Outcome Documents for
200 Years of Johnson v. M’Intosh (JvM): Indigenous Responses to the Religious Foundations of Racism
This website is the official archive of the outcome publications from the Henry J. Luce Foundation Grant Funded project “200 Years of Johnson v. M’Intosh (JvM): Indigenous Responses to the Religious Foundations of Racism". Professor Philip P. Arnold was the PI on this project which ran from 2022-2024. Project activities included a conference, podcasts, and various types of publications.
Summary
“200 Years of Johnson v. M’Intosh (JvM): Indigenous Responses to the Religious Foundations of Racism,” is a collaborative initiative made possible through relationships developed over 30 years between academic and Indigenous communities. At its core, the project seeks to interrogate and critically examine connections between the Doctrine of Christian Discovery (DOCD), the Catholic Papal Bulls that undergird the Doctrine, and the Doctrine’s pernicious influence on United States Indian Law today.
The 200th anniversary of JvM provides an excellent moment to challenge the theology and jurisprudence of DOCD and this critical Supreme Court decision. The project will deliver a range of digital products and written works combined with a host of public outreach activities to raise awareness about the harmful impacts of the DOCD and provide support for a global movement of Indigenous People’s that seek to repudiate it.
Travelling Along the River of Life
Lyons discusses the journey in the Doctrine of Discovery, highlighting his experience presenting at the United Nations in 2001. He focuses on the history of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, emphasizing the importance of peace and the responsibility to consider future generations. He also reflects on the impact of inequity, racism, and the need for change.
Oren Lyons
Toward a Kinder Future
The Church needs to make commitments to undo the damage of instilling white superiority beliefs. Churches worldwide can be part of a campaign to change the effects of domination and undo the belief in white superiority. Healing is needed between Indigenous people and those seeking reconciliation after a difficult history. Efforts are being made to address the effects of the boarding school era on Native families. Apologies have been made, but change is necessary. Steps towards healing and recovery include admitting harmful beliefs, sharing with others, releasing emotions, and resolving not to harm others in the future. Being an ally and speaking up against hatred and threats to Native people is important.
Whatweni:neh Freida J. Jacques
Comments on the Bishop's Panel: Transcription of Conference Presentation
Greetings to you all. I'm Haiwhagai'i, Onondaga Nation, Eel Clan. I have to start off with gratitude for seeing all of your faces here. It is a bit awkward for me to be sitting here on a panel with 3 bishops. It's true there is plenty of sin like was mentioned and more of it has come to the surface. We hear about the promises today and we heard about the confessions. We have to stick with the truth, and the truth of the matter is there is no trust.
Jake Haiwhagai'i Edwards
The Challenges of Revoking the Papal Bulls: A View-from-the-Shore Analysis of Recent Statements by Christian Churches
Let us set the context for this discussion. The context begins with the free existence of our Native nations and peoples, extending back to the beginning of our time through our oral histories and traditions, contrasted with the system of domination that was carried by ship across the ocean and imposed on everyone and everything. From that starting point we end up with a non-Christian view-from-the-shore with our Ancestors looking out at the invading ships sailing from Western Christendom, and a view-from-the-ship perspective, with the colonizers moving toward our Ancestors with the intention of establishing the Christian empire's system of domination where it did not yet exist
Steven T. Newcomb
