May 1, 2003
WASHINGTON, DC - The First Native Church of Washington, DC was chartered this past month while a representative from the CAI-USA National Presbytery Office looked on. The congregation aligned itself to fall under the Sweat Lodge Diocese of the Church and plans to apply for accreditation with the Church. The congregation is spiritually led by Rev. Nathan Phillips and is governed by a board of trustees. The congregation does not have a building at present, but keeps a lodge at Indian Pines, a site owned by the American Indian Society of Washington, DC. The paper work to officially accredit the congregation is expected shortly. Mary Gibson of the Native Diocese of Washington DC said, "we were involved from the begining with this congregation" and is confident that a congregation in DC will grow and better support the many people who live and work in nation's capital away from their communities.
June 1, 2002
BETHESDA, MD - The Church of the American Indian USA has a new official mark. The decision was formally announced on June 1, 2002 following a design search and artwork contest. The winner is to be notified in writing during the month of June, and the Church will officially begin using the mark starting Mid-Summer 2002.
The Administrative Commitee of the Church met during the months of April and May to begin the process of selecting a mark for the Church. David Porter, of the Administrative Commitee, said there were over 25 designs submitted to the Church by various artists and organizations. Many designs were submitted by Church members, but surprisingly, there was a good showing of designs from outside of the Church membership. David suggests this good showing from outside the Church is testimony to the CAI-USA's value and respect. Mary Gibson of the Washington Diocese said the deadline for design submission was on May 1, 2002, but designs were accepted by mail up to the 3rd of May if they were post-marked by the 1st of May. Mary said, "given the recent issues with mail delivery concerns since September 11th we allowed the submission after the deadline as long as they were post-marked by the 1st."
Below are shown the old and new marks for comparison. The old mark is in black and white with only a few eagle feathers visible above the tipi. The new mark is in modern four color format, contains a substantial amount of symbols of faith, and maintains a traditional look to it. The mark was submitted by the Native American Forum of Annapolis Junction, MD and was hand delivered to Mary Gibson of the Washington Diocese by Rev. John Wigle on May 1st. The Native American Forum is a non-profit organization which has no association with CAI-USA. The design is based upon a portion of the Native American Forum logo with some modifications. The Native American Forum logo was designed by reknowned Luguna Pubelo Artist, Mel Antonio, who is a member of that organization.
Congregations may continue to use the old mark until new supplies phase out items with the original mark. The Church will provide congregations, free of charge, the color separations for full-color and black & white color needs. New supplies should be ordered with the new mark.
Many members have been asking why the mark had to be changed. To fully explain the need for a new mark, a little history on the original mark is in order. The original mark was designed back around the early 1900s. No one in the Church can remember exactly how it came to be in use or from where it originated. What the Church does know about the mark is it was in use along with other marks in 1901. The mark was later adopted for use on headstones by the National Cemetary Service to denote non-christian American Indians. The name of the Church was added to the mark in 1973, and the mark has remained largely unchanged since then.
The Church first met on the issue of a new mark in Summer of 1999 when members of the clergy of the Church suggested the mark was out of date, and did not substantially portray a symbol of faith of the Indian community. The Presbytery of the Church conducted a review of the mark, issued findings and referred the matter to the general counsel for legal review. The General Counsel issued its opinion that the Church could have difficulty in defending its claim to usage of the mark given the Church could not verify the origination of the mark and when it first came into usage. The General Counsel's opinion went further on to suggest that a new mark for CAI-USA would better position the Church to defend its usage if the cause should ever arise. Based on the findings of the Presbytery and the opinion of the General Counsel, the Church charged the Administrative Committee in the Summer of 2001 to select a new mark for the Church, and gave guidance to choose a symbol of faith from within the American Indian community. The Administrative Committee, conducted several studies during the fall to determine if an artist should be commissioned to design a mark, or if a contest could provide a method. They decided the artwork contest was the best approach, and advertising started in February of this year.
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