Sharing the Catholic Faith with a Worshipping Native American

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Hi folks,
Don’t know if this is the best place to ask this, but…
Can you suggest ways to share my Catholic faith with a worshipping Native American? I think he is Chippewa. Thanks!
 
It’s basically the same approach as with anyone else. From the stories on here, it’s best to guide the person and lead by example. It’s more meaningful if he or she figures this out on his or her own with your help.
 
I would suggest that you help him to see that for him to accept Catholicism is not a rejection of his heritage, his father or grandfather, and it would not be a rejection of their spirituality.

Whatever is good in that, the Catholic faith affirms.

John
 
I would share the following.

Saint Pope John Paul II American Indian Attire Teepee


http://www.traditioninaction.org/RevolutionPhotos/A052rcTeepeeUS.htm



On the morning of the pope’s scheduled arrival, I could sense angst: Once again, it was rainy and foggy. We waited in the press tent near the altar platform with the teepee, wondering if, once again, the visit would be canceled. About the time Pope John Paul’s plane was scheduled to land, right on cue, the rain stopped. And, when his car pulled up to the Mass site — I kid you not — the clouds parted and a rainbow appeared in the sky.
Pope John Paul met with the First Nations leaders, who then met with press while the pope celebrated Mass laden with native American symbolism. The people were happy — they had planned and waited and hoped for years.
And, after several nights of watching, we journalists finally got to witness the spectacle of the Northern Lights — possibly another little miracle from the magnetic Pole who had visited that day.


Bruce Clark writes :

Standing beneath a giant white teepee amid a natural cathedral of blue skies, evergreens and running waters, the Pontiff proclaimed : “Once again I affirm your right to a just and equitable measure of self-government with a land base and adequate resources for the development of a viable economy for present and future generation.”


YELLOWKNIFE, Northwest Territories – Thousands of Indians gathered around a white teepee in a frontier town Tuesday…
John Paul arrived in Vancouver, British Columbia, later in the day after waiting for nearly three hours in the territorial capital of Yellowknife for a break in the weather that blocked his scheduled visit to Fort Simpson.
In Fort Simpson, about 3,000 Indians from the Cree, Chipwyan, Dogrib, Loucheux, Dene and Hare tribes gathered around a towering white teepee to await the pope and his message in defense of their rights.
….
John Paul has touched on native concerns in two previous meetings with Indians and Inuit on his 12-day trip, apologizing for the ‘blunders’ of heavy-handed missionaries and acknowledging a native person’s rightful quest for self-determination.
Some Indians travelled up to 1,200 miles to Fort Simpson, setting up tent camps in the frontier town at the junction of the Liard and Mackenzie rivers.
 
The same way you share anything else about yourself with them. Tell them what it is and why it is important to you. Don’t try to convert them or convince them you are right. It would be disrespectful, especially if he/she already has a faith of their own.
 
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