‘Even the Stones Will Cry Out’: Native American Cosmology, Theological Anthropology and the Mission of Creation

Abstract

Based on a unique cosmology Native American theologians propose theological anthropologies which represent humanity as the weakest of all created beings. Accordingly, this paper will advocate reframing humanity’s call to creation care from one of superiority in which humankind cares for creation, to one of humility in which humankind is cared for by creation. This paper will begin by outlining a prominent symbol for a properly ordered cosmos across Native American contexts known as the Sacred Circle. By identifying the origins of Native American contextual theologies in a pan-Native American cosmology popularised by the teachings of Lakota holy man and Catholic catechist Nicholas Black Elk (1863–1950) it will introduce core tenets of Native American cosmology. The most prominent of these is the Sacred Circle’s representation of a cosmological priority for space over time, which is often linked to an egalitarian, interrelated view of the cosmos. By engaging a range of primary source texts from Native American theologians who continue the legacy of Black Elk by contextualising Christian faith in accordance with the Sacred Circle, this paper will recognise land as the locus of a tangible spirituality. Accordingly, non-human beings have spiritual agency and personhood, and human beings must learn to relate to them rightly to participate in cosmological harmony. Human beings may do this by recognising human fragility and dependence on non-human persons for survival. Therefore, humanity’s call to creation care begins and ends with humility, manifested through gratitude and reciprocity towards non-human creatures.