Phyllis Singing Bird Ballard and her grandson take part in Birth Healing Day for Emiquon. (UMNS photo by Robert Baker)

Illinois—Phyllis Singing Bird Ballard had a vision of “many people from all walks of life, all religions, all races, all coming together to pray for healing for the Mother Earth.”

That vision started to come true April 30 when more than 250 people gathered to celebrate Birth Healing Day for Emiquon, a project that will restore more than 7,000 acres of farmland to a system of lakes and wetlands in Illinois.

“In the year 2000 as I stood in prayer on Generations Ridge, the Creator showed me a vision,” said Ballard, the facilitator of Birth Healing Day for Emiquon and vice chairperson for the United Methodist Northern Illinois Conference Committee on Native American Ministries.

Her vision was “to teach us that our ways are different, but the common goal, the main focus was that we all lift the Creator on high. We did that.”

Birth Healing Day for Emiquon was celebrated with prayers, drumming, flute music, dancing, feasting and fellowship. One of the sponsors of the event was the conference’s Native American Fellowship. Financial support also came from the denomination’s Native American Ministries Sunday offering.

Members of the Native American Fellowship in the Peoria area were asked to bless the land five years ago and have been coming yearly on April 30 to do a Pipe ceremony.

“The Native American Fellowship is growing together and making a difference in the lives of the community,’ said Suanne Ware-Diaz, an executive with the United Methodist Commission on Religion and Race. “The fellowship radiates the love of Jesus, and it resonates in the community. The deep respect that the Nature Conservancy workers have for the fellowship is evident. I am proud of this faith community and how it serves others.”

The return of the Illinois River’s floodplains began in 2000, when the Illinois Chapter of the Nature Conservancy first acquired more than 7,700 acres along the Illinois River in Fulton County, Ill. The goal of the conservation plan is to preserve the natural biological diversity of the Illinois River Valley.

Restoration and management of lands at the conservancy’s Emiquon project and other strategically located places along the Illinois River is key to returning the river’s natural resources to their former richness and productivity and to sustaining the restored natural communities for generations to come.

Michael Reuter, the Nature Conservancy’s chief conservation officer, said the area is significant because of the long history and inhabitation of 600 generations of Native Americans. Moe than 180 archeological sites are located throughout the area.

“Nature Conservancy came for the same reasons the Native American people did,” Reuter explained. “It’s an incredible productive biological area. The connections to the past and human history are very special. Today we are struggling to find the best way to live on this land just like 1,000 years ago.”

United Methodists “have a responsibility” to help indigenous people, according to the Rev. Theresa Little Eagle of Grand Rapids, Mich. “John Wesley accepted people as they are.  We need to follow the Jesus Way. We continue to take from Mother Earth. She can’t heal.  Emiquon is a wonderful opportunity to heal,” she said. “Native Americans have multiple gifts of healing and good stewardship.”

The Rev. Jerome “Jerry” DeVine, a district superintendent with the denomination’s West Michigan Conference, agreed. 

“This is a pivotal moment in United Methodist history. This land (the geographic United States) and all of the people will never be whole unless they discover the hidden Native American people,” he explained.

“The historic centerness, harmony, resources, and relationships of Native Americans reach out to all people.  Making sure that the needs of all their people are met is a core value of the First Nation’s people. Only recently has the dominant culture discovered the need for these core values.”

DeVine believes that John Wesley would be an environmentalist today--teaching people to use only what is needed. He also appreciated the United Methodist connection to Birth Healing Day.

“When we are committed to God, we can build a better future,” he said. “John Wesley was incredibly creative at bringing his understanding of the gospel into a new context. He broke with the norm of his day to let God’s love and purpose loose in a tightly restricted church.”

“People have said they have been very touched,” Ballard noted.  “I tell people the skin that I wear is Native American, but it is also United Methodist.  It cannot be separated. They are united. We learn with the Creator’s love and guidance. We learn that our ways are varied, but it’s okay.”