A Christian pastor called Arapaho ceremonies 'idol worship.' Now the tribe wants her church gone

(AP) — Every Sunday morning on the Wind River Reservation, congregants gather at Foundations for Nations Church to pray while protesters outside do the same. Lucas, who is not Native American but owns the land under her church, says she isn't going anywhere. The standoff tests the boundaries of religious freedom and the right of a tribal nation to govern according to its own values and protocols.The conflict stems from a video that circulated in July as Arapaho people surfaced from their weeklong sundance ceremony.

In it, Lucas called that cornerstone of Arapaho spiritual life “idol worship.”“Jesus is the chain breaker. He is the only God that we should be praying to,” Lucas said.Lucas says her words reflect her interpretation of the Bible and are constitutionally protected. Many Arapaho people say she took aim at something central to who they are, reopening wounds from a not-so-distant era of religious assimilation and abuse.With the smell of coffee and sweetgrass swirling, regular Sunday demonstrators were recently joined by activists from the American Indian Movement and Arapaho Chairman Keenan Groesbeck as they marched past ranchland and scattered homes toward the church.“We brought in our ceremonial elders.

We heard them loud and clear,” said Groesbeck. “They don’t want them here no more.”Lucas condemned the highest Arapaho ceremonyThe sundance marks a time of connection, offering and collective renewal. As Arapaho people closed this year's ceremony and welcomed a new year according to their traditions, Lucas and her smaller-than-usual congregation prayed for them.“You have generations, centuries of people doing this offering, going in and making vows to change,” Lucas said.

“Father God, we see no fruit.”Many Arapahos were stunned to hear an outsider not only disparage the ceremony but talk about closely held details that aren't meant to be discussed openly.Big Wind Carpenter, who was among the protesters, said Lucas couldn't have chosen a more painful target.“There's nothing I could say to make non-Arapahos understand,” Carpenter said.Lucas said she regrets her sharp deliv…