On behalf of the sovereign bodies of the Oceti Sakowin Oyate (the Sioux Nation), we commemorate and, more importantly, seek to breathe life into the paradigm-shifting work of His Holiness, Pope Francis. For Indigenous nations, this includes the existentially constructive gravamen of Laudato si’ — the pope’s encyclical on climate and our human responsibility to Unci Maka, our Grandmother Earth.

The Oceti Sakowin is deeply grateful for the prophetic leadership of Pope Francis in his efforts to enhance the divine potential of the secular and non-secular experiences of human beings, particularly in promoting the Holy See’s commitment to recognizing the interdependent and conscious nature of the world and its inhabitants as a way to combat the destruction of the earth’s ecosystems and of nature’s ability to regenerate.

We must also express the deepest soul-gratitude for the pope’s apology for the horrors of the forced assimilation of Indigenous children in the 19th and 20th centuries via boarding and residential schools. We’re thankful for his revolutionary initiative to put the Holy See and Indigenous nations/Peoples on a path of truth, healing, and conciliation. With over 1.2 billion Catholics all over the globe — and a highly significant portion of Western Hemispheric Indigenous People practicing and promoting Christian culture and institutions — our destinies are inextricably intertwined, and we must continue this process.

With renewed hearts and souls, we commit ourselves to Pope Francis’ imperative that Indigenous peoples retain the right to preserve cultural identity. To that end, we look forward to ongoing relations with the Church with the mutual goals of revitalizing Indigenous languages and knowledge systems and strengthening Indigenous positions on church-owned properties located on Indigenous homelands.

The treaties entered into with the Christian-influenced political bodies in the Americas are considered sacred covenants among and between nations despite the juridical and unilateral diminishment deriving from the Christian Doctrine of Discovery (gratefully repudiated by Pope Francis).

It is our intent to continue to uphold the relations between our worldly faiths; let it be known that we continue to work to address institutional dependency, poverty, violence, and the ongoing degradation of our collective home: our Grandmother Earth. We look forward to engaging the Christian world to redeem the human species from its wayward path.

In honor and respect,

Oceti Sakowin Oyate

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