Person 1 #

How has engaging with the Doctrine of Discovery Project, the Mapping the Doctrine of Discovery podcast, or the 2023 conference shaped your understanding of the religious origins of white supremacy and their ongoing impact today?

Engaging in the project by writing a blog, helped me to better understand how the Doctrine of Discovery has shaped so much policy and law nationally and locally. In this case, examining ways in which Land Grant (land grab) university funding further disenfranchised Indigenous Peoples. Politics of Indigenous land dispossession continue to impact all tribal nations since so many systems are dependent on the Doctrine of Discovery.

Person 2 #

I had to rethink my religious upbringing. Because I later took an ancestry dna test, it made me think about my ancestors and the colonization of America. The event changed my life. Seeing the Māori and feeling a sense of understanding- forgotten knowledge. I was looking at different ways of knowing that you cannot find in a book, only experience from a living human. I gained a new appreciation for the peoples of Oceania, Africa, and North and South America. I now take my studies of Atlantic History more seriously.

Person 3 #

The reality of the power of this doctrine is shocking and so very clear! I appreciate the ongoing exploration.

I had to rethink my religious upbringing. Because I later took an ancestry dna test, it made me think about my ancestors and the colonization of America. The event changed my life. Seeing the Māori and feeling a sense of understanding- forgotten knowledge. I was looking at different ways of knowing that you cannot find in a book, only experience from a living human. I gained a new appreciation for the peoples of Oceania, Africa, and North and South America. I now take my studies of Atlantic History more seriously.

I am new to reading the journal and, as a professor of Indigenous Studies, I am impressed with what I've read so far. I find the articles informative, well researched, and comprehensive. The Doctrine of Discovery is an interesting "frame of reference" when studying all aspects of colonization.
Always something good to learn.

Person 4 #

The Doctrine of Discovery essentially framed Indigenous lands as available for Christian conquest. Engaging with the Doctrine of Discovery Project, the Mapping the Doctrine of Discovery podcast, and the 2023 conference has significantly deepened my understanding of how religious justifications for colonialism laid the groundwork for white supremacy. This exploration has been pivotal in shaping my research into the Doctrine of Discovery and its ongoing repercussions today. The more I delve into its origins, the clearer it becomes how these doctrines continue to shape modern systems of inequality, from land dispossession to cultural erasure. This has fueled my commitment to studying the enduring legacy of these ideologies and their role in perpetuating injustice

Person 5 #

Always something good to learn. The Doctrine of Discovery essentially framed Indigenous lands as available for Christian conquest.

Eglute Trinkauskaite #

The Doctrine of Discovery conference at Syracuse University opened with traditional Haudenosaunee dancing – for me, that was an unforgettable conference experience. The organizers did such a great job! It was my favorite conference, engaging participants in meaningful content relevant to Indigenous Peoples’ everyday lives. I loved working with the Indigenous Values Initiative on the publications — the process felt straightforward and supportive, inclusive of all the perspectives featured at the conference. The Mapping of the Doctrine of Discovery is my favorite educational podcast. I use it for teaching and share it widely with my students. Thank you for everything you do; it’s an honor to be part of this important work.

Teresa Reeder Reflection #

While the Conference is over, its power to fuel antiracist feminism and religious action and reparation lives on in many ways. The edited volumes of Conference proceedings are rich archives of anticolonial knowledge and practices. The relationships formed continue to build coalitions of antiracist activism. The Indigenous Values Podcasts are invaluable resources for research, writing, and teaching. I teach at The College of Wooster in rural Ohio, as Ohio was on the trail of death there are few people Indigenous to this land nearby, and no federally recognized tribes (while a federally recognized tribe is not the paradigm of an identifiable indigenous nation, the fact that there are no federally recognized tribes in Ohio is an indicator of how few Indigenous people live here). Indigenous knowledge is hard to come by and often contested due to ignorance. I listen faithfully to the Indigenous Values podcasts to grow my own knowledge, values, and connections, and I also assign them to students in my World Religions, Religion and Resistance, Religion(s) and Bioethics (the health of the Earth affects all of our health), and Introduction to Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Classes. I am extremely grateful for these resources and the support that enabled them, with particular gratitude to Sandy Bigtree, Phil Arnold, and Adam Brett. Reeder Reflection PDF