Healing Minnesota Stories Moves to Minnesota Council of Churches
With pride, gratitude and full support the Saint Paul Interfaith Network joins the Minnesota Council of Churches (MCC) in announcing the transfer of HMS to MCC where it will become an official program of the Council. Jim Bear Jacobs, founder of HMS, will become a staff member of MCC working on HMS and related racial justice programming. At MCC Healing Minnesota Stories will continue to offer the popular Sacred Sites Tours as well as educational programming and various projects that contribute to the healing needed between Minnesota’s indigenous peoples and others, especially people in faith communities. MCC is now taking registrations for tours here and SPIN will continue to promote them. To read the full MCC press announcement click here.
Material from the Healing Minnesota Stories pages here will gradually be transferred to a new set of pages for HMS on the MCC web site (www.mnchurches.org).
Healing Minnesota Stories (HMS)
Is an effort to create understanding and healing between Native American and non-Native people, particularly those in various faith communities. Native people have suffered deep trauma over many years, losing their land, language and culture, and all who call Minnesota home are the lesser for it. While many people and institutions contributed to that trauma, it happened with the full participation of Christian churches. We all still need healing, healing is doable, and churches have a role to play in healing.
We are calling ourselves Healing Minnesota Stories because we believe in the healing power of stories. Stories heal because they make invisible pain visible. The healing goes two ways, from the listener to the storyteller, and from the storyteller to the listener.
Healing Minnesota Stories believes that churches and all faith communities can play a key role in promoting and experiencing healing by opening ourselves to our own history and listening to the stories of Native people. We hope through the sharing and retelling of stories, we can create new more positive ones.
About Us
Healing Minnesota Stories grew out of the work of the Saint Paul Interfaith Network (SPIN) on religion and racism. Our group includes Native and non-Native individuals representing congregations, religious and secular organizations, and higher education institutions.
Healing Minnesota Stories started in 2012, by supporting and participating in several events marking the 150th anniversary of the U.S.-Dakota Conflict. It was a timely place to start, but it was only a beginning. We continue to bring together Native and non-Native people to share stories and increase awareness of the value of American Indian language, culture, and our shared history.
Get Involved
- Blog highlights upcoming events, news, and historical reflections. Check it out and sign up to follow the blog via Email.
- Volunteer to help with Healing Minnesota Stories planning or events.
- Donate to support Healing Minnesota Stories. Please designate “Healing Minnesota Stories” when making a gift.
Contact Us
- Contact us at jimbear.jacobs@mnchurches.org for more information.