In Native and Christian: Indigenous Voices on Religious Identity in the United States and Canada, 29. New York and London: Routledge, 1996.

James West (Southern Cheyenne) is president of Okom Enterprises, a financial services company specializing in tribal economic development and based in Tijeras, New Mexico.  An ordained American Baptist minister, he graduated from Andover Newton Theological School in 1971 and was a co-founder of the American Baptist Indian Caucus; he has served the denomination as president of the Board of National Ministries and as a member of the General Board Executive Committee.  West has also held positions with the American Indian National Bank, Native American Research Associates, and the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization, and has specialized in crisis intervention and arbitration in a variety of political and religious conflicts involving native communities.  This essay was originally presented at a theological conference exploring cultural diversity within the American Baptist Churches, "Patterns of Faith: Woven Together in Life and Mission," held at the American Baptist Seminary of the West in Berkeley, California.  West introduces some of the key issues involved in relating native religious experiences to the Christian theological world, and he suggests an alternative paradigm for Christian mission based on the need for healing and reconciliation.  His use of personal narratives to frame his theological reflections highlights the centrality and power of visionary experience in native Christian life.

© 2008 by James Treat