What our program participants are saying

I was a little skeptical of this program on my first day of the class; I was the only person of color and less than 50 years old and wondering if the course's material would even be relevant to my experience. I'm glad I stayed because I learned so much and was able to share so much of my experience and my community and the environmental justice work that I do from an urban perspective that opened the minds of all of my classmates. It was an awesome experience that I'd recommend to everyone.

Melissa Barber

We have really different ideas about a lot of things, but I think the main thing that we agree on is that we believe in justice. We believe that as people of faith, we need to be active in our community to make sure that all people have a sense of hope and that all people have equal access and opportunities to a quality of life.

Rosemary Lawson • JustFaith Graduate

“The Land is Not Our Own has allowed me the space to honor both my Christian faith and my indigeneity. I have gained a deeper understanding of how to communicate existing in both worlds by sharing with a faith-centered group that is open and empathetic. Our call as people of faith is to journey with the oppressed, and this [program] welcomed being witness to the beauty of indigenous culture and spirituality while also holding space to reckon with the horror experienced by indigenous peoples. We cannot build a better future and world without confronting the sin of genocide that continues to manifest in and through our current systems. This course fostered prayerful critique of history, as well as stoking creative solutions to how to repair the harms of colonization and assimilation, specifically as Christians, both individually and as a group. Together we felt the woundedness of genocide and violence, as well as the hope, creativity, and joyful resilience that indigenous people have carried, carry now, and will carry into future generations.”

Mandy Orta • Program Participant