A Native Way of Giving

We need new perspectives and deeper connections to meet our current challenges.

To give us hope for a better tomorrow, we need to open up to fresh possibilities and insights. The experiences of Native people, some of which are told here in this Little Book, can provide avenues to deepen our faith and become a stronger community. These stories of abundance and generosity, of tending family and the land, remind us that we are all called to care for the gifts that God has given us. This kind of storytelling, which captures the imagination and inspires forward-thinking, is central to Native tradition― and to discipleship, as well.

This series of Little Books on Faith and Money is designed to foster conversations within congregations around certain principles and practices that nurture community and growth in the ongoing life of the church.

Forrest S. Cuch is a Ute Elder and a graduate of Utah’s Wasatch Academy and Westminster College. He’s a retired Tribal executive, and former Director of Indian Affairs for the State of Utah. Forrest is Bishop’s Warden of St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church in Whiterocks, Utah and editor of A History of Utah’s American Indians. He lives in Roosevelt, Utah.

Rev. Michael Carney is a priest who’s served at St. Elizabeth’s Episcopal Church on the Uintah and Ouray Ute Reservation. He’s an active member of the Episcopal Indigenous Ministries community and coordinates the Mountains and Deserts ministry coalition. He lives in Whiterocks, Utah.