Every week at All Saints Church we put our faith into action. This week we are signing a letter to our members of Congress urging them to pass two pieces of legislation: to designate what is currently Columbus Day as Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and to support the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies Act. The Episcopal Church stands with the Indigenous Peoples of the world in support of their rights to live in and retain their traditional lands and territories, to maintain their languages and enrich their cultures, and to ensure that their traditions are strengthened and passed on for generations to come.

We are also as a congregation participating in a project called Telling the Whole Story that is dealing with white supremacy in the church. There are two committees working on it. One is looking into the history of the land that our church is built on, which originally was Tonga/Gabrielino. The other committee is looking at the history of our stained glass windows, which depict all the Biblical characters and saints as white.

Truth and Healing Commission

Earlier this year, Secretary Haaland of the Department of Interior announced the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative, a comprehensive review of the troubled legacy of our country’s boarding schools for Indigenous children. Complementary to the initiative, members of Congress introduced the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the United States Act (H.R. 5444/S. 2907) in both chambers to establish a congressional commission to investigate and document the historical and ongoing harms perpetrated by Indian Boarding School Policies.

As part of our Church’s work on racial reconciliation, justice, and our commitment to truth-telling, we are dedicated to addressing the legacy of violence and abuse perpetrated by boarding schools, including our Church’s role in the kidnapping of Indigenous children from their families by participating in the boarding school system. The Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the United States Act will begin the work of healing intergenerational trauma and advancing efforts of racial reconciliation. We urge you to support this legislation’s swift passage.

Indigenous Peoples Day

We are also asking our members to support legislation to designate Indigenous Peoples’ Day as a legal public holiday and replace the term “Columbus Day” with the term “Indigenous Peoples’ Day” (H.R. 5473/S. 2919). The current holiday of Columbus Day invokes the history of colonial

violence perpetrated against Indigenous Peoples in the Americas. At least 13 states and more than 100 cities have already adopted the changes to replace the holiday with Indigenous Peoples Day. A nationally recognized Indigenous Peoples Day would help recognize America’s Tribal Nations and honor the cultures and contributions of native communities.

Options to Sign:

1. Sign a letter at the Action Table Sunday morning.
2. Download a PDF copy of the letter to sign and mail.
   Letter used at the Action Table          Letter for those outside California

3. Click on this link to sign a petition online.

If you ever need to look up your member of the U.S. House of Representatives or your U.S. Senators check here: www.house.gov and www.senate.gov.

Additional Resource 

For more background information, you can read the National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition’s resources for churches and boarding school history.

Read the statement on Indigenous boarding schools by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and President of the House of Deputies Gay Clark Jennings here.

Find The Episcopal Church’s statement of support for the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies here.

Episcopal Church Resolutions

• 2018-A044: Set Essential Components of Anti-Racism or Racial Reconciliation Training
• 2012-A131: Express Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples
• 2009-D035: Repudiate the Doctrine of Discovery