The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America January-March 2018 - 17

sTorIes oF Peacemakers
dergarten to the 12th grade continues to be the worst of any
demographic in the uS. natives have the highest drop out rates,
the lowest graduation rates, and lower test scores. violence in
native communities remains cyclical in nature.
The abuse experienced by thousands of native youth at
boarding schools was rarely, if ever, treated or addressed. left
unchecked, violence has cropped up in families generation
after generation. domestic violence and child neglect occur
at higher rates in native communities.
due to the lack of mental health resources on reservations,
many abuse survivors have turned to alcohol or drugs to self-medicate-another cycle to be endured. native youth begin experimenting with drugs and alcohol at much younger ages than their
non-native counterparts. Alcohol experimentation in non-native
communities begins around 10th grade; for native children it is
the 6th grade, with a high rate of daily use by 8th grade.
opioid use also begins at a younger age, for many native
youth as young as 8th grade. Addiction runs rampant through
our native communities, and crimes committed to feed addictions lead to an incarceration rate nearly 40 percent higher
than the national average.
The most alarming statistic yet is that native youth suicide
is at more than three times the national average. (In reservation
communities, they experience ten times the national rate.) Because of the dismantling of the family, children are seemingly
less equipped to cope in positive ways.
When we take stands like advocating for Indigenous peoples' day and acknowledging the lies and myths in our history,
we take steps toward restorative Justice.
-Cindi Byron-Dixon is a member of Community Peace Church, a longtime
BPFnA ~ Bautistas por la Paz Partner Congregation in Oberlin, Oh.

From Jeriel Byron-Dixon

t has been an honor to be a youth representative on the
Indigenous peoples'
day committee.
I understand that
there has been opposition, mostly from out of
town, to abolishing and
replacing columbus day
here in oberlin [oh}. I
am also aware that three
states and dozens of cities
have already done so.

What I think it is important for people to know is that oberlin has a history of standing aside from the popular worldview. I
am lucky to have grown up in a town that truly tries to embrace
daily the idea of judging a person only on the content of their
character. I consider myself lucky to grow up here.
That, council Members, is something we have in common. This is our town. This is our community and our desire
to stand for truth, even while others say we shouldn't. We are
the ones who live here, play here, go to school and work here,
and make our homes here.
We are the ones who are asking you tonight to join with our
voices to declare that it is time to acknowledge our nation's true
history. let's join in solidarity and take a step toward restorative
Justice here in oberlin by enacting Indigenous peoples' day.
-Jeriel Byron-Dixon is a freshman at Oberlin high School and a member
of Peace Community Church, a BPFnA ~ Bautistas por la Paz Partner
Congregation in Oberlin, Oh.
endnotes
1. hispaniola is the island that contains haiti and the dominican republic.
2. On June 19, 1865, the news that slavery had been abolished
reached the uS state of Texas. Juneteenth Independence day,
or freedom day, came to commemorate the announcement
throughout the former confederacy in the southern uS. It is
celebrated as an official holiday in 45 US states.
3. epigenetics is the study of heritable changes in gene function
that do not involve changes in the dnA sequence.
editor's note: The introduction above was written by Rachel Boyle, an
editorial assistant for Seeds of hope Publishers in waco, TX. here are just
a few of the sources she checked: Time Magazine, Wake Magazine,
los Angeles Times, new york Times, Washington post and
daily californian. For a list of links, email seedseditor1@gmail.com.

Right: Supporters of the
Indigenous Peoples' Day
campaign in Oberlin , OH,
celebrate the abolition of
Columbus Day.
Photo courtesy of the
Oberlin Committee for
Indigenous Peoples' Day.

Baptist Peacemaker

JAN-MAR 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America January-March 2018