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The Rev. Dr. Guy Erwin used these sessions to walk through some of his own story as a Native American and the story of the Osage people. The Osage nation was one of the few tribes that did not sell the mineral rights to their land–a wise choice that had terrible consequences. Bishop Erwin also shared from his experience of going to Standing Rock with Bishop Elizabeth Eaton during the protests to the oil pipeline in 2017.

The Rev. Dr. R. Guy Erwin was elected bishop of the Southwest California Synod in 2013. He is the first Native American to be elected bishop in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America as well as the first openly gay person to serve as an ELCA bishop. Bishop Erwin is a member of the Osage Nation. After earning a PhD from Yale University, he was Lecturer in Church History in the Yale Divinity School (YDS) where he taught History of Western Christianity as well as courses on Martin Luther, the Pietists and other specialties. He taught at California Lutheran University from 2000 until his election as bishop.