A dispute is unfolding on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, where the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone Tribes have made it clear that pastor Sarah Lucas is no longer welcome. The conflict began in July when a video circulated showing Lucas, pastor of Foundations for Nations Church, describing the Arapaho sundance ceremony as “idol worship” in a sermon. Lucas stated, “Jesus is the chain breaker. He is the only God that we should be praying to.”
Lucas maintains her remarks reflect her interpretation of the Bible and are protected by constitutional rights. However, many Arapaho tribal members feel the comments targeted a central aspect of their identity, reopening historical wounds associated with religious assimilation and abuse.
Escalating Tensions
In recent weeks, demonstrators outside Lucas' church have been joined by activists from the American Indian Movement and Arapaho Chairman Keenan Groesbeck. Groesbeck stated that tribal elders do not want Lucas on the reservation. The sundance ceremony, a cornerstone of Arapaho spiritual life, is a time for connection, offering, and renewal. Lucas, during the recent ceremony, prayed for the participants, saying, “You have generations, centuries of people doing this offering, going in and making vows to change. Father God, we see no fruit.”
Many Arapaho individuals expressed shock that an outsider would not only disparage their ceremony but also discuss intimate details not typically shared publicly. Big Wind Carpenter, a protester, emphasized the difficulty of conveying the significance of the ceremony to those outside the Arapaho culture. Lucas has expressed regret for the sharp tone of her viral remarks but not the message itself. She stated that since founding her church nine years ago, she has urged Native congregants to renounce traditions like sundance, sweat lodges, and burning cedar, which she equates to idolatry, citing the Bible's directive to “only worship one God.”
Lucas reported that her Sunday congregation has halved from its usual size of 150. Tearany Black, an Arapaho congregant who views Lucas as a parental figure, agreed that Native Christians should abstain from traditional ceremonies but found the sermon's tone to be racist. She added, “I just don’t think she understands where we’re coming from.” DJ Gardner, who grew up practicing both sweat lodges and reading the Bible, joined Lucas' congregation last year and felt conflicted about being asked to choose. Gardner has since left Foundations for Nations, drawing parallels between Lucas' rhetoric and the assimilationist boarding schools that his grandfather attended.
Tribal Governance and Property Rights
Foundations for Nations is built on private property within the reservation’s boundaries, a decision Lucas made to avoid being subject to the tribes' authority as landlords. This situation highlights the complex jurisdictional landscape on reservations, a legacy of 19th-century federal policies that aimed to dismantle tribal land bases. Jessica Shoemaker, a professor at the University of Nebraska College of Law, explained that tribes possess broad civil authority over non-Natives on tribal land, including the power to banish them. However, jurisdiction over private property within reservations is subject to case-by-case legal interpretation.
Lucas and her legal representation from the Liberty Counsel assert that her private property ownership exempts her from banishment. In July, the Arapaho and Shoshone councils enacted ordinances requiring religious groups to obtain tribal approval before operating on Wind River. Chairman Groesbeck affirmed, “That’s the law of the land on our reservation.” This has led to the suspension of Foundations for Nations' youth programming, as they are now prohibited from transporting children on the reservation.
An Aug. 31 memo from the Arapaho council acknowledged that tribal authority might not extend to regulating activities on private land due to “jurisdictional limits.” Any tribal court enforcement could face federal review, where upholding tribal ordinances against non-Native conduct that allegedly threatens tribal well-being presents a high legal threshold.
Impact and Community Response
Mary Rose Goggles, a tribal member who practices Arapaho traditions and also engages with Christianity, initially felt warmly toward Lucas' church for its community support, including a food bank and children's activities. However, Lucas' sermon left her “heartbroken.” Jenea Mandan expressed anger and shame over sending her children to the church’s summer camp, feeling that the church may have taken advantage of her low-income situation as a single mother at the time. Foundations for Nations' website previously cited grim statistics about addiction, sexual assault, and unemployment to solicit donations, though AP found these numbers were either from national studies not specific to the reservation or untraceable. A program to sponsor children was also recently removed.
The church building, a 21,000-square-foot structure, has become unusually quiet. Construction on a neighboring youth center continues. DJ Gardner has returned to his childhood Catholic church, where he finds Arapaho motifs integrated into the sanctuary and is able to practice traditions like burning cedar. He is currently seeking guidance on forgiveness, stating, “In order for me to strive to be like Jesus, I would have to forgive. But there are some lines you just don’t cross.”