A bit of clarification and expansion [Mormons etc]

["Hunter Gray" <hunterbadbear@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

As I've recounted a couple of times before, I was fired for
"insubordination" by the Bishop of the very large Catholic Diocese of
Rochester, NY. At that time, I was the activist director of the social
justice arm of the Diocese -- the Office of Human Development.  We had
substantial protests for the rest of that summer, the Bishop took early
retirement, his hatchetman -- slated to become the next Bishop -- was passed
over by Rome. And I returned to the Navajo Nation.  That tale, BTW, is told
on our Website page at http://www.hunterbear.org/rochester.htm  I remain an
Indian Catholic [syncretism!] -- wary, of course, of the institutional
Church.  Works by Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, reside next to
my full set of Lenin.  As I've noted on other occasions, the two do have
something in common.

Anecdotal stories is my primary method of telling History.

Obviously, the gap remains between Jim Craven and myself on the Mormon
thing. We each obviously have strong eyes but we are simply on different
mountain peaks on this one.  I definitely don't accept his perception of LDS
theology and collateral dimensions.  I see -- as I've seen for much of my
life -- the Mormon church in day-to-day grassroots operation. On the basis
of that, I certainly appreciate what it's doing.

I will add this, simply as clarification.  There are presently a great many
Native American Bishops indeed in the LDS church -- and have been for a vast
stretch of Church history.  The office of Bishop in the Mormon church is not
at all analogous to that of, say, Bishop in the Roman or Anglican churches.
A Mormon Bishop is a purely local leader of a Ward [anywhere from 300 to 500
persons.]  About eight wards make up a stake -- whose leadership includes a
President.  Wards -- and stakes -- are super-plentiful in any LDS region.

When Jim refers to an ousted Native Bishop, I think he is actually referring
to Dr George Lee, a Navajo, who was the first Native member of a far higher
body -- the First Quorum of the Seventy.  It's true that he was ousted in
1989 following his charges that the LDS church was seriously mishandling its
obligation to Indian people. This generated a significant whirl of
controversy -- some of it constructive.  Dr Lee then charged that his
removal -- and subsequent excommunication from the church itself -- was
racist.  The LDS church countered that Lee's serious sexual misconduct  with
a school girlfriend of his daughter -- something that occurred at least
twice at his home near Salt Lake City -- was the reason for the removal and
excommunication.

Several years later, in mid-October, 1994, Dr Lee pleaded guilty to
attempted sexual abuse of an underage girl. His sentence involved probation
and counseling.

I met George Lee only once, about 1980 -- when he was President of the
College of Ganado, on the Navajo reservation.  [Interestingly, that now
defunct College was Presbyterian.]  While visiting Navajo Community College
[now Dine' College], he was introduced to me by my neighbor, Loren
Sekayumptewa, the NCC Dean of Students, a Hopi who, along with his wife,
Mary, a Navajo, was an active Mormon.  Despite the brevity of our meeting, I
was impressed with Dr George Lee and certainly wish him well, always. I
should add that our own NCC President, Dean Jackson, was an active leader of
the [Navajo] Native American Church [the peyote faith], other Native
administrators and faculty and staff were affiliated with various religious
visions -- and many were explicitly traditional.

In fact, in my experience, scratch most "Christian" Indians -- whatever
their church may be -- and you'll find a traditional.

Over a year ago, I posted material vis-a-vis the PBS film dealing with
Jewish refugee academics finding a congenial base and productive refuge in
Southern Black colleges [almost always private colleges.]  I also added
material relating to American academic refugees from the Red Scare who
likewise found a base in the private Black colleges of the South -- and then
I mentioned my very Marxist friend and veteran radical Phil Reno who taught
for many years at Navajo Community College -- primarily at our Shiprock
branch campus.  Phil died in May, 1981. In my post, I spoke of the very
moving memorial service at Shiprock which was led by Phil's very dear friend
and colleague, Dr Bahe Billy, Dean of the Shiprock branch, and a traditional
Navajo -- who was also a Mormon Bishop.  And I noted approvingly that the
service brought together a very large number of Indian people and old-time
Western Reds!

===

Dr Borinski at Tougaloo [From Swastika to Jim Crow] and Phil Reno at Navajo
Community College  [Hunter Gray]

And there are other interesting and positive tales in this vein:  the first
of the
Native-controlled tribal colleges in the United States was Navajo Community
College [now Dine' College], founded and led -- until his tragic death in
'72 -- by a very close friend of our family, Ned A. Hatathli [or Hatathali.]
Ned was quick indeed -- and very fortunate -- to hire Philip Reno, a Marxist
economist and very well known radical as faculty  member and as a general
consultant: Phil, a New Deal figure, had been viciously attacked by
Whittaker Chambers, had played a major role in the Henry Wallace/Progressive
Party campaign in Colorado and New Mexico, served as a key economist for the
left Cheddi Jagan administration in Guyana, worked for Mine-Mill, and much
much more.  I was very privileged to teach with Phil when I, too, wound up
at NCC -- in the 1978-81 period. [ I became chair of Social Sciences, based
at the main Tsaile campus and Phil was on the Shiprock campus -- but we were
always, of course, very closely linked in a variety of endeavours.] Like Dr.
Borinski, Phil Reno was a sharp and genuinely practicing  multi-cultural
entity and a very effective teacher/activist/radical in every fine sense.
And like Dr. Borinski at Tougaloo,  Phil Reno was  very deeply admired and
respected in the NCC community. Just before his death [May 1981], Phil
presented me with an inscribed copy of his just out work:  Mother Earth,
Father Sky, and Economic Development:  Navajo Resources and Their Use
(Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1981).  [I'm happy to say that
this fine classic  has since been reissued by UNM Press.]  The outdoor
memorial service for Phil Reno was held at Shiprock (N.M.).  The invocation
was given  in Navajo and English by Dr Bahe Billy, a close friend of Phil's,
Dean of the Shiprock Campus, a traditional Navajo who was also a Mormon.  A
large number of Native people -- mostly Navajo but from other tribes as
well, were present along with academics  -- and the most  absolutely
fascinating  collection of old-time Western Reds ever gathered in such a
setting.  What a reunion!  What a time!  And the hot wind blew  very hot
sand thirty  to forty miles an hour.

=======================================================

And that's about all I have to say on this at this point.

In Solidarity -

Hunter Gray  [ Hunterbear ]
www.hunterbear.org  ( strawberry socialism )
Protected by Na´shdo´i´ba´i´





~~~~~~~
PLEASE clip all extraneous text before replying to a message.