Christian Living

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Reconciliation And Forgiveness
© 2011

by

Stephen A. Peterson


Jenny Harjo, a native of Saskawa, Oklahoma lived a sheltered life in her small, intimate community. Her father worked in nearby Seminole as an auto mechanic, her mother stayed at home and her brothers and sisters attended school in the Saskawa Public School district all of her life. The Harjo family rarely left town. When they went to church services, purchased groceries or fuel, they did so in Saskawa. The little Native American community was roughly 20 miles from Seminole where Euro-Americans and others lived. To go to Seminole was the big town even though barely 4,000 souls resided there.

Jenny was shocked when she arrived on the campus of Indiana University—Bloomington and discovered she was the only Native American woman or man on campus. For the first time in her life. Jenny felt she was THE minority. In her dormitory, in her classes and even at church among strangers, she felt as though she was the out person longing for a friend. Jenny began to contemplate leaving the university as she was lonely, very lonely. When she was reviewing college information, Jenny thought Indiana University had to have lots of Native American students. “Look it! It’s Indiana University. It has “Indian” in its name.

All this changed when she traveled with the Pershing Rifles Drill Team, as a member, to the University of Nebraska—the National Pershing Rifles Headquarters and sponsor of the Drill Team competition. As Jenny walked into the fieldhouse, she saw dozens and dozens of Native American students dressed in traditional tribal clothing of several tribes. She felt right at home. The drums beat loudly, the bells rang out, and voices of female and male dancers and singers welcome the visitors to the University campus.

For the first time, since leaving Oklahoma, Jenny felt good about herself. Also for the first time, members of the Indiana University, Pershing Rifles Drill Team experienced fear of being attacked by hostile Native peoples. They seemed to understand how Jenny felt—alone and scared. Some members of the Drill Team asked Jenny, “Hey, Jen, where are the rest of the Drill Teams? Are they going to attack us?”

“Oh, come on! They’re okay! They’re just here to welcome us on the University of Nebraska campus. It’s just a pow-wow! We have pow-wows in Oklahoma all of the time for special events. It’s our way of celebrating.”

It was following this event when Jenny and the Indiana University Pershing Rifle Drill Team came closer together. Jenny and the other team members talked to each other deciding that they needed to know more about each other. Jenny became more involved in university activities, dormitory activities as well as activities in her major’s department.

Jenny remained at Indiana University to earn her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. She also remained in the Army ROTC department receiving her commission as a Second Lieutenant.

As she packed up her belongings to leave Indiana University following her six years, she asked the question: “When are we going to begin to overcome our barriers to gender, ethnic and racial differences? It worked in my instance when my fraternity and sorority brothers and sisters in Pershing Rifles befriended the strangers who are shoulder to shoulder with us. We’ve got to quit calling each other racists, sexists and going over past historical offenses without reconciling with each other and forgiving the offenses we certainly all are guilty of.”

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