The 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering, MYLE, the tAble and Young Adult Gathering will take place on stolen land originally belonging to the Chitimacha people; the Atakapa, Caddo, Choctaw, Houma, Natchez and Tunica people inhabited other areas of what is now Louisiana.
We respect the rich history and ongoing relationship Native peoples have with this land and the many contributions of Indigenous peoples to this place. We honor their distinctive cultural heritage by working to fulfill our commitments stated in "
A Declaration of the ELCA to American Indian and Alaska Native People."
When we gather for the 2024 Gathering, let us remember the Indigenous peoples and tribal nations who were the first to love, pray, grow, celebrate, cry, drum, and sing upon the lands where we will be assembled.
As we consider our place in the story of colonization and of undoing its legacy, here are ways you can give of your time and energy to seek out information, to learn more, to do more, and to remain faithful to our shared journeys toward truth and healing:
