Established in 1795, the Indian Committee is the oldest PYM committee in continuous operation. In supporting the many projects that come before it, the Indian Committee places high priority on those that directly support Native American communities and the development of leadership and self-sufficiency in those communities.

During FY 00-01 15 Members and Attenders were active with the Indian Committee [we have no paid staff support for the work of the Committee]. An average of 100 volunteers hours per month are contributed to the work of the Indian Committee.

The Committee has maintained contact with the Lenni Lenape Historical Society / Museum of Indian Culture, and continued support of renovations necessary to expand educational programs at the museum.

The Committee has enhanced its understanding of two active Lenape communities in New Jersey. We met with Mark Gould and Karen Mosley of the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape Indians of New Jersey and will offer support for an October 2001 symposium and theater production called “Lenape: Then and Now, The Story of New Jersey’s Original People.” This event will include participation of Delaware from other parts of the country and will be open to the public. A particular emphasis will be placed on assisting New Jersey teachers to understand the presence of Lenape today in New Jersey.

The Committee renewed a longer contact with Walter Anderson of the Piney-Lenape Band Delaware Nation of New Jersey, Inc. This Band is working to set up offices to foster communication and the organization of cultural activities and classes.

The Committee agreed to offer some tuition support for the 2001-2002 school year to assist Keenan Shenandoah to enroll at the Delaware Valley Friends School. Half Onondaga, he is active with the United American Indians of the Delaware Valley and an accomplished Native American dancer.

Through Anne Humes, the Committee has maintained regular visits to the Mowa Choctaw Academy in Alabama where we are working with teachers to determine needs for basic teaching materials and facility improvements. This year the Committee supported a field trip for students to visit a nature reserve, and helped with expenses to mail an encyclopedia to the school.

The Committee supported travel of youth representatives for the first AFSC Native Youth Gathering held August 2000 in California. This was a very successful gathering of youth from a dozen Native nations in North America and Hawaii to help them build leadership skills.

The Committee supported the Baltimore Yearly Meeting Indian Affairs Committee’s Summer 2001 Work Camp and Cultural Exchange Project for youth in BYM and the Torreon/Starlake Chapter of the Navajo Nation.

The Committee provided some travel expenses enabling Sonny Richards, a Lakota healer from the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota, to do workshops at the Rising Moon Center for the Healing Arts in Creamery, PA in January 2001.

The Committee supported work by Angela Russell (Crow), of the Montana Legal Services Association, to work with Crow Indian land owners on land rights and economic development in land use.

The Committee continued annual support for two Native American organizations which provide important support for legal and social issues nation-wide: the Association on American Indian Affairs and the Native American Rights Fund. Newsletters from these organizations help us keep informed of key issues.

The Committee supported FCNL for its ongoing work on Native American issues and for a special publication on welfare reform as it relates to Indian tribes.

The Committee has continued to work with AFSC Native American/Native Peoples Task Force, FCNL, and other Friends to better understand the history and potential for cooperative work between Friends and Native peoples. Julie Kiene attended the conference “Deepening the connections among Friends and Native Peoples” held at the Quaker Center in Ben Lomond, CA, in December 2000.

Committee members were active in preparing and leading two different workshops at the Friends General Conference, held July 1-8, 2000. Melissa Elliott and Julie Kiene worked with Ed Nakawatase (AFSC) for the workshop “Friends and Native Americans”. The Committee supported travel for two Native leaders to participate in this workshop: Oren Lyons and John Mohawk. Nancy Webster led the workshop “The Past as Prologue to the Future: Topics in American Quaker History”

Committee members were active in preparing and participating in two Regional Gatherings of Friends of Native Americans (organized by Deep Roots) in January and June 2001. These enabled networking of Friends active on Indian Committees of Baltimore Yearly Meeting, New York Yearly Meeting, and Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, with participants from FCNL and AFSC, as well as Friends not affiliated with a group who share a concern in Native American issues.

The Committee met with Jennifer Howe, Quaker Aboriginal Affairs Committee, Canadian Friends Service Committee, to get a better understanding of her work and to establish an ongoing contact and exchange of information.

Committee members continued to make themselves available to speak at Friends Meetings and Schools.

We are working on a web site to make our work better known to Friends and Native Americans. We are also preparing a new brochure to briefly present our work, and have updated our funding guidelines for those seeking support for projects.

Report by Lois Kuter