The Doctrine of Christian Domination, the Apache People, and Oak Flat
- doctrine of discovery, federal Indian law, History, Legal, News, Politics, Religion
- April 7, 2021
By Steven Newcomb (Shawnee/Lenape) The Apache Stronghold case, regarding the Apache Sacred Site (Chi’ Chil Bildagoteel) called “Oak Flat,” is now before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The case has created global publicity, and a number of Christian church groups have filed amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) briefs. Those briefs support the Apache
READ MOREIn 2013, Dr. Debra Harry (Paiute Nation), Sharon Venne (Cree Nation) and I flew to Madrid, Spain. From there, Sharon drove us to Seville, Spain to visit the General Archives of the Indies. On our second day there we were given permission to see two of the original papal bulls from May of 1493. They
READ MOREWhat has been typically called “The Doctrine of Discovery” is, in my view, more accurately named “The Doctrine of Christian Domination.” The idea of “discovery” is only relevant in the sense of the monarchs of Christendom endeavoring to locate lands that were as yet unknown to the Christian world. Once lands matching that description were
READ MORETecumseh’s Speech: The following is a speech by the great Shawnee leader Tecumseh, as recounted by the Pottawatomie leader, Chief Simon Pokagon. Simon Pokagon wrote: “My father and many others who listened to the speeches of Tecumseh many times repeated to me his words when I was a boy, but it was impossible to give
READ MOREAs a young Shawnee, Lenape person trying to gain a better understanding of history, I first learned about the doctrine of discovery when I was living in Southern California. I decided to read Vine Deloria’s book God is Red when it was published in 1972. I was nineteen or twenty years years old when I
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