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Produced through a partnership between Canopy Forum, the Indigenous Values Initiative (IVI), and Syracuse University
Produced through a partnership between Canopy Forum, the Indigenous Values Initiative (IVI), and Syracuse University, this series of essays brings together religion scholars, legal scholars, and Indigenous activists to explore the problematic legacy of Johnson v. M’Intosh (1823) and the 15th century Doctrine of (Christian) Discovery – a legal and religious rationale by which European powers claimed the right to discover and claim lands inhabited by non-Christian peoples.
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INTRODUCTION #
Produced through a partnership between Canopy Forum, the Indigenous Values Initiative (IVI), and Syracuse University, this series of essays brings together religion scholars, legal scholars, and Indigenous activists to explore the problematic legacy of Johnson v. M’Intosh (1823) and the 15th century Doctrine of (Christian) Discovery – a legal and religious rationale by which European powers claimed the right to discover and claim lands inhabited by non-Christian peoples. Focusing primarily on the 19th through the 21st centuries, these essays illustrate how Johnson and the Doctrine of Christian Discovery have global import to Turtle Island (especially the United States and Canada) and Aotearoa (New Zealand).
About #
Grounding this conversation in the Two Row Wampum method, the editors of this series have worked to include both Indigenous and non-Indigenous voices so we can journey side by side without violating the waters down the river of life. We recognize the urgency and need for more inclusion of indigenous voices to reaffirm our proper relationship with the natural world in the staid disciplines of religion, law, history, anthropology, and cultural studies. We hope this series inspires generative conversations around Johnson and the Doctrine of Christian Discovery.
Articles
The Marshall Trilogy: Worcester v. Georgia (1832) - Domination Translator Series - Part 5
Part 05 of Steven T. Newcomb's Domination Translator Series examining the Doctrine of Discovery in U.S. Supreme Court cases. The 1832 Worcester v. Georgia ruling protected Native nations from state laws, yet affirmed federal domination under the Doctrine of Discovery.
Steven T. Newcomb
The Marshall Trilogy: Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831) - Domination Translator Series - Part 4
Part 04 of Steven T. Newcomb's Domination Translator Series examining the Doctrine of Discovery in U.S. Supreme Court cases. In 1831, the Cherokee Nation sought Supreme Court protection from Georgia's laws designed to annihilate their political existence.
Steven T. Newcomb
Part 03 of Steven T. Newcomb's Domination Translator Series examining the Doctrine of Discovery in U.S. Supreme Court cases. The 1823 landmark Johnson v. McIntosh case established the Doctrine of Discovery as U.S. law, denying Native nations' property rights.
Steven T. Newcomb
Fletcher v. Peck (1810) - Domination Translator Series - Part 2
Part 02 of Steven T. Newcomb's Domination Translator Series examining the Doctrine of Discovery in U.S. Supreme Court cases. The Fletcher v. Peck case examined whether the U.S. courts would recognize Indian title to land, and how colonial charters justified domination.
Steven T. Newcomb
The Domination Translator Series - Complete Index
The Domination Translator Series is a comprehensive 15-part extended essay examining the historical and ongoing impact of the Doctrine of Discovery on United States legal jurisprudence. Trace the evolution of how medieval principles of Christian supremacy became embedded in American constitutional law from 1810 to the present.
Steven T. Newcomb
The Domination Translator Series is a comprehensive 15-part extended essay examining the historical and ongoing impact of the Doctrine of Discovery on United States legal jurisprudence. This introduction establishes the context and methodology for analyzing how the Doctrine of Discovery—a medieval principle of Christian supremacy used to justify European colonization—has been embedded in American constitutional law and continues to affect indigenous peoples and their rights.
Steven T. Newcomb
What is the Doctrine of Discovery?
Papal Bulls of the 15th century gave Christian explorers the right to claim lands they ‘discovered’ and lay claim to those lands for their Christian Monarchs. Any land that was not inhabited by Christians was available to be ‘discovered’, claimed, and exploited. If the ‘pagan’ inhabitants could be converted, they might be spared. If not, they could be enslaved or killed.
Philip P. Arnold
Sandra Bigtree
With issuance of 15th century Papal Bulls known as the Doctrine of Christian Discovery, religion has been used all over the world as a weapon against Indigenous Peoples and the land.With issuance of 15th century Papal Bulls known as the Doctrine of Christian Discovery, religion has been used all over the world as a weapon against Indigenous Peoples and the land.
Philip P. Arnold
Sandra Bigtree
City of Sherrill v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York
In March 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision in City of Sherrill, New York v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York. Sherrill is a case about land rights and sovereignty, and it raises the question what it means for an Indigenous nation to appeal to its colonizer to recognize its sovereignty over land that belonged to it before it was colonized.
Dana Lloyd
Every few years, when the Doctrine of Discovery gets traction, someone raises the old chestnut of Sublimis Deus as apparent proof that the Catholic church did already rescind the Doctrine and therefore it’s not necessary. I should probably do a blog post that I can just repost.
Tina Ngata
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