Books by Native scholars on the Doctrine of Discovery | Facebook

(3) Books by Native scholars on the Doctrine of Discovery | Facebook

Books by Native scholars on the Doctrine of Discovery

23 November 2013 at 10:33

Pagans in the Promised Land: Decoding the Christian Doctrine of Discovery

By Steven T. Newcomb

Forward by Peter d’Errico (I studied under Peter at UMass Amherst)

From the book jacket:  “Using history and cognitive theory, Steven Newcomb demonstrates how US government officials have used religious concepts of Christendom, often unconsciously, to justify the taking of Native American lands and to deny the original independence of Indian nations. He demonstrates that the landmark case Johnson v. M’Intosh is premised in part on the Old Testament narrative of the “chosen people” having a divine right to the “promised land” and how continued US reliance on ancient religious distinctions between “Christians” and “heathens” violates the bedrock doctrine of separation of church and state. …Pagans in the Promised Land makes a compelling case for the reversal of this conqueror-based doctrine, which continues to influence US policy at home and abroad.

Native America, Discovered and Conquered:  Thomas Jefferson, Lewis & Clark, and Manifest Destiny by Robert J. Miller

From the book jacket:  Manifest Destiny, as a term for westward expansion, was not used until the 1840s. Its predecessor was the Doctrine of Discovery, a legal tradition by which Europeans and Americans laid legal claim to the land of the indigenous peoples they “discovered.”

… Miller explains for the first time exactly how the United States achieved victory, not only on the ground, but also in the developing legal thought of the day. … [Miller] lays out in fascinating detail how [Lewis and Clark’s] explorations, combined with the Doctrine of Discovery and Jefferson’s strategies, became the legal basis for America’s ownership of the Pacific Northwest, the removal of Indian people, and the adoption of the Doctrine of Discovery into American law. 

For those who want to further study the ideological underpinnings of the madness of these times, I recommend:

Missionary Conquest: The Gospel and Native American Genocide

By George E. Tinker

From the Preface: “The years 1492 seems to have triggered the “Western world” mythology that has come to dominate the entire globe’s economics, politics, and academics, imposing itself as the natural, unquestionable norm of human existence. This illusion of Western world superiority has functioned implicitly, and at times brutally explicitly, to facilitate the conquest and enslavement of native peoples, the exploitation of their labor and natural resources, and the genocidal destruction of whole cultures and peoples. The religious institutions of the “West” (that is, the churches of Europe and then the immigrant churches of the Americas) have been closely associated with this history of colonialism and conquest and have consistently lent legitimacy to those acts. “

Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing, Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery

by Mark Charles and Soong-Chan Rah

"Injustice has plagued American society for centuries. And we cannot move toward being a more just nation without understanding the root causes that have shaped our culture and institutions. In this prophetic blend of history, theology, and cultural commentary, Mark Charles and Soong-Chan Rah reveal the far-reaching, damaging effects of the "Doctrine of Discovery." In the fifteenth century, official church edicts gave Christian explorers the right to claim territories they "discovered." 

This was institutionalized as an implicit national framework that justifies American triumphalism, white supremacy, and ongoing injustices. The result is that the dominant culture idealizes a history of discovery, opportunity, expansion, and equality, while minority communities have been traumatized by colonization, slavery, segregation, and dehumanization. Healing begins when deeply entrenched beliefs are unsettled. Charles and Rah aim to recover a common memory and shared understanding of where we have been and where we are going. As other nations have instituted truth and reconciliation commissions, so do the authors call our nation and churches to a truth-telling that will expose past injustices and open the door to conciliation and true community."