Update on the Development of Native American/Indigenous Studies at Iliff

This is a briefing on the work to date related to Iliff’s atoning and reconciling activities among our Native American/Indian relatives.

On April 29-30, 2022, Iliff hosted a gathering of Lenape Elders to deliberate and negotiate on the possession of what has come to be identified as “the Iliff Book.”  For the sake of clarity, the “Book” is a history of Christianity written in Latin and published in 1752.  In 1779, two Lenape men were murdered, their skin flayed and tanned, and their desecrated bodies became the cover for the Book.  The Book was received by Iliff as a gift from the Rev. R. M. Barns, a Methodist minister, in September 1893.  Research suggests that this manner of desecration was not unique; yet, because a Methodist minister felt it appropriate to gift Iliff with such a grotesque artifact makes Iliff complicit in a Methodist narrative of genocidal conquest.  Had the Book not been covered by the desecrated body of a Lenape, it would be a rare book held in the Iliff Archives, despite the fact that the content of this history book remains untranslated.  The desecration of the Lenape man changed the character of the Book into an object of Euro-Christian imperialism.

Out of that 2022 gathering, Iliff leadership made five Primary Commitments to the Lenape delegation.

• Commitment to maintaining a permanent relationship with Lenape Elders
• Commitment to the Tinker Endowed Professorship filled by an American Indian activist scholar
• A required course to the curriculum that will educate all Iliff theology students in a clear understanding of the Papal Bulls and the Doctrine of Discovery and Domination
• Create a Memorial and/or Traveling Display
• An Interpretive Center dedicated to the truths of American history as it pertains to the Indigenous nations and people of Turtle Island

Once these five commitments have been fulfilled, the Lenape Elders remain committed to taking possession of the Book.  It could be assumed that once the commitments have been checked off, Iliff could move on as though the Book never existed.  This clearly was viewed as Iliff’s attitude after the cover was removed and received by the American Indian Movement (AIM) in 1974.  Through nondisclosure agreements that were more like a Memorandum of Understanding, the Book was moved from public display to a location of invisibility within Iliff.  To ensure that the story on how the Book came to be would not be buried with time, and for Iliff to avoid repeating its response of seeking to forget its complicity, an institution-wide covenantal commitment, that included the Board of Trustees, was made to regularly assess our progress toward fulfilling our commitments made in 2022.

I assumed leadership of Iliff on July 1, 2023.  The Book is, therefore, a part of Iliff’s history that I inherited; and the Lenape commitments related to the Book are institutional commitments made before I started.  As I interviewed to become President, I was not questioned regarding my knowledge of the Book.  There were questions, however, asking whether I was someone who would work to fulfill Iliff’s Lenape commitments.  My personal commitments long before joining Iliff included reaching out to collaborate with Indigenous communities to end the invisibility of Native Americans within theological education.  My scholarly research included reflections on genocide, the Sand Creek Massacre (1864), and the fundamental history of the Book.  Without hesitation or reservation, I, as President of Iliff, have fully embraced Iliff’s commitments made in response to doing justice for holding the Book for more than 130 years.

Iliff has begun living our commitments to the Lenape Elders, one-by-one.  Here is an abbreviated overview of the commitments and other related developments:

• Curriculum Change: During Spring 2025, as a part of the work of curriculum revision, the faculty approved a curriculum change that includes a required course that meets the specifications set forth by the Lenape elders. The new curriculum also provides for elective offerings in Indigenous studies.
• Tink Tinker Endowed Professorship of Indigenous Studies: We are actively seeking to raise support to endow the professorship in honor of our beloved emeritus Professor Tink Tinker. When giving days opportunities have been identified by Iliff, I have requested that gifts be directed to help us to fully fund the endowment.  I have also hosted appreciation lunches and dinners for our major donors to the endowment.  The gifts currently total $357,000.  Furthermore, I have created a Tinker Professorship Committee that has tasked a small group of leaders to give focused fundraising attention to reach the $2.5 million goal to fully fund the professorship.
• Interpretive Center: The Interpretive Center commitment has been reimagined to include an Indigenous Studies Center. This new vision will not only offer a narrative center for the general public, it will be an academic center directed by the Tinker Professor.  The reimagined center will offer degree program certificates, public lectures, symposiums, and continuing education events along with general public interpretive history.  We are carefully thinking about the interpretive aspects of the center to present material culture that are not artifacts that should remain in the possession of the tribes as sacred.
• Permanent Relationship: The permanent relationship has been understood as coming to campus annually as Iliff works to fulfill its commitments. We are discussing the ways a permanent relationship may be actualized and maintained beyond the Elders taking possession of the Book.  Although the Elders did not come to campus spring 2025, Iliff still presented them with honorariums for their time and commitment of supporting Iliff’s transformation.  We have continued to hold email conversations and meet via Zoom.  Tink Tinker has been an extraordinary partner as Iliff has worked to atone for its disgraceful history.
• Progress on the Memorial: The Board of Trustees has committed that the Vice-Chair of the Board will serve as the Board’s official Liaison to the Lenape. The new Vice-Chair, Meredith Wilson Parfet, has taken major steps with the Elders toward the creation of the Memorial.  Potential campus sites for the Memorial were identified and presented for approval to the Board along with a Memorial Project budget at the Winter 2025 Board Meeting.  Those approved sites were then presented to the Elders for them to identify their site of choice.  An artist was identified and interviewed by Meredith and me with fundamental concepts and a proposed budget guiding the interview conversation.  Once a few finer details have been negotiated, we will proceed with the Memorial construction.  Projects of this nature often include what is identified as a “groundbreaking ceremony.”  I was not comfortable with this language given our identification of the Earth as Mother/Grandmother.  The image of “breaking” mother felt like a violation in a history of violation; so I asked if there was other language we might use.  Everyone agreed new language is important, but no one had a substitute language for describing such a ceremony.  I then proposed that we host a “Memorial Site Ground Dedication Ceremony” to initiate the construction of the Memorial.  This was accepted.  We, therefore, hope to host a “Memorial Site Ground Dedication Ceremony” that will gather the Elders and be open to the public this fall.
• Cheyenne and Arapaho Reconciliation: My work on the Lenape commitments was preceded by my research on the Sand Creek Massacre (1864) years before I interviewed with Iliff. The Sand Creek Massacre was instigated by a Methodist layman, John Evans, and led by a Methodist minister, John Chivington, both were founding supporters of Iliff.   Iliff dwells on the land of the Cheyenne and Arapaho, the people who were massacred at Sand Creek located in Kiowa County, CO.  During spring 2024, the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church hosted a consultation at Iliff with Elders of the Cheyenne and Arapaho who are descendants of the survivors of the Sand Creek Massacre.  I was privileged to be a guest speaker at that gathering.  Before I spoke, one of the Cheyenne elders invited me to also include a brief reflection on the Book as part of my comments on Sand Creek.  This led to Iliff becoming a host during part of the Sand Creek Massacre Spiritual Healing Run.  We hosted Elders and runners in October 2024 for a meal sponsored by Mountain Sky Annual Conference.  During the evening, there were presentations (and I was one of the presenters) and reports, and the evening concluded with a Powwow in Shattuck Hall.
• Sand Creek Massacre Spiritual Healing Walk/Run 2025: We have committed to once again hosting the Elders and runners of this year’s Healing Walk/Run in October 2025. Along with committing to hosting the evening activities annually, we have committed to purchasing Teepee Poles for the annual run and storing them on campus for the poles to always be readily available.  This will allow the Healing Run to feature a symbol of home and a sign of healing on Iliff’s campus annually.
• Cheyenne and Arapaho Elders Gathering at Iliff: The Elders of the Cheyenne and Arapaho have requested that Iliff invite them to campus for consultation. Seeing all that we have extended to the Lenape Elders, the Cheyenne and Arapaho have pointed out that Iliff exists on Cheyenne and Arapaho land, and we need to be in conversation with them as well.  We are currently working to address their specific requests after which a select group of Cheyenne and Arapaho Elders will come to Iliff to conduct ceremony to cleanse the way for a delegation to come to Iliff for conversation.  We are looking forward to these gatherings taking place in late summer/early fall 2025.

Before we can develop an appropriate Indigenous Studies program, we must atone for the past and build new relationships for the future.  If we do not first work for restorative justice, our work to develop educational initiatives will fail.  The work continues to move forward with all aspects of the work being intricately intertwined.  I will continue to update the community as dates for events are finalized.

Sincerely,

Rev. Dr. Lee Butler, Jr.

President and CEO of Iliff School of Theology