The desire of Christian nations to dominate infidel nations and their lands, led to a desire to “discover” or locate any infidel lands throughout the world that had not yet been dominated. This was to be done in order to expand the Christian empire. That desire resulted in Christian monarchs authorizing voyages to search for
Arithmetic in Federal Indian Law
To follow this article you won’t even need a calculator. All you’ll need is an understanding of arithmetic and how to subtract. Take, for example, the equation 100 percent minus 99 percent = 1 percent. For the purpose of this article, we’ll say that the 1 percent stands for what has been called the “residual”
Debunking Federal Indian Law
To debunk means “to expose the sham or falseness of; to show that something is less important, less good, or less true than it has been made to appear; to expose or excoriate (a claim, assertion, sentiment, etc.) as being pretentious [and] false.” In the Supreme Court ruling Johnson v. McIntosh (1823), Chief Justice John
Seville, Spain: Archives of the Indies
In 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
The Claim of a Right of Christian Domination
What 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
To Civilize and Christianize
By Steven Newcomb (Shawnee/Lenape) They brought their soldiers, their cannons, their dogs, their diseases, their swords, their spears, their armor, their chains, their bells, their crosses, their priests, their paper, their ink, their words, and their Bible in order to civilize (dominate) and Christianize Native nations and peoples.
The Principle of Subtraction in U.S. Federal Indian Law
Steven Newcomb (Shawnee, Lenape) It’s not necessary to have a basic understanding of mathematics to follow this article. You won’t even need a calculator. All you need is an understanding of subtraction. Take, for example, the equation 100 percent minus 99 percent = 1 percent. For the purpose of this article, we’ll say that the
Tecumseh Speech As Recounted by Simon Pokagon
Tecumseh’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
Research of the Doctrine of Christian Discovery
As 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
When Our Native Nations Were Living Free and Independent of the Ideas of Christendom
Prior to Columbus’s invasive arrival to our part of Mother Earth, our nations of Great Turtle Island (“North America”) were living in a physical location that was entirely free and independent of the Western Christendom’s system of domination. At that time, our nations were still free and independent of all the ideas and mental activities
The Biblical Basis of federal Indian law & policy
I have often wondered why federal Indian law attorneys dare not mention the crusading tradition of the United States against “heathens” and “infidels,” namely, American Indian nations. The Western Shoshone Nation is directly challenging this tradition in court and in the U.S. Congress. Their challenge brings to light the strange and startling fact that U.S.
Face to Face with Pope Francis to Get the Inter Caetera Papal Bull Revoked
On May 4, 1493 Pope Alexander VI issued the Inter Caetera papal bull which called for non-Christian nations to be reduced and subjugated (“barbare nationes deprimantur”). On May 4, 2013, 200 years after our great Shawnee leader Tecumseh fell in battle on October 5, 1813, Dr. Debra Harry (Paiute Nation), Sharon Venne (Cree Nation, Treaty Six) and