Presented by Million Artist Movement as part of our Black and Indigenous Solidarity and Sovereignty Bootcamp on Saturday, October 23rd, 2021.

In this presentation Dr. Mato Nunpa reads a paper about his recently released book The Great Evil: Genocide, the Bible, and the Native Peoples, followed by Q&A. In this account of the history between Indigenous Peoples and the United States government, readers learn the role the bible played in the perpetration of genocide, massive land theft, and the religious suppression and criminalization of Native ceremonies and spirituality. Chris Mato Nunpa, a Dakota man, discusses this dishonorable and darker side of American history that is rarely studied, if at all. Out of a number of rationales used to justify the killing of Native Peoples and theft of their lands, the author emphasizes the role of a biblical rationale, including the “chosen people” idea, the “promised land” notion, and the genocidal commands of the Old Testament God. Mato Nunpa’s experience with fundamentalist and evangelical missionaries when he was growing up, his studies in Indigenous Nations history at the University of Minnesota, and his affiliation with the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) were three important factors in his motivation for writing this book.

Chris Mato Nunpa, Ph.D is a former Associate Professor of Indigenous Nations & Dakota Studies at Southwest Minnesota State University. Professor Mato Nunpa holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities campus, with the Collateral Field for the Ph.D. in American Indian Studies. He also studied theology at SeaburyWestern Theological Seminary, Evanston, Illinois.

Dr. Chris Mato Nunpa is a Wahpetunwan (“Dwellers In The Leaves,” or Wahpeton) Dakota from the Pezihuta Zizi Otunwe, “Yellow Medicine Community” (BIA name, Upper Sioux Community), in southwestern Minnesota.