Exploring Religious Questions

Aerial view of Gustavus Adolphus College

Monday Nov 2, 2026

07:00 pm ~ 09:00 pm

Three Crowns Banquet Room

Audience

Public

Overview

Whatever your worldview, discover ways to move beyond land acknowledgments toward deeper relationships with Indigenous communities. An Episcopal priest with Dakota roots, our speaker has long worked with Indigenous, Anglican, Episcopal, and Lutheran communities in the United States and Canada. Through stories of both challenging and fruitful experiences, he explores the power of listening and the work of building relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. He will also share how he and other Indigenous Christians navigate complex and often polarized conversations about Christianity and Indigenous Peoples. Through these stories and more, the session offers insights into cultivating relationships grounded in listening, respect, and mutual understanding.

Speaker:

Rev. John E. Robertson (Dakota): An Episcopal priest with Dakota roots who has long served Episcopal, Anglican, and Lutheran churches in their Indigenous relationship efforts in the United States and Canada and is currently Site Manager at the Lower Sioux Agency Historic Site, where he draws on his Dakota perspective and ministry experience to help visitors understand the enduring significance of Dakota experiences, history, and relationships with settler society.

This event is one in a series of four lectures on "Beyond Land Acknowledgments: Toward Relationship, Healing, and Justice."

ABOUT THE SERIES

While a growing number of institutions now acknowledge that they are located on Indigenous lands, an acknowledgment is only a beginning. How might we move beyond words toward deeper understanding, authentic relationships, and a commitment to healing and justice?

This four-part series explores how church-related organizations, colleges, and universities in Minnesota are seeking to address this question. Speakers will share how their institutions are working to deepen their understanding of the histories, cultures, and ongoing experiences of Indigenous Peoples while also examining their own institutional histories, practices, and relationships with Indigenous communities today.

Participants will learn about efforts to move beyond land acknowledgments, what institutions are learning through this work, and what challenges they continue to encounter. Whether you are new to these conversations or have been engaged in them for years, the series offers opportunities to listen, learn, and consider how to become more engaged—here or abroad—in policies, practices, and relationships that respect, honor, and advance justice for Indigenous Peoples.

DATES: October 12, 19, and 26 and November 2

TIME: 7–9 p.m.

PLACE: Jackson Campus Center at Gustavus Adolphus College (Heritage Room, Three Crowns Room)

Join us for one or all four sessions!

These lectures are open to the public and co-hosted by the Office of the Chaplains and Professor Marcia J. Bunge. For more information about all four lectures or to register for the entire series, please contact Jodi Maas, Assistant Director of the Office of the Chaplains at Gustavus. Phone: 507-933-7001. Email: church-relations [at] gustavus.edu (church-relations[at]gustavus[dot]edu).