The Yellow Crayon

If you are new to this thread, you should read the next one first - "I Am Not White"
Also...the blog is automatically linking to sights (the word pink) that I do not support or suggest. please do not click on any links in the text of my posts. 
And so...
The first time I was in the position to "teach" Navajo children was Children's Church at the Mission. Word got out that the Mission Church had a new pastor, and since his wife was experienced in children's ministry, the bus started rolling again, picking up kids from the "REZ". This made me nervous, because the bus driver just stopped and opened his doors and kids piled in. I don't think the parents had any idea where their kids were for the 2 hours we had them.
The kids sat quietly during worship time, not disrupting, not participating, and before the sermon they were dismissed to the fellowship hall for snacks and a Bible lesson. My initial impression of theses beautiful little people, ranging in age from 4 to 14, was that they were  fine examples of the "Stoic Indian." Names and gender posed a problem. I knew better than to judge their gender by the length of their hair. That cute little 4 year old with the long braids and turquoise earrings could easily be a boy or girl. And when asked their names they answered so quietly, I could never make it out. They weren't the names I expected...you know...things like "Sitting Bear" or "Laughing Fawn".  There was a Percyanna, Jolisa, Floyd and Floydina.
My first lesson was on prayer...talking to God. Probably not the best place to start. I had a few coloring pages to illustrate the main points of the story, and gave the kids a choice of which one to color after the story. I had a picture of  Jesus praying in the garden, a family praying around a table, people praying in church and a little girl kneeling beside her bed with her hands folded and head bowed. What surprised me about this activity is that every little girl, about 7 of them, choose the little girl kneeling at her bed, and every little girl colored the little girl's hair with a yellow crayon. I was coloring too, the same picture. I used the black crayon for the hair and colored the skin a light shade of brown. But as I looked around the table, I noticed, all the skin was pink and all the eyes were blue, except for the four year old - who turned out to be a boy, and who favored the green and purple crayons. I later mentioned my observation to the missionary, who had warned me that they would never really like me, because I was white...and he said they did it to please me. But I had brown hair (it's grey now).  I had a challenge in front of  me. Not only to get them to see me as person and not a color, but to help them see themselves as beautiful children of God, made in His image and Likeness.
Hey you guys, don't you realize that Jesus looked more like the Native Americans than the Europeans? Jesus had black hair and dark shin. And Adam was made from the red soil of Edan. I've seen black dirt and brown dirt, and red dirt. I've never seen white dirt, at least not in a healthy abundant garden. In the Song of Solomon, the "princess" says she is black (dark skinned) and lovely.
Epilogue to this essay:  I teach Reading and English in a public school on the Rez now. My students usually know I'm a Christian, though of course I don't share me faith at school. A few years back one of my mid-school boys was rapping as he walked into my room, and the lyrics he was singing included the phrase "black Jesus". He stopped short when he saw me, and said "Sorry, Mrs. Brokop...I mean "white Jesus."
"Jesus wasn't white" I answered...and the shocked  look on his face spoke volumes.