Premise for 40-Day Vigil

According to God’s word—there are four things that defile our land:

Genesis 4:10-12a; Numbers 35:31-33; Deuteronomy 2:42-43; Matthew 5:17-19

Innocent bloodshed— Multiple massacres and mutilations perpetrated on the women, children and elderly of the tribes for their Land and the Gold. Both the federal government and individual states paid “bounties” for the scalps of Indians including women and children.

1st Corinthians 5:1-8 and Leviticus 19:29

Sexual Immorality— Rape and sexual molestation of Native children in the Boarding Schools—(Children of all the tribes were forced into the Boarding Schools even from as far away as Alaska and Puerto Rico.) The US Government provided the funding while the Churches provided the supervision and workers to carry out the assimilation initiative. The participating church denominations included: thee Methodist, Roman Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, United Church of Christ, and Mennonite churches.

2nd Corinthians 6:16; 1 Peter 2: 9-10; Matthew 6:24

Idolatry—The Church embraced Free Masonry and many of those who made the decisions that devastated the native people were Masons who claimed to be Christians. Worship of gold and land, which was Mammon, was a determining factor for much of the Church’s behavior.

Joshua 9: 1-20; 2 Samuel 21: 1-14

Broken Covenants: -371 Treaties broken with 585 Tribal Nations

Based on this foundational understanding of the Word of God we have written the following prayer vigil of 40 -Days interceding for the Native American Tribes

Native American Tribes

“Indian Nations had always been considered distinct, independent political communities, retaining their original natural rights, as the undisputed possession of the soil…the very term “Nation” so generally applied to them, means “A People distinct from others.”----Chief Justice John Marshall, U.S. Supreme Court

Throughout the early history of federal-tribal relations, U.S. government policies were designed to minimize or eliminate the jurisdiction tribal groups held over their lands. In many cases there was an outright effort to crush certain tribes’ right to exist. 

Almost from the very beginning, the “just war” concept was an integral part of early federal policies and treaty-making initiatives. Once activated the U.S. government would use the unrestrained zeal of early settler intrusions into treaty bound tribal territories to stir hostilities to a point where the U.S. army was called to intervene. 

Calling such federal action a just war, U.S. forces eventually carried military excursions that almost annihilated whole tribal groups. Eventually, genocidal policies were enacted in many portions of the country to rid the land of the red man. The intention of most of this murderous activity was to strip the land and gold from the Host people and take it and use it for increasing individual or corporate wealth.  

Of the 371 Treaties made with 585 tribes—every single treaty was broken. In too many cases women, children and the elderly were systematically killed in the early European efforts to exterminate the God’s originally appointed stewards of the land (Isa. 44:8). The survivors of the removal, extermination and other lawless policies were herded onto barren wastelands called “Reservations” and their children were forcibly taken from families and placed in Indian Boarding Schools. 

The schools were run by the Churches and funded by the US Government. Thousands of children died in the schools and many more thousands were systematically sexually abused, beaten and starved. Most were removed as young as 6 and didn’t return home until they were 18 or older. Those that did not return remain buried at various boarding schools sites.

 This is an appropriate time of year for us to prepare our hearts, to meditate on the sins of our Church Fathers during the Holy Season of Lent, and the sacrifice our Lord made for His Church. Many of our native nations are living in third world country conditions today, and refuse to accept the gospel message because of the sins of our Church Fathers. In 500 years of evangelizing Native people less than 5% have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior!

The Church profaned the name and the character of our covenant keeping God to the Native people by misrepresenting Him for the sake of earthly greed.

America is in a desperate place! As intercessors standing in the gap, and standing our watch, I feel it is imperative that we use the 40 Days of heart preparation before the remembrance of the sacrifice of our Lord this year, in fasting and repentance for the Church, and for the life of our Nation.

Linda Doxtator, PhD, LPC