What is Winter Talk?
Winter Talk honors the season of winter. The harvest is long past and spring soon to come. Winter is our time to think, tell stories, and eat. At Winter Talk we come together as community to talk, eat, create new relationships, and then talk some more, eat some more, and learn to know our new relations all the more. Join the people of our landscape, renew old relationships and create new ones!
Hosted by Center for Indigenous Ministries (DOC), Winter Talk is dedicated to furthering the conversation on the Christian Doctrine of Discovery and its dismantling.
Winter Talk is an important time for Canadians and US siblings to gather and eat, learn, and talk about the Doctrine of Discovery’s impact on North American peoples. All people are welcomed to Winter Talk; a place and space of accountability to American Indignity where the Indigenous voice is principle in an exploration of the past, an understanding of the present, and a visioning of the future.
Winter Talk 2026
2-Eyed Seeing:
Intersections of current Christian Theology and Traditional Knowledge
Time & Place
Winter Talk will be taking place in 2026 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Sunday, February 1 – Tuesday, February 3 with a virtual option as well. Winter Talk’s gathering time will begin on Sunday, February 1 from 6:00-8:00 pm at The Parish Church of St. Jerome (an independent, inclusive, and egalitarian sacramental community rooted in the Old Catholic tradition) where Father Joshua Shawnee serves as parish priest. The church is located at 205 W King Street, Tulsa, OK 74106. Speakers and small group conversations will take place 8:00AM-5:00PM Monday and Tuesday at the Helmerich Center for American Research (HCAR) at the Gilcrease Museum.
Speakers
The Rev. Joshua Shawnee is the Pastor of the Parish Church of St. Jerome in Tulsa, Oklahoma. St. Jerome Parish is a fully affirming and egalitarian sacramental community rooted firmly in the Inclusive Catholic tradition. Fr. Josh has a Bachelor’s degree in Theology and Liturgical Music from St. Gregory’s University, a Master of Library and Information Science degree in Archival Studies from Emporia State University, and a Master of Theological Studies degree and Graduate Diploma from Phillips Seminary. Joshua is an enrolled member of the Shawnee Tribe, the Delaware Tribe of Indians, and the Cherokee Nation. Fr. Josh’s research centers the impacts of colonization and Christianization upon Two Spirit and “Indigequeer” persons and communities. He is a proud member of the All Nations Two Spirit Society.
Conrad M. Rocha is a 5th generation Presbyterian, having been confirmed as a member of Second Presbyterian Church, Albuquerque on May 31, 1964. Second Church is the only Hispanic Presbyterian Church in Albuquerque. He was ordained as a Ruling Elder in January, 1994. Conrad is an inactive member of the State of New Mexico, having been in active service from 1987 through 2024.
Conrad is a Vietnam Veteran, having served in the United States Navy from 1969-1979. Currently, he serves as the stated clerk and executive of the Synod of the Southwest (a council of the Presbyterian Church (USA) covering New Mexico, Arizona and the Navajo Nation), a position he has held since 2010. He previously served as Executive Director of Law Access New Mexico, a not-for-profit corporation that provided free civil legal services to New Mexico’s resident poor, a position he has held from 2007 to 2018. Other work experience includes service as: Vice-President for Institutional Advancement/Chief Financial Officer of Menaul School in Albuquerque; Administrator of First Presbyterian Church of Albuquerque; a six year term in the world of public accounting as a tax attorney and accountant serving its not-for-profit client corporations; and, between his undergraduate work and his post-graduate work he also served for three legislative sessions of the Legislature of the State of New Mexico as the Senate’s official reader and as a payroll clerk.
In addition, Conrad has served as: President and member, Board of Directors, University of New Mexico, United Campus Ministry; President, Treasurer and member, Board of Directors, Martineztown House of Neighborly Service; Chair, Auditor Selection Committee, City of Albuquerque, New Mexico; member, Board of Trustees, Westminster Gardens, Duarte, California; Vice President & Chair of the Finance Committee, National Hispanic Cultural Foundation; President, National Hispanic Cultural Foundation; Treasurer and Executive Committee member and trustee of the Board of Trustees of the New Mexico Conference of Churches; and, in the past, and currently, serves on the Board of Trustees, of Menaul School, the Insurance Board (an interdenominational insurance company providing liability and property insurance for churches and related church institutions) and, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
He has served in various capacities in the Presbytery of Santa Fe, including service as its moderator, chair of its board of trustees, chair of its council, and chair of its finance committee. He has also served in various capacities in the Synod of the Southwest, including service as its moderator and chair of its finance committee and chair of its Review/Visioning for the Future Implementation task force.
Some of Conrad’s past church experience includes: 6 years of service as a member of the board of directors of the Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church (USA); 7 years of service as a member of the General Assembly Council/A Corporation Board of Director (now the Interim Unified Agency) of the Presbyterian Church (USA); 2 years of service as a member of the board of directors of the Presbyterian Investment & Loan Program; 3 years of service as a member of the Presbyterian Mission Agency/A Corporation Board of Directors of the Presbyterian Church (USA) (now the Interim Unified Agency); and service as a member of the PCUSA General Assembly Platform Team from 1999 through 2026 (12 General Assemblies), serving as the Platform Manager for 7 of those General Assemblies.
In his current position as the Stated Clerk/Executive of the Synod of the Southwest his primary focus has been in facilitating the Synod to serve as an ally with the Native American community in the Synod and beyond in their efforts to fight and resist the systemic marginalization of the members of that community.
Lisa Barnett is an Associate Professor of American Religious History and Director of Formation for Disciples students at Phillips Theological Seminary (Tulsa, OK), arriving in the fall of 2018. Lisa earned her PhD in U.S. History at TCU in May of 2017. She earned a Master of Theology in American religious history from Brite Divinity School (Fort Worth) in 2012 and a Master of Divinity degree from Brite in 2008. She is also an ordained minister with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and serves as a trustee for the Disciples of Christ Historical Society and co-moderator for the Center for Indigenous Ministries (DOC).
Lisa’s first book titled Peyote Politics: The Making of the Native American Church, 1880-1937 was released in May 2025 by the University of Oklahoma Press.
Crow Eddy is a Mi’kmaw artist, healer and community leader living in Mi’kma’ki (Nova Scotia, Canada). His artistic practice developed independently from his Indigenous heritage, shaped by formal training and personal exploration. He holds an associate degree from the Ontario College of Art and Design and has exhibited his work in public and private galleries across Canada. Later in life, Crow deepened his connection to ancestral teachings through the guidance of Mi’kmaw, Cree, Mohawk, and Anishinaabe Elders, which now informs his work as a speaker and workshop facilitator on Indigenous spirituality and cultural reclamation. He serves as a board member of the Milton Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and is currently a co-moderator for the Centre for Indigenous Ministries, where he advocates for decolonial approaches to faith, healing, and justice.
The address for the Helmerich Center is 1400 N Gilcrease Museum Rd, Tulsa, OK 74127. For more information about the facility, follow the link below:
Registration
The cost of the event is $100 for General Registration, $60 for Retired Clergy, $50 for Seminary Students, and free for Indigenous. Payment can be made now online or brought as a check to the event (if attending in-person). Lodging, transportation, and meals are not included (though a lunch option may be posted soon, please check this page in the next few weeks).
Register for the event itself by clicking the button below to Brown Paper Bag Tickets.
Hotel
A close hotel close to HCAR that is Indigenous-owned is the Osage Hotel and Casino located at 951 West 36th St N, Tulsa, OK 74127 with rooms (as of September 2025) starting at $109/night before taxes and fees. Find more information below:
Past Winter Talks
2025 – Peyote Politics: The Making of the Native American Church, 1880–1937
Winter Talk Keynote speaker: Dr. Lisa Barnett (Northern Cherokee descent), is the Assistant Professor of American Religious History at Phillips Theological Seminary. Dr. Barnett’s work has often questioned the history of incursion and resistance found at the intersection of Indigenous and colonist religion.
Dr. Barnett’s new book coming out spring of 2025 was perfect for our conversation, Peyote Politics: The Making of the Native American Church, 1880–1937. Guiding our conversation, Dr. Barnett helped us explore why Peyotism should be considered through the historical/post-colonial context of the Doctrine of Discovery.
2024 – Indigenous Religious Spheres: Incursions, Resistance, and Integration
Keynote Speaker: Terry LeBlanc, Ph.D., D.D., D.D., Director Emeritus, Elder in Residence
Workshop Leader: Margaret JA Knickle, Ph.D., Part-Time Faculty at Mount Saint Vincent University, Fort Point Museum Board of Directors Member
Rose Meuse, Musician, Cultural Interpreter, Craftsperson, and Mi’kmaw Language Instructor in L’sitkik, (Bear River First Nation, Nova Scotia, Canada), Rev. Nathan Waterman (her husband) hosted the workshop with her.
2023 – Indigenous Religious Spheres: Incursions, Resistance, and Integration
Dr. Lisa Barnet and Rev. Joshua Shawnee, SSM were the 2023 Winter Talk Keynote speakers. Lisa Barnett, Northern Cherokee descent of Missouri and Arkansas, is the Assistant Professor of American Religious History at Phillips Theological Seminary. Rev. Joshua Shawnee, Shawnee and Delaware, serves as Education and Social Services Director of the Shawnee Tribe and pastor of the Parish Church of St. Jerome. Their talks questioned a history of incursion and resistance at the intersection of Indigenous and colonist religion and its impact on Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer North American people and Indigenous religion–with an emphasis on the Native American Church.
2022
(2nd Year of Covid) CIM supported speakers committed to accountability to Indigenous voice @ DCHS Visions of Wholeness event
Joshua Shawnee-Shawnee and Delaware
Lisa Barnett-Northern Cherokee descent of Missouri and Arkansas
David Bell-Toppenish Creek Valley
2021
Canceled Due to Covid-19
2020
Jon Ghahate-Laguna & Zuni Pueblo
2019
Chebon Kernell-Seminole
2018
David Bell-Toppenish Creek Valley
2017
Sarah Augustine-Pueblo
2016
Robert J. Miller-Eastern Shawnee
2015
Richard Grounds-Euchee
2014
Lisa Dellinger-Chickasaw
Ron Gurley-Cherokee
David Bell-Toppenish Creek Valley
Example Winter Talk Schedule
Monday
8:30am Registration & Gathering (coffee & tea)
9:00 Welcome and Blessing
9:05 Acknowledging Sacred Space
9:50 Break
10:00 Review of Doctrine of Discovery
11:00 Small Group
11:30 Q&A
11:45pm Lunch and Conversation
12:45 Talk #1
1:45 Small Group Conversation
2:15 Q&A with Presenter
2:30 Break
3:00 Talk #1
4:00 Small Group Conversation
4:30 Q&A with Presenter
4:45 Blessing
6:00 Supper on your own
Tuesday
8:30am Gathering (coffee & tea)
9:00 Welcoming Sacred into Community
9:05 Dreams
9:15 Talk #2
10:15 Small Group Conversation
10:45 Q&A with Presenter
11:30 Chapel Service
12:15pm Lunch and conversation
1:30 Talk #2
2:30 Small Group Conversation
3:00 Q&A with Presenter
3:15 Break
3:30 Panel
4:00 Talking Circle
5:00 Blessing
6:00 Supper on your own
Wednesday
8:30am Gathering (coffee & tea)
8:45 Welcoming Sacred into Community
8:50 Gift Giving
9:50 Retrieving the Items of Home
10:30 Journey Home ~ Be well until we next meet again!
Center for Indigenous Ministries (DOC) 