Members and friends of the Northern Arapaho tribe, based in Wyoming, have erupted in rage because a Christian teacher, inside a Christian church on private land in a private building where people can attend voluntarily, taught the basic principles of Christianity.

Those include that Jesus Christ is the only way to salvation.

The subsequent church-bashing by tribal members has been documented by Cowboy State Daily.

One condemning the church was identified in the report as Christian Wassana, an enrolled Cheyenne Arapaho of Oklahoma, who played Martin Kills Many on “Yellowstone.”

He described the actions of Foundations for Nations church pastor Sarah Lucas as, “A pastor speaking at a church on the Rez in Wyoming condemning Sundance, one of our oldest and most sacred ceremonies.”

A video clip, showing the Christian pastor explaining that “Jesus is enough.”

Wassana’s posting exploded online, and he objected to the church’s statements about faith, claiming it “feels like history repeating itself, with attempts to erase and discredit our traditional way of life.”

He insisted that “claiming that one path is the only path while belittling and condemning ours is deeply disheartening,”

The report explained Wassana objected to the pastor’s references to tribal beliefs, “In the Northern Arapaho tribe, the flat pipe is associated with the creator, and some sun dance rituals center on the pipe and treat it as a sacred object.”

Wassana complained that the Christian church is open to children.

“Whenever you have somebody who’s a trusted adult, religious leader in the community saying these things, going against our ceremonies, saying they’re wrong, it can create a lot of confusion fear and shame for our children. We don’t want our young people growing up feeling like they have to choose between being accepted or embracing who they are because a leader they see is teaching those kinds of things,” he said.

Lucas had explained her own objections to the tribal beliefs: “They prayed to pipes and they prayed to the ancestors, believing this is the way for their freedom. To get free from addiction, for people to be healed… This is what this culture did this week.”

Chris Friday, a tribal member, led a protest in Riverton, posting online, “SARAH LUAS (sic) openly spoke down on OUR sacred Grandpa pipe. She don’t know what we as Arapaho have been through, and still go through…. She should educate herself on tribal spirituality before talking on s— she doesn’t know. Because this is religious warfare.”

He posted, “Don’t go to their food bank. Don’t go to their events. Don’t let your children go. We want them out of Arapaho land forever. They no longer are welcome here.”

The church also saw defenders online, with Desiree Henderson posting a video about the “unbelievable sacrifices” made by church members for the community.

Foundations for Nations hasn’t tried to hide its beliefs, posting its statements of faith online.

For example, it says it seeks for people to “have a relationship with God, be ignited to reach people with the good news about Jesus, and work together to impact communities.”

Wassana also complained about darker parts of the tribe’s history, where in centuries gone Christian-affiliated “missions” created boarding schools for tribal children.

Bob Unruh

Bob Unruh joined WND in 2006 after nearly three decades with the Associated Press, as well as several Upper Midwest newspapers, where he covered everything from legislative battles and sports to tornadoes and homicidal survivalists. He is currently a news editor for the WND News Center, and also a photographer whose scenic work has been used commercially. Read more of Bob Unruh's articles here.