Encountering God in the Laavu
Testimony from the World Christian Gathering of Indigenous Peoplesby Eric Seaberg
Then he said to me, "Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live.'" So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet – a vast army." Ezekiel 37: 9&10
This summer I had the privilege of attending, with my family (Eric and Penny Seaberg and daughters Anna, Stina, and Britta) the "World Christian Gathering on Indigenous People" (WCGIP) held in Kiruna, Sweden. It was the fifth time delegates from all across the globe had gathered to celebrate their faith and their respective cultures from a first nation’s perspective. Participants came from nations like the Maori of New Zealand, the Aborigines of Australia,
the numerous tribes of Native North America, a highland tribe from Colombia,
the Malaccans from the Spice Islands of Indonesia, and tribal nations from
the Philippines. The host people at this gathering above the Arctic Circle
were the Sámi, and we all came together in their nation of Sápmi
for eight amazing days of worship, story telling, and testimony.
Founded in 1996, the first World Christian Gathering was held in New Zealand - the brainchild of a visionary Maori leader named Monte Ohia. He partnered with many other native leaders from around the world to develop a new vision for indigenous believers based on their own unique gifts, identities and cultures. No longer satisfied with taking a back seat to majority cultures that had traditionally controlled and defined church practice, this group of leaders began to shape a radically new approach to being indigenous and Christian. While being faithful to the core teachings of Jesus, this new generation of leaders has also been seeking to bring forward a broader and deeper understanding of indigenous identity to the wider church. The World Christian Gatherings are one expression of a spiritual revival that is occurring in many nations among native peoples, and it is helping to bring dignity and honor too many indigenous communities.
Our week in Kiruna was largely spent inside a very big laavu tent (actually it was about six laavus connected together to form a beautiful space for celebration and worship). Sitting on a carpet of reindeer hides, we listened each day to teachings from many different indigenous brothers and sisters who were there to share their unique stories. I remember listening to one elderly Aboriginal sister who told her story of being taken away from her people at the age of five and shipped to a government boarding school. Although she had every reason to feel embittered about what had happened to her family, instead she focused on God’s love for her and her people. Her journey to extend forgiveness to her oppressors was not without pain and struggle, but she had persevered and pushed through to a place of inner peace. Her dignity and strength were infectious in that big laavu, as were so many of the testimonies we heard during the week of the WCGIP.
Our own family was on an important spiritual journey at this gathering. We were there to be a source of blessing to the Sámi nation through our family artwork - as well as through building stronger relationships with the local Sámi community. During the week we displayed and sold drawings done by my father Albin Seaberg and my brother Kurt Seaberg. On more than one occasion local Sámis recognized family members in the artwork, and I was kept busy handing out prints of people’s grandfathers as the word spread around town about our booth. It was wonderful to make this connection with the Sámi community in Sweden, especially since we were very close to the place my grandparents had emigrated from ninety years ago.
Another powerful moment for our family came when I was asked to accompany
a group of indigenous leaders to the top of a sacred mountain (called the “Mountain
of Anointing” in the Sámi Language) to pray for healing and renewal
for the Sámi nation. I was surprised and honored to be chosen as one
of a group of twelve who would make the journey to the summit in two helicopters.
Those who were selected by the Sami leadership (i.e. Håkon & Marie
Enoksson from the South Sámi in Sweden, and Arild & Ragnhild Måsö from
the North Sámi in Norway) came from many different nations and ministries,
and included a diverse cross section of native leaders.
When we started our trip it had been slightly overcast, but soon it became
wonderfully clear, and the sun reflected off the snow that still lay on the
magnificent peaks that surrounded us. The short flight brought us up to a
slight bow where the helicopter could land, just a few hundred feet from
the summit we were destined to pray on. The scenery around us was breath
taking, with immense lush valleys falling away on each side of us and with
numerous waterfalls cascading down the mountainsides to the deep valleys
below. It was easy to see why the ancient Sámi considered this a sacred
place because the touch of God was everywhere.
There are moments in one’s life when you suddenly realize that you have been born for “such a time as this”. Being on top of the mountain on that day - with my indigenous brothers and sisters - was one of those special moments for me. As we reassembled at the drop site, it was decided that Arild, Håkon and me would ascend first to pray (as representatives of different parts of the Sámi nation). I was again surprised and honored to be asked, but the decision grew out of the discernment to be both inclusive and expansive about what it means to be Sámi. It was another confirmation of my experience over the years with indigenous gatherings. Native peoples tend to be very relational, open and welcoming to people with honorable intentions, and to those who want build active partnerships with their communities. They also have a much wider definition of who belongs to their tribes than what is typically codified by laws and governments.
After a short hike to the top the three of us lay down on the rock face that formed the summit, and began to intercede in earnest for the Sámi people – crying out to God for forgiveness, cleansing and a fresh wave of the Holy Spirit. I could feel the losses, bitterness and disappointments of many generations of immigrants begin to flow out of me as I repented, and I asked the Lord to wash over me and over all the Sámi descendants of North America. There was a strong cool wind blowing over my back as we prayed, and it felt like God was peeling off the burdens from my family and the generations as we labored on the rocks.
After about twenty minutes of prayer we stood up and walked to three different corners of the summit, where we began to shout and thank the Creator for his faithfulness. I could hear joyful joiks (Sámi chants) from Arild and Håkon flowing out into the valleys as we lifted up our praises, and out of the corner of my eye I could see a large bird (perhaps a falcon or an eagle) soaring on the thermals. As I stood there I began to receive a vision that the Spirit of the Lord was pouring down like a flood into the valleys below, and beginning to wash over Sápmi and beyond with a fresh wind.
One of the central goals of all the World Gatherings is to see significant healing and renewal released among indigenous people, and especially for the host nation. There were many wonderful moments when deep healing, a restoration of dignity, and a release of Sámi identity occurred in the course of the conference. This was demonstrated very powerfully one evening when a middle-aged Russian Sámi woman testified that she felt all of the shame she had felt over the years for being a Sámi fall off of her. These acts of restoration are the life blood of the world gatherings, and they happened repeatedly in Kiruna as men and women of faith, from both indigenous and majority cultures, experienced God’s healing presence in the big laavu.
There was another principle at work during the week in Kiruna. It has to do with the reason our Creator has birthed so many fascinating cultures and people groups in the first place. In the book of Revelation, there is a vision recorded of all the nations of the earth gathered around the throne of God and praising his name. Nations or people groups have a particular identity full of artistry, creativity and passion that is special to each group, and is beloved by God. The question that is often asked at a world gathering is: “What is the heart cry of a people”? What are the special gifts that anoint a particular nation and make it unique? It is a particularly relevant question for the host nation since it is their traditions that are being especially honored and highlighted.
Among the Sámi one can find traditions used in contemporary worship that resonate well with other indigenous cultures (like their drumming tradition), as well as others that are found nowhere else. One that is unique to the Sámi is the “joik” (pronounced ‘yoik’) which is a traditional Sámi chant that is believed to be one of the oldest forms of music in Europe. However, to think of it as music in the traditional Western understanding of song traditions and structures would be highly misleading since it doesn’t fit neatly into an easily identifiable category. I would describe it as a highly personal form of singing in the spirit. Part poetry and part melodic chant, a joiker evokes the landscape, people and animals of Sápmi in a burst of creative expression that is always changing and special at the time it is birthed. Like the Spirit of God, a joik and the joiker defy rational analysis or even a clearly defined subject and object, but at the same time clearly reflect the heart cry and passion of the Sámi Nation.
At the World Christian Gathering the joiks of the Sámi leaders and delegates soared in the Spirit during our times of worship – anointing all of the participants with a special touch of God’s Spirit. It was a gift from the Sámi people to the Body of Christ which I have experienced in a special way from so many other indigenous nations, whether it is the “drum circles” of the Native Northern Americans, the “hula” dance traditions of the Hawaiian people, or the “haka” warrior chants of the Maori from New Zealand. God loves the color and artistry he placed in his creation. He loves the different ways that we were made to honor and praise him.
The Kingdom of God is so much more than the halos and harps of a fictional heaven. It has all of the color and complexity of the myriad peoples, languages and cultures that have been given life on our planet. The purpose of the world gatherings is to release the heart cries, passions and gifts found so abundantly among indigenous people, but also found among all nations of the world. It is about “Unity, Freedom, and Jubilee” which were the three main themes of the 2005 World Gathering. Unity in a church that embraces the full identity of all indigenous people and their unique gifts; freedom to experience the salvation, healing and deliverance that Jesus brings to all nations; and the jubilee that flows out of a unified community of faith that can celebrate the release of true identity for all peoples.
The focus on the indigenous or first nations groups is important because of the historic marginalization of their cultures and traditions from the heart of the Christian church. Their participation in the body life of the church has until very recently been predicated upon leaving their unique identities at the door, and embracing the church practice of whatever dominant culture happens to be controlling these traditions. The renewal that is currently taking place among indigenous leaders and churches across the globe is not really about rejecting the traditional church per se, but of expanding the boundaries to include new practices and cultures. It has everything to do with releasing new sources of creativity that have been lodged in the hearts of indigenous people for centuries, and expanding the vision of what it means to be a truly universal church for all people.
Eric Jan Seaberg
Madison, Wisconsin
Unless otherwise noted, all materials on the urbana.org web site are Copyright InterVarsity Christian Fellowship / USA. All rights reserved.
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