They Trespass our Bodies, Like They Trespass This Land; The Doctrine of Discovery demonstrates that the U.S. Supreme Court is a practice of dehumanization and an agent for exploitation and profit of Native America.
The Doctrine of Discovery is an archaic leverage tool used to assert colonialism’s right to colonize, pillage and enslave all non-Christian peoples. The doctrine was introduced by Pope Nicholas V, in his Papal Bull of 1452, which states,
“to invade, search out, capture, vanquish, and subdue all Saracens and pagans whatsoever, and other enemies of Christ wheresoever placed, and the kingdoms, dukedoms, principalities, dominions, possessions, and all movable and immovable goods whatsoever held and possessed by them and to reduce their persons to perpetual slavery, and to apply and appropriate to himself and his successors the kingdoms, dukedoms, counties, principalities, dominions, possessions, and goods, and to convert them to his and their use and profit.”
Pope Nicholas V validates this claim from Genesis 12;1, where Abraham is instructed to leave his land and in his relocation “capture, vanquish, and subdue all Saracens and pagans.” Followers of Abraham believe this extends to them. The United States founders, being Christian believers, are no exception.
Presently, the U.S. maintains the use of the doctrine stating it had inherited the practice from European nations who subscribed to the doctrine. European nations were instructed by the Pope Nicholas V to make such land grabs. In the 1823 the U.S. Supreme Court case Johnson v. McIntosh, Chief Justice John Marshall’s opinion in the unanimous decision held,
“the principle of discovery gave European nations an absolute right to New World lands.”
In recent history the U.S. Supreme court has continued to uphold these ideas. The Supreme Court invoked the doctrine in Oliphant v. Suquamish of 1978. The court decided that indigenous nations are not able to prosecute non-indigenous folks on their sovereign lands. It is clear that the U.S. Supreme Court continues to assert their authority over indigenous lands and people of North America.
On the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, the tribe and its allies are currently protecting the sovereignty of their land-sovereignty protected by the Treaty of Fort Laramie that the United States signed in agreement with the Sioux people. Now the U.S. government has authorized an easement for a private energy corporation to pass an oil pipeline through Standing Rock Sioux treaty lands, thus violating the U.S.’s treaty agreement without consultation of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe. What made the government think they have the right to do such a thing? The Federal government’s utilization of the Doctrine of Discovery is in full effect. The tribe responded by saying, enough is enough. They organized a peaceful demonstration of their resilience at one of the tribe’s burial sites where their relatives lay to rest, which is also the location of the proposed easement. On Saturday, September 3rd 2016 burial and ceremonial sites of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe were destroyed. These actions were justified because they fall under the U.S.’s interpretation of the non-Christian, or “other than.” Therefore, their rights, cultural identity and physical well-being are unequal under the law of the dominant culture.
Is there anyone from the non-indigenous community addressing the oppression of the doctrine? Yes, specifically 500 members of Christian interfaith clergy. On Nov. 3rd 2016 the 500 members arrived to the Oceti Sakowin Camp to stand in solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux. The representatives read their church’s repudiation of the Doctrine of Discovery and demanded that the U.S. government endorse the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The U.S. Supreme Court demonstrates it is a dehumanizing agent for exploitation and profit. We learned where the Doctrine of Discovery originated, that its followers may take all non-Christian lands they encounter, seek to condemn non-Christians to slavery, and liquidate all wealth from non-Christian nations. We learned that the U.S. subscribes to the doctrine to this day. We also learned that indigenous and non-indigenous communities have had enough of the injustices that the doctrine mandates and are willing to fight for its expulsion. Will going through the democratic processes of petitioning, protesting, and writing U.S. legislators to abolish the Doctrine of Discovery work? American feminist Audre Lorde eloquently phrased the flaw in this approach saying, “The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house.” Thus, one can’t beat U.S. government at its own game. Especially when it has designed the rules to the game. Demanding that the U.S. endorse the United Nations Declaration on the Right of Indigenous Peoples may be a start. The wheels of social change are in motion in North Dakota hoping to bring about about justice to an unjust society.
