The Haunting

By: ​Randy Woodley

wasn’t it 1492 when Columbus sailed the azure ocean?
salty water lapping shores separating neighbors
come into our house—there is no honor in dispelling a neighbor
but unruly neighbors are a curse and bad religion is a plague
came the call from every corner with mangled crosses and dubious preachers
came, you came to our land…our lives…our homes

“virgin land,” mother earth milk & honey flowing from her breast—you saw fences
“virgin trees,” Oak mammoths decorating a vast green park—you saw timber
“virgin nations,” going…gone—left from a greater civilization—but you did not see me
land…trees…“ours” you say—and the nations just a blight on your conscience
cut the land, cut the trees, cut the nations…
this is the clarion Christian call
rape the land, rape the trees, rape the nations…
ignore my blood and tears when you pray

i am a red Indian, a raped virgin—you make me a “noble whore”
thrown into a dark corner with the trees, and the land, and the “lost” civilizations
my spiritual reservations are the places you relegate to me
compartments fit for non-human species—churches made from bleeding acreage and board feet

good Indian—come to church, makum’ god happy
good Indian get job, makum’ government happy
good Indian keep quiet…subdued…silent
quietly turn your vile abuse, your bitter loss onto yourself and other bad Indians
then…you makum’ everyone of us Americans very happy
cause we got your land
and we got your trees
and never forget…never, ever forget—that we got god—so we got your souls!

where do the souls of dead Indians go?
where does one go after rape and torture, robbery and slavery, disease and genocide?
perhaps we join the land and the trees
lingering with the spirit of Jesus on earth to curse savage Christian civilizations
we die early and we die often…but still here, we die slow
and we die knowing a secret that you don’t even care to know

that your land will not rest
and your trees will make only crooked crosses
and your children will breathe their last breaths in despair
…groping for an identity that you could not steal for them
     …grasping for an honor that always eluded them
…clinching for a God…and land…and trees…and nations that were never theirs

and herein is the lesson… gifts can’t be stolen
and love takes flight where control makes its nest
and Jesus? Oh, Jesus…
You crucify him anew with every sacrifice we make to accommodate you…
wasn’t it 1491 when there was no haunting?

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Dr. Randy Woodley

is an activist/scholar, distinguished speaker, teacher, and wisdom keeper who addresses a variety of issues concerning American culture, faith, justice, our relationship with the earth, and Indigenous realities. His expertise has been sought in national venues as diverse as Time Magazine, Christianity Today, Moody Radio, and The Huffington Post. Dr. Woodley currently serves as Distinguished Professor of Faith and Culture at George Fox University/Portland Seminary. His books include: Decolonizing Evangelicalism: An 11:59pm Conversation; The Harmony Tree: A Story of Healing and Community; Shalom and the Community of Creation: An Indigenous Vision; and Living in Color: Embracing God’s Passion for Ethnic Diversity. Dr. Woodley’s chapter writings are in dozens of books and in many magazines and journals. His podcast, called “Peacing It All Together” can be found at www.PeacingItAllTogether.com. Randy was raised near Detroit, Michigan. He is a legal descendent of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians in Oklahoma. Randy has served as a member of the Oregon Dept. of Education American Indian/Alaska Native Advisory Board.