Indigenous Relations

Our Mission

We are called by our Creator to deepen our relationship with the Wabanaki of Maine, to stand with the tribes in the pursuit of justice, to affirm their inherent sovereignty and to support the preservation of Native languages and culture.

Our Work

The Episcopal Committee on Indian Relations (CIR) began in 1991, at the time of the quincentenary of the arrival of Columbus in the Caribbean, as Episcopalians in Maine desired to “get to know the Native American people of Maine; to learn about their histories, cultures, values, and yearnings, and join with them as we all share in the ministry of reaching out to all the people of Maine.”

We invite you to join us in our work and ongoing email discussion using the listerv service, Gaggle. Click the button below if you would like to be  added to our group list.

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Our History

Over the last 30 years, the committee has become a vibrant and diverse group with about 25 active members including clergy and laypeople representing most areas of the state. People of faith and conscience who are not Episcopalian are welcomed. We work closely with the Friends’ (Quaker) Committee on Maine Public Policy (FCMPP) and other faith groups considering the same issues. The committee meets monthly to pray and learn together and to take actions to “stand with the tribes in the pursuit of justice, to affirm their inherent sovereignty and to support the preservation of Native language and cultures,” as stated in our Mission Statement. Working groups within the committee are “Legislative,” “Tribal Relations,” and “Communication.”

Doctrine of Christian Discovery and Domination

The Doctrine of Christian Discovery and Domination comprises the worldview, based on papal decrees beginning in the 1100s, that Christians have a right derived from God to invade non-Christian lands not claimed by other Christian nations and to seize the land and possessions of the nonChristian inhabitants. The doctrine further gives Christians the right to kill or enslave native inhabitants if they do not instantly submit to the representatives of the Christian sovereigns. This doctrine still impacts the laws of the United States today. John Dieffenbacher-Krall and CIR were integral in the renunciation of the Doctrine of Christian Discovery and Domination through resolutions in the Diocese of Maine in 2007 and the Episcopal Church General Convention in 2009. Since that time, the entire Anglican Communion, the World Council of Churches, and several other churches have followed suit.

The Gatherings: Reimagining Indigenous-Settler Relations

This book, written by Shirley Hagar of the Friends Committee on Maine Public Policy along with other Native and non-native participants in “the gatherings,” is the most recent topic of study and group discussion for committee members. From the 14 authors who speak in the book, we gain a deeper understanding of Indigenous-settler relations, how they came to be, the distrust and misconceptions that continue to make it difficult for us to communicate, and how those relations might be reimagined even now. In collaboration with the FCMPP, we presented key members of Maine state government with copies of the book and conversations about how the perception it provides might be used to improve relations between the State and the Tribal nations living within the boundaries of what is now called Maine.