Reading the Bible on Turtle Island

""We have been waiting for a book like this—one that presents indigenous biblical interpretation. T. Christopher Hoklotubbe and H. Daniel Zacharias call their approach to biblical interpretation Turtle Island Hermeneutics. I call it groundbreaking, urgent, and necessary at this present moment. Now students studying the Bible in seminary or college will have a text that will help them do what few books on interpretation can do—take the dirt, the water, the air, our animal kin, and of course, indigenous thought and life seriously. We are now in a new day for biblical scholarship."" -- Willie James Jennings, Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Systematic Theology and Africana Studies at Yale University Divinity School ""Some years ago, I was told that Indigenous contributions to biblical scholarship would, at best, be superficial. The real work, after all, had already been done by European scholars. Reading the Bible on Turtle Island justifies my contention that this was not so. T. Christopher Hoklotubbe and H. Daniel Zacharias unpack Indigenous understandings of the biblical narrative for us in profoundly earthy and culturally complex ways. For the first time ever, many Indigenous people have read themselves into the biblical story and, together with the authors, have answered Lamin Sanneh's 2003 question, 'Whose religion is Christianity?' 'It's ours,' they have said!"" -- Terry LeBlanc, director emeritus and elder in residence of NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community ""Reading the Bible on Turtle Island introduces us to the riches of Indigenous interpretation of Scripture and invites us to gather around the council fire and learn from the ongoing discussion Indigenous disciples of Jesus are having about how to 'seek Creator in the Good Medicine Way of Jesus.' T. Christopher Hoklotubbe and H. Daniel Zacharias not only create a dialogue between biblical scholarship, Indigenous history and wisdom, and ongoing debates about how to relate the gospel to culture, they do so in a way that is simultaneously accessible, deeply moving, gracious enough to create room for disagreement and ongoing debate, and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny. Yet the book also offers a challenge, that the path to the healing of the nations and the Western church includes learning from Indigenous disciples who bear witness to the good word of Creator-made-flesh."" -- Michael J. Rhodes, author of Just Discipleship and lecturer in Old Testament at Carey Baptist College ""How we read ourselves into the Bible shapes the theology we develop. This book offers all Christians another reading, a reading that takes our stories seriously and provides an opportunity to develop an Indigenous theology rather than simply reconciling ourselves to a theology rooted in European priorities."" -- Patty Krawec, author of Becoming Kin: An Indigenous Call to Unforgetting the Past and Reimagining Our Future and Bad Indians Book Club: Reading at the Edge of a Thousand Worlds ""Reading the Bible on Turtle Island is a thought-provoking contribution that invites those shaped by a Western Christian worldview into the circle of Indigenous theological conversation. T. Christopher Hoklotubbe and H. Daniel Zacharias weave a compelling narrative that honors Indigenous insights and engages the Scriptures with depth and integrity. They speak with an authority born of lived experience and careful listening. This book invites readers into a sacred dance of interpretation—one that is deeply communal, rooted in place, and led by the Spirit. It is both a gift and an invitation for the church to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly on a path toward genuine reconciliation. Highly recommended!"" -- Terry M. Wildman, lead translator, general editor, and project manager for the First Nations Version and First Nations Version Psalms and Proverbs