By Ken Howard
President and Founder
A few years back, we had the opportunity to work with Faith Lutheran Church in Bagley, MN.
Faith Lutheran is a small congregation in rural Minnesota, nestled between three Native American reservations: White Earth, Red Lake, and Leech Lake. There were both Native and non-Native Americans in their congregations. They wanted to explore not just how systemic racism (also known as structural racism) affected their congregation and the small rural town of Bagley in which they were situated. But just as importantly, they also wanted to explore how systemic racism affected those who lived on the reservations and how it influenced the relationship between the town and the reservations.
So we set about mapping the impact of systemic racism in and around the town and the reservations, using MissionMaps‘ unique, interactive mapping capabilities.
We approached this exploration in the typical way we help people visualize systemic racism.
We started with a map of the area, including the town and the reservations, and overlaid it with a map of Race and Ethnicity. Then we began overlaying that combined map successively – one map at a time – with individual maps of various social impacts they wanted to explore, including but not limited to the following:
- Arrest Rate (especially Personal Crime and Juvenile Crime)
- COVID Vulnerability (this was during the epidemic)
- Drug Overdose Mortality
- Access to Emergency Services
- Access to Health Insurance and Medical Care
- Educational Spending and Attainment
- Pre-School Enrollment
- Disconnected Youth (not in school or in the workforce)
- Net Worth (an indicator of a family’s ability to pass down generational wealth)
- Poverty (especially Child Poverty)
- Rent Burden
- Unemployment
What we discovered together was shocking but not surprising. On issue after issue, the difference between Native and non-Native Americans was stark. Significantly greater percentages of Native Americans were arrested than non-Native Americans. A much greater number of drug overdose deaths, disconnected youth, people in poverty, and people unemployed. At the same time, Native Americans’ access to various opportunities was significantly lower than that of non-Natives: many fewer people had access to health and healthcare, much lower spending on education, and much less ability to accumulate and pass down wealth from generation to generation.
It was genuinely eye-opening to all.
Here’s what the Pastor of the church had to say:
“FaithX delivered a powerful, revealing presentation on Mapping Systemic Racism in Rural America, revealing gaps in opportunity in our region among Native and non-Native people: economic, educational, access to health care, and more.
We are sharing FaithX’s work with the tribal council and in our local community.
Systemic change begins with raising consciousness. FaithX does a powerful job of accomplishing that goal. Lives can be changed if we tell the truth.
Thanks, FaithX, for helping us tell the truth.”
– Rev. Dr. Mark R. Olson, Pastor, Faith Lutheran Church
