Native is about identity, soul-searching, and the never-ending journey of finding ourselves and finding God. As both a citizen of the Potawatomi Nation and a Christian, Kaitlin Curtice offers a unique perspective on these topics. In this book, she shows how reconnecting with her Potawatomi identity both informs and challenges her faith.

Curtice draws on her personal journey, poetry, imagery, and stories of the Potawatomi people to address themes at the forefront of today’s discussions of faith and culture in a positive and constructive way. She encourages us to embrace our own origins and to share and listen to each other’s stories so we can build a more inclusive and diverse future. Each of our stories matters for the church to be truly whole. As Curtice shares what it means to experience her faith through the lens of her Indigenous heritage, she reveals that a vibrant spirituality has its origins in identity, belonging, and a sense of place.

Reviews

“Kaitlin Curtice is one of the braver writers I know. She won’t smooth any edges for you, and she won’t let you change the subject, but she’ll support you digging as deeply for your roots as she has for hers.”
—Barbara Brown Taylor, bestselling author of Holy Envy and Learning to Walk in the Dark

“It isn’t very often that a book about identity–let alone dismantling white supremacy and patriarchy–reads like a poem, but that’s Kaitlin. She is thoughtful decolonization set to music and wrapped in love.”
—Sarah Bessey, author of Miracles and Other Reasonable Things and Jesus Feminist

“There is no doubt that Christianity has been the handmaiden to the destruction of Indigenous nations. Native is an indigenization of faith and, more important, a moral call not only for the Christian church but for everyone to reckon with the genocidal legacies of US settler colonialism and African slavery.”
—Nick Estes, cofounder of The Red Nation

“This book is required reading for all those committed to learning the truth about the land we live on and the institutions we live inside of. It called me out and called me home.”
—Glennon Doyle, author of Untamed and founder of Together Rising

“Curtice is a brave truth-teller and a prophetic voice we need to be listening to, and Native is a book that will guide us toward a better future.”
—Richard Rohr, OFM, Center for Action and Contemplation

“In Native, Curtice takes the reader along as she bravely weaves together her spiritual, tribal, religious, cultural, and familial history into a cord that anchors her as she makes sense of her self, her world, and her identity. I’m so grateful for Curtice’s voice.”–Nadia Bolz-Weber, bestselling author, speaker, and public theologian

“Native is both an expansive meditation on faith through a Potawatomi lens and a powerful vision of living in relationship with divinity and in the world–one that is urgently needed today. Curtice is an essential voice.”–Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg, author of Surprised by God and Nurture the Wow

Kaitlin B. Curtice is a citizen of the Potawatomi Nation as well as a Christian, public speaker, and poet. She travels around the country speaking on faith and justice within the church as it relates to Indigenous peoples and has been a featured speaker at Why Christian, Evolving Faith, Wild Goose Festival, The Festival of Faith & Writing, The Revolutionary Love Conference, and more. Curtice is a monthly columnist for Sojourners, has contributed to On Being and Religion News Service, and has been featured on CBS and in USA Today and the New Yorker for her work on having difficult conversations within the church about colonization. She is the author of Glory Happening: Finding the Divine in Everyday Places and writes on her blog at www.kaitlincurtice.com.