An extraordinary leader

Searching for Sacred Ground: The Journey of Chief Lawrence Hart, Mennonite Raylene Hinz-Penner. Cascadia Publishing House, 2007. 206 pages.

The first “foreign” mission outreach by both General Conference Mennonites and the Mennonite Brethren of North America was to Plains Indians in Oklahoma. The GCs began their work in 1880 among the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes, and the MBs established the Comanche Post Oak Mission in 1895. Post Oak and four of the original GC mission churches survive to this day.

Under review is Raylene Hinz-Penner’s personalized biography of Lawrence Hart, an extraordinary Native American leader who emerged out of the GC’s Red Moon Mission in western Oklahoma. This work is more than the story of Hart’s life; it is also the story of Hinz-Penner’s search to find the sources of Hart’s life and achievements.

Hart is a full-blood Cheyenne peace chief and Mennonite minister. Because of his brilliant oratory, commitment to peacemaking, promotion of restorative justice principles, and contributions to the cultural and religious life of Natives and non-Natives he is referred to as an “an Oklahoma treasure.” His leadership in the national program to repatriate Native remains and religious artifacts from museums and other depositories demonstrates that his influence reaches far beyond one state.

Hinz-Penner focuses on influences that drive Hart’s spiritual quest – his “searching for sacred ground.” These include the teachings of Sweet Medicine, who set the standards for Cheyenne peace chiefs, and Hart’s grandfather, a peace chief who taught him the traditional Cheyenne ways. Hart’s studies at a Mennonite college and seminary grounded him in Anabaptist theology. Stories of the massacre of the revered Chief Black Kettle by Custer’s soldiers, witnessed by some of Hart’s forebears, also had a profound impact on his character. This study clearly demonstrates that Hart has effectively synthesized both the Cheyenne and Anabaptist traditions in his own life, with strong emphases on peacemaking and servant leadership.

I’ve had the opportunity to work with Chief Hart on a variety of projects. He is a man of deep spirituality, humility, and exceptional talents. His story, as insightfully told by Hinz-Penner, should have broad appeal to Mennonite audiences.

Marvin E. Kroeker is author of Comanches and Mennonites on the Oklahoma Plains: A.J. and Magdalena Becker and the Post Oak Mission (Kindred Productions, 1997). He lives in Ada, Okla.