Back Navigation Menu

Native Peoples of the UMC

Participants in the Indigenous Peoples March walk down Constitution Ave. in Washington. Thousands of people walked from the Department of the Interior building in Washington to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to shine a spotlight of Native America issues and concerns. UMNS photo by Erik Alsgaard, Baltimore-Washington Conference.

The United Methodist Church recognizes the contributions and gifts of Native peoples to the church and their communities around the globe.

We support Native Americans and indigenous peoples and their traditions.

Find stories by and about Native peoples, along with resources, information about upcoming events, links to ministries and more.

Daryl Junes-Joe from the Navajo Nation visits Norway with a group from the United Methodist Church advocating for the rights of indigenous peoples.
none

How We Serve

Navajo Advocate and United Methodist Woman

Daryl Junes-Joe has seen the world far from her home reservation and now serves the church in a new role. "God opened another door. I've become a voice."

More
Wallowa Lake ceremony in Oregon honors return of land.
none

How We Serve

Oregon ceremony honors return of land

In a ceremony filled with song, word and action, under the shadow of Chief Joseph Mountain, the Oregon-Idaho Conference returned a parcel of land to the Nez Perce Tribe.

More

Faith Stories

  • From left, John Golombie, Chickasaw Czarina Colbert Conlan and Choctaw Joseph Oklahombi are pictured at Oklahombi's home near Wright City, Oklahoma in 1921. Oklahombi was the most decorated World War I soldier from Oklahoma. Photo by Hopkins, courtesy of the Oklahoma Historical Society.

    How We Serve

    Honoring WWI code talker, Native veterans
    More

  • Bailee Allen (right) credits Phillip "Bugsy" Barnoski, family and community coordinator at Oklahoma's Rougher Alternative Academy, with helping her get her life on track. Now 19, she is enrolled at the College of the Muscogee Nation, where she is studying to be a student services worker. "Just seeing how Bugsy impacted kids that didn't have much, making them feel happy, making them feel important and equal, made me want to do that," she said. Photo by Ginny Underwood, UMNS.

    Native American creates an oasis for troubled teens
    More

  • Most of the employees at the Tabacos de Oriente cigar factory in Danlí, Honduras, are women. After the tobacco leaves are cured, they are sorted by color and size. United Methodist Communications photo by Kathy L. Gilbert

    Chaplain brings word of God to cigar factory workers REDIRECT
    More

  • Samoans Find Church Home in Alaska
    More

Related

  • Attendees of the 2017 Native American Summer Conference at Lake Junaluska, N.C., form a circle in prayer. Photo by Kathleen Barry, United Methodist Communications.

    How We Serve

    Study offers snapshot of Native American ministries
    More

  • Jesus prayed for forgiveness of those who were putting him to death. We are also to be forgiving. "Crucifixion" by Peter Gertner, 16th century. Walters Art Museum, Public domain, courtesy Wikimedia Commons.

    Why those who are forgiven should be forgiving
    More

Resources

  • The cross and flame is the official logo of The United Methodist Church.

    What We Believe

    Book of Resolutions: Regarding Native American Culture and Traditions as Sacred
    More

  • The cross and flame is the official logo of The United Methodist Church.

    What We Believe

    Book of Resolutions: Native People and The United Methodist Church
    More

  • There are more than 350 million indigenous peoples in at least 70 countries around the world. Image via United Methodist Church and Society.

    Indigenous Peoples: Church and Society
    More

  • How We Serve

    Native American Resources: Discipleship Ministries
    More

  • NAMS_ministry_article_500x300

    Native American Ministries Sunday
    More

  • Native American Ministries Sunday Pastor and Leader Kit image

    Native American Ministries Sunday Downloadables
    More

  • School's leadership program nurtures Native Americans
    More

  • Greensky Hill Indian United Methodist Church has hosted camp meetings for as long as anyone can remember. Photo of the 2017 gathering courtesy of the Rev. Jonathan David Mays.

    How We Serve

    Native American United Methodist Churches
    More

Back to top