10 Spiritual Books from Indigenous Leaders

In honour of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation

Hi friends,

Tomorrow (September 30) is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. If your city or town is anything like mine, there are dozens of events happening with storytelling, art, Indigenous-led markets, demonstrations, walks, dancing, and so much more as we observe and honour together. I’ve written many times here in Field Notes, elsewhere, and in my books about my own ongoing and imperfect journey into decolonization and renewal as a woman descended from settlers but this week,¹ I wanted to step aside in order to share a few of the storytellers, leaders, and even friends who have deeply impacted my spiritual journey in this way.

For those of you who perhaps aren’t aware of this statutory holiday or Orange Shirt Day here in Canada, here’s the official perspective:

The day honours the children who never returned home and Survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process.

Both the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day take place on September 30.

Orange Shirt Day is a commemorative day led by Indigenous communities to raise awareness about the intergenerational impacts of residential schools on children, families, and communities. It honours Indigenous children who were lost in the residential school system.

The orange shirt symbolizes the loss of culture, freedom, and self-esteem that many Indigenous children experienced. This day reminds us that “Every Child Matters”.

On September 30, we encourage all Canadians to wear orange to honour the thousands of Survivors of residential schools.

I’ve seen such a mighty change in these conversations over my own lifetime. It’s my hope that my own children and all of the generations coming up behind us will look back and be able to say the same. Even as you attend the events or watch them on television or online, it’s my hope that this opens the door for a new aspect of your own spiritual journey, too.

Photo by chris robert on Unsplash

This past week, my friend Nichole M. Forbes² (who is also the Program Coordinator for The Canadian Learning Community for Decolonization and Innovation in Theological Education) shared about her experience as a Métis woman leading communion at a local Christian university and, while the entire post is worth a read, there were a few lines in her caption that I wanted to highlight for you:

Over the next few days my hope is that non-Indigenous people show up in Indigenous led spaces. Hear our stories. See our community brilliance. Understand our experiences differently.

September 30 is not a holiday. It’s an opportunity, an invitation, to build relationship and to continue our collective story on these lands in a better way. Please walk with us, sit with us and see us as we are - part of the beautiful creation picture on these lands.

The books I’m sharing today are meant to honour that generous invitation to listen, to hear a story, to understand an experience that is perhaps different than your own or different than the dominant story you have known all of your life. See and receive these stories as they are: beautiful, powerful, brilliant, and wise. And so, be changed.

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First, an admission: as a woman of deep faith from within the Christian tradition, I definitely have an obvious tendency towards writers who either have roots within a Christian tradition or still identify as spiritual with that shared language even while it has evolved and expanded quite a bit in practice. That is not to say that interfaith or non-religious books or leaders outside of this lane aren’t worth your time and attention - they absolutely are! please do read them! - but simply an attempt to narrow the field at bit and focus on an area that I know many of us share as a starting point. Please also read Indigenous fiction, memoir, history, political perspectives, graphic novels, poetry, children’s books, and much more.

Most of these books are available wherever books are bought or borrowed: I’ve linked to the publisher websites so that you can see some options (but please consider visiting a local bookstore to support their presence in your community as well).

10 Spiritual Books from Indigenous Leaders

First up, a Bible. The First Nations Version: An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament and now in the Psalms and Proverbs as well. Led by Terry M. Wildman who is Ojibwe/Yaqui himself and with a council of twelve from various tribal heritages, this is a brilliant translation of Scripture I’ve grown to love for my own devotional and congregational purposes.

Shalom and The Community of Creation: An Indigenous Vision by Randy S. Woodley - Almost twenty years ago now, I read a ton of stuff on the missional church and the Kingdom of God that was deeply formative in my life but this was the book that gathered all that up and re-contextualized all that work in a way that I’ve never forgotten while exposing some of the problematic theology, too. Connecting those ideas with something beyond “kingdom” language towards a communal language that includes not only all of us but the land and water and sky of our place, too, was such a beautiful reimagining of shalom. It taught me how we bring ourselves to the text - for better and for worse, at times - and how important it is to be to read the text through the lens of justice, wholeness, and peacemaking. (Also recommended: Journey to Eloheh: How Indigenous Values Lead Us to Harmony and Well-Being by Randy and Edith Woodey.)

Native: Identity, Belonging, and Discovering God by Kaitlin Curtice. I love all of Kaitlin’s books - she’s a friend but also a teacher of mine - but this one still holds a special place in my heart. I suppose it isn’t very often that a book about identity, let alone dismantling white supremacy and patriarchy, reads like a poem, but that’s Kaitlin. I’m currently reading her newest book is called Everything is a Story: Reclaiming the Power of Stories to Heal and Shape Our Lives, releasing on October 7th. And WOW. (We’ll have an interview with Kaitlin here at Field Notes to celebrate that release, too so keep an eye out for that in a few weeks!)

Becoming Kin: An Indigenous Call to Unforgetting the Past and Reimagining Our Future by Patty Krawec. A great primer for anyone who is interested in understanding our current moment in reconciliation through a lens of history and how we even got here as well as why it matters and where we go from here. I particularly appreciate how Patty Krawec engages critically, but generously, with her own Christian faith throughout even as she explores First Nations and settler history alongside identity, language, and myth. If you haven’t read much in this era yet, I’d start here.

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer. This isn't perhaps strictly a “spiritual” book as you may have understood that term before but it absolutely is a spiritual experience to braid mystic wonder with scientific discipline and Indigenous wisdom. Beautiful and rich and deep, this is a book you could read and re-read for years. It helps you fall back in love with the land, giving you fresh perspective as you walk lightly even as your knowledge deepens. (Also recommended: the Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults version, adapted by Monique Gray Smith, and The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World.)

We Survived the End of the World: Lessons from Native America on Apocalypse and Hope by Steven Charleston. I love everything this revered retired Episcopalian bishop and Choctaw elder has written over the years but whew this was such a balm to my soul this past year. What a necessary, compelling, and helpful book for right now. Like a lot of us, I find myself floundering on what to DO and how to approach this moment in time well, but his words on resilience, hope, and wisdom as we navigate our current apocalypse were so helpful, so healing. (Also recommended: Ladder to the Light: An Indigenous Elder’s Meditations on Hope and Courage by Steven Charleston.)

Unsettling The Word: Biblical Experiments in Decolonization edited by Steve Heinrichs - This is a compilation of essays and reflections from more than 60 different Indigenous and Settler authors who are grappling with the Bible. The Bible was used by colonial forces to oppress and destroy Indigenous people’s lives and land so how can we engage with that text in that reality? Disruptive, unsettling, honest, it’s a courageous reclaiming with an eye on peace-making, decolonization, and repair.

Rescuing the Gospel from the Cowboys: A Native American Expression of the Jesus Way by Richard Twiss. Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand why and how the gospel of Jesus has NOT always been good news for Indigenous folks. And yet it offers such hope! Richard Twiss is an elder who is deeply missed by all who knew him but his work and legacy carries on. He was doing good work in this lane years before reconciliation was a household word.

Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing, Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery by Mark Charles and Soong-Chan Rah. A deeply researched look into history and theology, this book is primarily focused on the devastating effects of the Doctrine of Discovery as authored by the church in the 15th century. While it’s focused primarily on American readers and churches, it’s still a call to reconciliation all of us need to heed as from the Spirit. (Also recommended: The Land Is Not Empty: Following Jesus in Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery by Sarah Augustine)

Wearing a Broken Indigene Heart on the Sleeve of Christian Mission by Carmen Lansdowne. While a bit more academic than the other books on this list, Carmen’s approach to theology and missions is basically asking the question, “If Indigenous hearts have been broken by Christianity, particularly Christian “mission,” is it even possible for this thing to be life giving?” The Rt. Rev. Dr. Carmen Lansdowne was the first Indigenous woman to serve as moderator for the United Church of Canada and our paths crossed when we came to speak at Evolving Faith back in 2023; she’s been stuck with me as a friend ever since. Her book is going to be a cornerstone of Christian-Indigeneous theology and relationship.

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Essentials

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Report - Reading this report is life-changing and I believe it should be required for all Canadians, particularly for those of us descended from settlers. These stories need to be carried by us all.

The 94 Calls to Action - People of faith, pay special attention to the calls direct towards us Items 58-61. The Church has been complicit and we have to repent in action. The CBC is tracking the progress on these calls to action with Beyond 94 Project.

If you aren’t aware of whose land you are living on, start here with Native-land.ca. Commit to learning about that nation. Most nations have a visitors centre, even if it’s just online, where you can attend education events or visit a museum or connect with teachers.

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A Prayer for Reconciliation

Holy One, Creator of all that is, seen and unseen,
of story and of song, of heartbeat and of tears
of bodies, souls, voices and all relations:
you are the God of all truth and the way of all reconciliation.

Uphold with your love and compassion all who open their lives
in the sacred sharing of their stories
breathe in us the grace to trust in your loving forgiveness,
that we may face our histories with courage;
touch us through the holy gift of story
that those who speak and those who listen may
behold your own redeeming presence;
guide us with holy wisdom to enter through the gates of remorse
that our feet may walk gently and firmly 
on the way of justice and healing.

Amen.
From the Anglican Church of Canada in 2011

Gently,

S.

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1. I know that we’ve fallen a bit behind on our Unexpected Jesus series. I haven’t forgotten we have one more chapter left in that latest installation. Coming soon!

2. Nichole and I have known each other since way back in our shared SheLoves Magazine days, for those who may remember it. So grateful for the SheLovelies and their ongoing influence in my life!