Native: Identity, Belonging and Rediscovering God

Written by Kaitlin B Curtice

Narrated by Kaitlin B Curtice

Native is about identity, soul-searching, and the never-ending journey of finding ourselves and finding God. As both a citizen of the Potawatomi Nation and a Christian, Kaitlin Curtice offers a unique perspective on these topics. In this book, she shows how reconnecting with her Potawatomi identity both informs and challenges her faith.



Curtice draws on her personal journey, poetry, imagery, and stories of the Potawatomi people to address themes at the forefront of today's discussions of faith and culture in a positive and constructive way. She encourages us to embrace our own origins and to share and listen to each other's stories so we can build a more inclusive and diverse future. Each of our stories matters for the church to be truly whole. As Curtice shares what it means to experience her faith through the lens of her Indigenous heritage, she reveals that a vibrant spirituality has its origins in identity, belonging, and a sense of place.

• Language: English
• Publisher: ChristianAudio.com
• Release date: May 5, 2020
• ISBN: 9781545914434

Kaitlin B Curtice

Kaitlin B. Curtice is an award-winning author, poet-storyteller, and public speaker. As an enrolled citizen of the Potawatomi nation, she writes on the intersections of spirituality and identity and how that shifts throughout our lives. She also speaks on these topics to diverse audiences who are interested in truth-telling and healing. As an interspiritual advocate, Kaitlin participates in conversations on topics such as colonialism in faith communities, and she has spoken at many conferences on the importance of interfaith relationships. She writes online for Sojourners, Religion News Service, On Being, Oprah Daily, and more. Her work has been featured on CBS and in USA Today. She also writes at The Liminality Journal. Kaitlin lives in Philadelphia with her family.

Reviews for Native

[marie klassen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was so beautifully written. An important read for all, especially christians.

[Maren Biesbrouck · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A valuable book that taught me white christian culture is not the only way to experience God and that reminded me of my responsibilities as a person of privilege

[Meghan Kershaw · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Such beautiful writing, such powerful words, I can’t recommend this enough!

[Andre Lefebvre · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Clear-eyed, sharply written, pointing the way with hope and warmth to a better holistic living collectively, interconnected and aware. I will re-listen to this a few times, it inspires hope.

[Inga · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Such a compelling book - refreshing, challenging, truth seeking and truth telling, looking inward and looking outward at the same time to discover our place in the world. A must read. Thank you.

[Fit For Faith 〣 Your Christian Ministry. · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

15% read

I had beautiful expectations after this book had been recommended to me. A beautiful expectation to learn more about important cultures. But the book turned out to be heretical.

I first winced when I read her recommendation of Richard Rohr and his 'beautiful' book, knowing well that Rohr is one of the figureheads of New Age teachings and teaches Universalism.

Then I winced again when she endorsed spirits of their forefathers.

Next she spoke about the creation account by giving priority to extrabiblical accounts and questioning the validity of the biblical account.

Then she goes over to question the requirement of accountability (meetings) in church.

Then she tells us that she is only a loose Christian and might lose her faith at some point in the coming years.

I continued to listen until she described THEOS as Mamog***n.

Quote: "That means G-d is the Father and/or Mother [notice the capital letter!] who will always take us in. That means, of course, we are never alone."

Quote: "We believe that G-d is one of a kind, but beyond that we can't name what or who G-d is exactly. Mystery. Other. Sometimes Father, sometimes Mother, and sometimes Neither. Sometimes Friend, sometimes Challenger. When we begin to name G-d, we find that G-d has suddenly become an image of us, our own cultural understandings."

Blasphemy. One of the very few books I stopped reading after less than an hour into it.

[needmoreshelves · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Books about spirituality are tricky for me. I was raised in an ultra conservative faith, and have spent the better part of the past 25 years deconstructing those teachings to come to a place of freedom with the beliefs I currently hold. There aren't many teachers whose words I feel like I can trust. The list is pretty short. It's exciting for me when I can add an author to that list.

Much of the deconstruction I did in my faith was in the area of the patriarchal structures I had been fed for years. I hadn't, honestly, given much room or thought to the issue of race. And then along comes Kaitlin B. Curtice, and her magnificent new book, and I feel like once again I am starting on a journey.

Native is beautifully written - I think Curtice is truly a poet - and is also one of the most uncomfortable reading experiences I've faced in a long while. Curtice is a member of the Potawatomi tribe, and as she shares her own faith journey, she challenges so much of the existing religious structure in ways I hadn't even thought about. Her voice is gentle but insistent - she asserts her right to be heard, and allows her readers to make space for their own stories, no matter where in the telling we find ourselves.

I am so thrilled this book found its way into my hands. I plan to start reading it again almost immediately, because there is so much to learn from its pages. I cannot recommend highly enough that you get this book into your hands.

[deusvitae · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One of the benefits of the present age is a recognition of the value of different voices and the need to hear the perspective from groups historically marginalized and/or oppressed. This theme is also present in Christianity. Many good works have been written by people of color who profess Jesus as Lord and providing their particular perspective on the faith and its heritage.

The present author continues in that theme as a woman of white and Potawatomian ancestry. This work speaks to her journey in faith, having been raised in a traditionally "white" Baptist experience and faith, and growing in association and connection with her Potawatomi roots.

To that end this work is a good testimonial for the author on that journey and how she is informing her understanding of what God accomplished in Jesus through a lot of her Native values and traditions. She can see and point out the effects of white supremacy and colonialism in the expression of Christianity in America, and display how many of the traditions of the Native Americans are more than amenable to maintain in following Jesus as Lord. The book can also help white people learn about certain aspects of the Native experience: the kinds of things to avoid saying and doing, education about the Native experience, the exhaustion Natives feel in having to explain/justify themselves to white people, etc. Such lessons can also be valuable for people of color who are not Native as well.

The author seems to fully sign on to the modern progressive Christian/Evangelical platform, and the work and its conversation reflect it frequently. Many will be made uncomfortable by the amount of co-opting of her Native heritage in which she engages, and might easily think she has compromised her faith to return to Native ideas and ideologies. I think much of such a reaction is rooted in an inability or unwillingness to perceive how the critics have made American white culture normative; her desire to use Native terms for God, Father, Spirit, and the world are as justified as our use of English terms, and any concern about confusion, distortion, or maintenance of some kind of paganism would be just as real as for calling today Monday, or having a Thursday.

It is for us to listen and learn, even if we ultimately do not fully agree, and in this the book has great benefit.

**--galley received as part of early review program