass or cedar. Always after awakening, Ray would smell the burnt grass or cedar while embracing his father. Today, that smell is the fragrance of God to Ray and is a reminder that God is with and around him. This is one of the many deep perspectives Natives have that we can learn from.

Ray has a way of walking in two worlds - the Native and the Anglo worlds - and highlighting common ground in both. His grandmother was a Tlingit, his father was Lakota Indian and his mother was from Scotland. Along with his six siblings, most of them adopted, Ray grew up on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.

A number of unsatisfactory conditions at the reservation encouraged his family to move to Southeast Alaska in the 1970s. He has stayed in Alaska to work with Native people there and educate others on the culture and value of Native traditions.

When speaking with others, Ray patiently explains his Native perspective and how it would translate to another?s faith. He understands both perspectives, and took the time to help me learn what was important to his culture, as he does for others.

The gift of speaking honestly with a humble heart is one that manifests itself uniquely in Ray. It helps him, he said, as he works with many isolated villages in Alaska, connecting them with spiritual leaders in The United Methodist church.

Many of the villages function as they did 100 years ago. Often these villages haven?t had a pastor to serve Communion in 10 years or anyone to do burials, marriages and baptisms.

This lack of spiritual leadership can be directly linked to the suicide rates in young boys that has increased 500 percent in the last five years. Ray is working to address immediate needs and bring hope to these villages. He also spends time traveling to other parts of the country, teaching about Native culture and helping churches understand how to connect with their Native neighbors by understanding how to incorporate Native American traditions into worship and church structure.

Native American history in our Baltimore-Washington region is a much different story. Ancestors of many Native Americans in the Baltimore area were brought there from reservations during the Indian Relocation Program. Capt. Richard Pratt?s line, 'Kill the Indian, save the man,' was the mentality of many in the mid-20th century.

Native Americans were brought to urban areas, enrolled in boarding schools and discouraged from speaking their native tongues. Often they were separated from their families, one of the most sacred and connected parts of Native culture.

Many married interracially and blended into the larger population. Today, many Native people lack opportunities to learn about their heritage. In order to love God fully, one must love oneself. For many relocated Indians, this is difficult and requires them to develop a sense of awareness and pride in who they are.

We have much to learn from our Native sisters and brothers. In Native American language, Ray told me, there is no word for 'orphan' or 'single mother' because everyone is family. Those who are adopted receive the same benefits and treatment as blood-related family members. Children are sacred.

The direct translation of 'baby' means 'pierced ears,' because 'everything we say and do is heard by the infant, whose ears are always open,' Ray said.

Many Native people also experience prayer as a way of living. If one lives in openness to God, 'then your life becomes a living prayer,' said Ray. God is an experience for Native people through all the different senses.

These are just some of the rich traditions that Natives believe and live to develop their faith in healthy, holistic ways. Learning those traditions can bring us all back to a healthy, humble place. May we honor our individuality and see our differences as gifts, as though we are seeing them through God?s eyes.

SIDEBAR:
Ray is the author and illustrator of six children?s books and two adult books on storytelling. They teach about Native traditions and culture. Each page is an intricate painting that uses vibrant colors to portray the nature scenes. Ray says he gets his inspiration from childhood memories of watching his grandparents do bead work. They would pour all the beads into a bowl and mix them up, 'so they wouldn?t get jealous of one another,' Ray explains. When mixing his colors for painting, he often imagines a bowl of beads and all the colors mixing and playing with one another. The books can be purchased from www.cokesbury.com.