Scarritt Bennett Center Native American Land Recognition Statement
November is Native American Heritage Month, a time when people across the country remember the many contributions Native American peoples have made to our society and grieve the desecration of Native American cultures, slaughter, and marginalization of its peoples by European Americans to acquire land and wealth.
The Scarritt Bennett Center’s board approved a Native American Land Recognition Statement to recognize the Native American people who once occupied the Scarritt Bennett campus at their latest gathering on October 18 and 19, 2024. The Committee was made up of Scarritt College alums, Scarritt Bennett Center board members, local Native American leaders, and Scarritt’s Directors of Racial Justice Ministries and Spirituality and the Arts.
Mary T. Newman, SBC Board member and Chair of the Committee on Native American Ministries for the Tennessee Western Kentucky Conference of the United Methodist Church, was an integral part of the team that drafted Scarritt’s Land Recognition Statement.
She shared, “As awareness and emphasis surrounding land acknowledgement has grown, SBC began the journey of recognizing and lifting up their respect for the land on which SBC sits. More than brick and mortar, our beautiful retreat center holds the spirit of the land.
“The unnamed ancestors who came before those with tribal identities rest here. Tribal peoples resided and traveled through here. We lift up our respect for those who came before us. Native peoples knew no fences. Their boundaries were set by hunting and trade routes. Today, SBC expands their boundaries to those who come for peace, education, fellowship and more.”
The statement reads as follows:
For many people, the Scarritt Bennett Center has been a holy place for learning, prophetic witness, and spiritual growth. However, we acknowledge that this property was sacred and of primary importance to indigenous people before us- before their forced removal, forced assimilation, and even extinction from the invasion of European people. Many native communities were involved with this land in different ways over thousands of years, including descendants of the Mississippian People of the Southeast: Yuchi, Muscogee Creek Confederacy, Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Shawnee, and unnamed ancestors.
We confess that our ability to inhabit this land results from the evil “Doctrine of Discovery,” which invalidated the humanity of Indigenous people because they were deemed to have no souls. This false belief was used to absolve the European invaders, governments, and even the church of the sins of forced dispossession of native communities. We condemn this colonization, the Trail of Tears, the painful sides of Native American boarding schools, and other acts of direct harm and coercion. We refuse to be silent any longer about the massive injustice done to Indigenous people who even yet refuse to be erased and are practicing their culture and traditions in Middle Tennessee.
Board member and Scarritt College Alumni Jim Polk was also part of the Land Recognition team. He shared, “These words are only our beginning, a pledge, an obligation to find ways that are meaningful and healing. Next, we will shift, evaluate and prioritize action possibilities.”