wfn.org | Native women learn about assertiveness, conflict resolution

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

April 27, 1999 News media contact: Linda Green*(615)742-5470*Nashville,
Tenn. 10-34-71B{232}

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (UMNS) - Discussions about assertiveness, spirituality,
clergy-laity partnerships and conflict resolutions were ingredients of a
three-day consultation on issues affecting Native American women.

The April 22-24 national gathering, "Native American Women In Ministry," was
the first event of its kind since 1987. It was designed to empower the women
and to let them know that they are not alone, said the Rev. Tweedy Sombrero,
event chairwoman and pastor of Native American Ministries of the United
Methodist Church in Glendale, Ariz.

At least 58 women from 21 Indian tribes across the country met with Native
American clergywomen and laity who hold leadership positions in the United
Methodist Church. The participants learned about being assertive;
recognizing and handling sexism; developing a stronger awareness of
wholeness and balance; living in partnership with each other; and increasing
their understanding of Native women's spirituality.

The gathering aimed to provide a foundation for encouraging Native American
women to enter ministry, Sombrero said. The United Methodist Church has 13
ordained Indian women, according to the denomination's Board of Higher
Education and Ministry.

Showing assertiveness is difficult for many people, and participants learned
that is particularly true for Native American women.

"For us as Native women, we have a different way of expressing it, which
makes people unsure of how we assert ourselves," said Anne Marshall, a Creek
Indian and staff executive at the churchwide Commission on Christian Unity
and Interreligious Concerns. 

Native American women assert themselves "by the mere presence of who we are.
We don't portray power, but we claim it for ourselves within so that when we
are in a gathering, we carry it in a presence," she said. 

Native women also use humor to articulate assertiveness, Marshall said.
"This is where people have the difficulty in understanding us. 

"For us, it can be a serious matter, and yet we try to have a way of making
it real. But, the dominant group, particularly  the women, feel that it you
are not articulating your assertiveness, or on front of the line, you're not
asserting yourself." 

"There are not many of us," Marshall said, "and we are constantly
identifying new young female leadership to be mentored and nurtured. Many of
us right now are behind the scenes, teaching young women ways not to
compromise their integrity (and) culture and how to be assertive."

During discussion about conflict resolution, Marshall said Native women had
been in the center of resolving conflict and making decisions. The church
helped changed those roles when Christianity was introduced and men became
decision makers, she said.

Native women are attempting to return wholeness and balance to their
communities so that decision making will be equally shared by men and women,
she said. "Wholeness and balance will be reclaimed when we as men and women
can respect each other and when we can become the noble people we once
were." 

JoAnn Eslinger, a Cherokee and small-group leader at the United Methodist
Board of Discipleship, taught the women about values and characteristics of
good working partnerships between clergy and laity. 

All people are called to be ministers, Eslinger said. "Neither are called to
do it all. We are called to use our gifts in partnerships with God, to
prepare and equip the people for works of service. Together, clergy and
laity work to build up the body of Christ."

In small group decisions, the women reviewed "From Solidarity to
Accountability," a letter to the Eighth Assembly of the World Council of
Churches from the women and men of the Ecumenical Decade Festival of
Churches in Solidarity with Women. The festival was held in Harare,
Zimbabwe, last December. The Native women discussed the document and their
vision for a United Methodist Church in which young and old women work
together and are recognized for who they are and what they have to offer.

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