Story Published:
Apr 29, 2010
Story Updated:
Apr 29, 2010
NEW YORK – A groundbreaking report examining the roots of Christian domination over indigenous peoples and their lands was released this week at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues.
North American Representative to the Permanent Forum Tonya Gonnella Frichner, an attorney and founder of the American Indian Law Alliance, presented a preliminary study on the “Doctrine of Discovery” and its historical impacts on indigenous peoples, with a focus on how it became part of United States laws.
“The first thing indigenous peoples share is the experience of having been invaded by those who treated us without compassion because they considered us to be less than human,” said Frichner, a citizen of the Onondaga Nation serving her first term on the 16-member UNPFII.
“Dehumanization leads to the second thing indigenous peoples share in common: Being treated on the basis of the belief that those who invaded our territories have a right of lordship or dominance over our existence and, therefore, have the right to take, grant, and dispose of our lands, territories, and resources without our permission or consent.”
Frichner said human rights violations faced by indigenous peoples can all be traced to the Doctrine of Discovery and its interpretive framework which has been used for five centuries to take Native lands.
It has also been cited in U.S. Supreme Court land claims cases decided against Indian nations, including the 1955 ruling Tee Hit Ton Indians v. United States, and the 2005 decision in City of Sherrill v. Oneida Indian Nation of New York.
The Doctrine of Discovery was among Vatican mandates dating back to the 15th century, called papal bulls, that declared Christian monarchs had the right to claim superior title over land and territories that they “discovered.”
The claimed right of “dominion” over Native peoples was based on the thinking that non-Christians were “heathens and uncivilized savages,” with no, or limited rights, to land.
The Vatican’s Doctrine of Discovery was based on the premise that all non-Christian land belonged to no one because no Christians were living there and no Christian monarch or lord had yet claimed dominion. Once Christian monarchies like Spain or France claimed the right of dominion, that claim was transferred to political successors over centuries.
“Indian land rights have been characterized in U.S. law as nothing more than a permissive right of occupancy or permission from the whites to occupy their own Indian lands,” Frichner said.
There were theologians who did not agree that Christian discovery could give dominion over and title to non-Christian lands. The issue was debated at length in the early 1550s in Spain with no input from indigenous peoples, she said.
It was a debate among Christian Europeans about whether the Indians of the Americas were human.
“Clearly, (we) have joined the debate by declaring definitively that we are human beings. However, for more than five centuries, the doctrines of discovery and dehumanization have been institutionalized, and this is the context of the work we are doing on the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,” Frichner said.
The study focused on the history of the United States, and points out that the Doctrine of Discovery had been officially incorporated into U.S. Indian policies in the 1823 Supreme Court ruling Johnson v. M’Intosh.
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall identified the royal charters of Great Britain pertaining to North America as the source of the argument that “discovery gave title” to the government by whose authority the “discovery” was made.
The royal charter issued to John Cabot in 1496 authorized Cabot and his sons to seek out “isles, countries, and regions of the heathen and infidel, which before this time have been unknown to all Christian people.”
This and similar language were cited as the basis for the ruling in Johnson v. M’Intosh that the United States had the ultimate dominion over Indian peoples and lands.
Frichner said the report is a first step in investigating the global scope of the Doctrine of Discovery as a key source of violations of human rights of Native peoples.
A comprehensive study will provide the opportunity to understand that all the struggles that indigenous peoples are engaged in are rooted in “the claim by one people of a right of dominance over another.”
Frichner said the discriminatory legal framework that exists today is directly tied to the Doctrine of Discovery which has resulted in the dispossession and impoverishment of indigenous peoples and unlimited resource extraction from their lands.
Kuriakose Bharanikulangara, observer for the Holy See, responded to Frichner’s report by saying that the papal bulls that paved the way for European expansion had been abrogated over centuries. He insisted the Church had upheld the rights of indigenous peoples to their ancestral lands, regardless of whether the inhabitants were Christian or not.
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Phil Bautista said on Wednesday, May 19 at 1:30 PM
I Think this is really a good article.I just think is such a sad thing to see so many of our American Indian people that are Christian.There are only a few of us that follow our own traditional ways and teachings.I do not need to see a document to tell me what has happened in this country.The lack of American Indians tells me what these documents back up.When I read all the comments from these Christian Indians I think of what Sitting Bull once said.AM I THE ONLY REAL INDIAN LEFT.
43526359Methinks said on Wednesday, May 12 at 1:13 AM
We're using the same approach when pretending that fetuses aren't human.
43038287Ms Teree said on Tuesday, May 11 at 7:17 PM
The denial to people of their heritage and culture by force is abuse. I happened to all white people thousands of years ago when the dominant religion, or king or whoever declared them pagans, barbarians and infidels. They learned to be abusers but now the cycle must end.
43022194Newcomb said on Saturday, May 8 at 1:55 PM
To Kinew: I agree with you regarding the United Nations, but its we who have to do the work, not the UN. The United Nations is but merely one venue where we can get the word out and educate, and it's where a lot of Indigenous peoples have been working for more than thirty years, so it's also a good place to network. Thus, it is one venue where we can get the word out about the important issues that Indigenous nations and peoples are facing. I appreciate your response. Thanks.
42844052Kinew said on Saturday, May 8 at 6:44 AM
Thanks for your response. No one that I know can top you on this issue. You follow writings basic princible "write what you Know". As an educator you have mostly taken the high road visavis my postings and I commend you for that.Eagle park is more my style of involvement and I do'nt think the UN will do very much in reality to further your cause. All said I still stick to my other concerns though but will this time let them go.
42825472Rose said on Friday, May 7 at 10:05 PM
Doctrine of Discovery and Manifest Destiny are alive and well. You have to look no further than public schools. Look at the state-set standards for social studies, science, etc, and you will see it leaves out the Native perspective, accomplishments, and educational methods entirely. Look at the U.S. NCLB law, and see that it coerces an English-language, perspective of teaching, and testing that is completely foreign to indigenous cultures. The U.S. is still claiming the right to dominate Native American people.
42812729Newcomb said on Friday, May 7 at 8:01 PM
To Kinew: Unfortunately, you refuse all efforts at meaningful dialogue and every encouragement for you to put forth even one meaningful substantive comment in an effort to have you clarify your own views on the issues. I'll bet if you put 1/10th of the effort into meaningful comments rather than vitriol and ad hominem attacks you'd probably come up with some great comments that others could benefit from. And, by the way, I agree with you about the difficulty of posting into the box that keeps cutting people off. It has led to quite a few typos in my previous postings.
42808459Kinew said on Friday, May 7 at 5:21 PM
Yea your right I do not have anything more to add to your intellectual masturbation. I also never made a dime off an ambiguous native identity such as yours. Actually I feel that you as the prolific writer of head issues should not respond to comments. Isnt your platform large enough already for that ego .
42801452newcomb said on Friday, May 7 at 4:29 PM
That last section of my previous post should have read: "The work of challenging a present day legacy of oppression is part of working toward the manifestation of a more beneficial future premised on the ecological knowledge and wisdom of Indigenous worldviews and patterns of thought and behavior."
42798297Newcomb said on Friday, May 7 at 4:27 PM
To What's Next?: The English language creates a number of confusions such as the false dichotomy between past and present, as if there is some definitive line between the two. Every aspect of life on earth is inextricably linked to "past" and thus what English refers to as "the past" is but a prior phase of the present. By recounting and refuting the false and illegitimate arguments of Christian discovery and domination that have been woven into present day anti-Indian U.S. laws and policies. To challenge and contest those ideas is not the cling to the past but to engage in a present day struggle that had embedded within it all of the past patterns of dominance that continue to afflict our nations and peoples. The work of challenging a present day legacy of oppresion of part of working toward the manifestation of a more beneficial future premised on the ecological knowledge and wisdom of Indigenous worldviews and patterns of thought and behavior.
42798157What's next? said on Friday, May 7 at 2:39 PM
The racial, cultural and historical facts of Manifest Destinty still keep most of us from manifesting what is best in our own destinies. Why hold on to the tortured past. Why not move into the future trying to build on what is good and honest and decent about each of our cultures?
42789849Newcomb said on Friday, May 7 at 1:44 PM
Kinew began his tirade against me, calling my Shawnee and Lenape (Delaware) ancestry into question because he was tired of me writing about the Christian roots of federal anti-Indian law. He continues to persist in saying that I am a "white man" as a means of drawing attention away from the issues, which is the modus operendi of all trolls. He has said that the use of Christian categories and Christian arguments against Indian nations and peoples is a non-issue, and then claimed he didn't say it. Then when his own quote was given back to him verbatim he acted like it was no bit deal. He also acknowledged that no one seems to care about his efforts to call my Indian ancestry into question, and will no longer raise the issue. But in the manner of all obsessive compulsives he cannot stop himself because he has convinced himself that he is right. No one can figure out what his own contribution to the discussion is because he doesn't seem to have one to make.
42777202Newcomb said on Friday, May 7 at 1:36 PM
To Anishnaabeikew: A more comprehensive look at Canadian history, traced back to the British crown policies, reveal the inextricable way that the categories "Christian," "heathen," "pagan," "infidel," "savage," and "barbarous" are carriers of a framework of Christian imperialism.
42776429Anishnaabeikew said on Friday, May 7 at 10:10 AM
The Doctrine of Discovery (DOD) opened doors for carrying out centuries of genocidal acts against Indigenous people. These acts were disguised as good Christian practices when indeed they were clearly not good by anyone's definition. Most people in positions of power and most others knew it then and know it now. In Canada the DOD led the way in terms of providing a governing framework based on European principles for the Doctrine of Assimilation (DOA) 1882. The DOA had nothing to do with Christianity and everything to do with dominance and cultural cleansing to support European needs. Aboriginal spirituality and Christianity as Jesus meant it, complement each other and do not fit into the DOD and DOA models that propelled the following words of Superintendent Duncan Campbell Scott in 1920, I want to get rid of the Indian problem. Our objective is to continue until there is not a single Indian in Canada that has not been absorbed into the body politic and there is no Indian question.
42760124Kinew said on Friday, May 7 at 6:11 AM
FMN I do'nt write for a national publication expressing my views as representing someone else. He and dErrico do. I guess your not bright enough to understand that. They are white men speaking for native people and nations as they state. If you do'nt find that wrong than......
42748714NDN pache said on Friday, May 7 at 1:12 AM
Guess who said, "I love your Jesus, but I hate your Christianity?
42743219full-minded-native said on Thursday, May 6 at 8:21 PM
Kinew who gave you the authority to speak for indian people and Nations. I want to hear this one. You are not even a legitamate native.
42721737Kinew said on Thursday, May 6 at 7:25 PM
Newcomb who gave you the authority to speak for Indian people and Nations. I want to hear this one. Your not even a legitimate native.
42719164Anonymous said on Thursday, May 6 at 10:47 AM
To Wolfredrose, Fabulous!
42668549wolfredrose said on Thursday, May 6 at 9:29 AM
This issue is not about people adopting religion. This issue is about governments adopting religious doctrines that catagorize people as superior and inferior in order to justify crime. Since the people of turtle island were not from the superior religion the entire population was classified as inferior -- without equal rights. People used religion to justify the domination and imposition of their culture and traditions onto others.
42661384Dakota said on Thursday, May 6 at 12:17 AM
Its good to address this matter or type of behaviour in any form of genicide.Yrs ago i was told the way the freedom of religion act for Native Americans was written that the Ghost Dance is still illeagal.In many way i have seen religious bias,useing religion as a weapon.Why would a good person follow such a way? The U.N. and the 5 permanent veto wielding nations must permanently outlaw genicide. Only then would the extintion of sanity be reversed. How could people behave in such a greedy destructive manner if they listen to Jesus,or any of our beautiful wise teachers.Our people who have spoke out about how the Earth and people are treated so shamefully by a minority. All beings should be treated with reverence as well as their source, our sacred Earth. Thank you very much for your good work Tonya,when i think of the story of Red Jacket and so many others...
42643567lakota said on Wednesday, May 5 at 7:08 PM
when the world court is powerful enough they will over turn the doctrine of discovery...this will over turn johnson v m'intosh and every other supreme court decision placing plenary power over Native Americans...then all the legislative acts robbing indians from there culture and resources will be deemed unconstitutional
42628642Newcomb said on Wednesday, May 5 at 12:54 PM
To FAC: In the same way that you are a product of the cumulative experiences of your upbringing and your life, Indian nations and peoples today are living within the conceptual system devised by past thinkers of the United States. The Doctrine of Discovery and Manifest Destiny were and continue to be major aspects of the anti-Indian system devised by the United States which is why some of us choose to continue to contest and challenge those ideas.What is the "argument" you want to see advanced?
42601782FAC said on Wednesday, May 5 at 11:10 AM
It’s now 2010, the Doctrine of Discovery, Manifest Destiny is ancient history. We can't undo the past, we can influence the future, too often I read rhetoric that at best is hyperbole it fails to advance the argument. Fact we are citizens of the U.S., fact we are subject to federal law. Instead of decrying the supposed plight of native peoples why not channel that energy into electing natives to local, state, federal office. As to Christianity, remember what the Catholics did during the dark ages (victims weren’t tribal). All people/nations have in the past dominated others over religion, to include tribal people…don’t point your finger at only Christians…and it still goes on to day within our own communities (Traditional, NAC, Christian). Before you remove the splinter from your neighbors eye take the plank out of yours…
42593007Ken Chester said on Wednesday, May 5 at 10:47 AM
I once lived and worked in SE Alaska where I had gotten to know the natives and learned about their history. I often asked why would US of A buy "stolen" property that the Russians sold and how can the Russians claim all of Alaska when they only occupied Sitka. Furthermore, the "Christians" burned the totem poles on the basis that the natives worshiped these idols without finding out that the totem poles are used to record history of families, clan, tribe, et al. The only "Christians", the Orthodox introduced the writing of the native language and fortunately, it is well used to this day.
42591277wilbur nelson said on Wednesday, May 5 at 6:23 AM
The doctrine of "discovery" sheds great light on the irrational logic of the european governments that were so called "enlightended" or considered themselves as such, yet one of the greatest testaments from one of the largest church in the world: the so called "Morman" or the LDS reflects the premise through the Book of Mormon that the Native Americ hunans knew of Jesus Christ ans were christianzed hubdreds of years before the white man even set foot upon this land. This is legitimate claim by this religous organization and is called " a new testament of Jesus christ". This certainly debuncts the entire "first dicovery" claims that the natives did not know of christiananity which accroding to this church had an ongoing reationship with Christ fo many gennerations!
42576119C-gull said on Wednesday, May 5 at 2:28 AM
When I was about 5 years, A catholic nun once threatened to lock me in the coat closet with the devil. I went to the closet to get my coat because I did not want the devil to wear it. All the children laughed. The laughter of children beat the devil that day. The nun never mentioned the devil again.
42572517Brown Eyes said on Tuesday, May 4 at 5:50 PM
The Doctrine of Discovery needs to be extinguished in its entirety and the Johnson vs McIntosh be amended. There needs to be a leter of apology from the President on the treatment of American Indians. American Indian History must be taught at all educational levels.
42551244JustaPlainQuarter said on Tuesday, May 4 at 3:39 PM
Chukma! My Name is Jason, and i am 1/4 Chikkashsha, and am Proud to have Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour. My Grandpa who was Full Blood was a Methodist Minister and was Most certainly not ashamed of Jesus. Jhn 14:6 in this verse Jesus Said he Was the One and Only way to the father. the only reason Jesus Suffered and Died was to Save a Lost and Dying World.now, there are people out there who claim to be Christian, and are really not. I ust want to say, and Say it Publicly, I am Proud of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, I am Proud to be a Christian, and I do Disagree with this newsarticle.
42542357Cherkokee Child said on Tuesday, May 4 at 9:02 AM
The evangelicals often condemn the Native ways because they do not see it as profitable enough. Their religion is all about profit. If Native customs somehow generated enough coins for the coffers, then the evangelicals would embrace it.
42511979CalifNative said on Tuesday, May 4 at 1:35 AM
Unbelievable, the people with letters behind their names trying to justify their position that Indians were wronged. We all know this to be true. So whats the point the educated get to puff themselves up a little more their in new york at the united ninkompoops convention. Its just another christianity bash party .It truly is the end times.Each man must give an account of his time here on earth.
42500089CurtJ said on Monday, May 3 at 9:10 PM
Why anyone would remain in religions sancioning and blessing the genocide of his race of people, is beyond me. Just as anyone remaining in any political party discriminating and stealing from his or hers race is also beyond me. You know them, Republican, Democratic or Independent, it makes no difference.
42489629Apache Four Winds said on Monday, May 3 at 12:02 AM
THE “DOCTRINE OF DISCOVERY” SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED FOR ALL THAT IT IS WORTH! The Doctrine can be blamed for the many atrocities which devastated a human population of over 500 million humans. History has it, that the population which existed before the unset of Western Colonization in North America ranged more then 500 million. The “Doctrine of Discovery” created by the first church of the Europeans, being the Catholic Church, a church from the twelve apostles, followers of Christ. But it is also written in the history books that Catholicism thought the world was flat, and considered the earth as center of the universe. Now, if such a religious organization can be swayed to such implications, then wouldn’t you consider that the “Doctrine of Discovery” is flawed! The Jews have cried “Genocide” when millions were killed by the Germans, but where is justice when the American Indian cries “Genocide”? THE “DOCTRINE OF DISCOVERY” SHOULD BE INVESTIGATED FOR ALL THAT IT IS WORTH!
42436229David Yeagley said on Sunday, May 2 at 6:39 PM
Shall we itelligently considere the track record of the United Nations itself, when it comes to "human rights"? Or would that just kill the whole spirit of the article? Indians were never atheists. The UN is agressively godless. And this is only doctrine, not considering their bloody, invasive war record as a "peace-keeping" agency!
42424462Get Up Stand Up said on Sunday, May 2 at 7:32 AM
I prefer the view of Felix Cohen in his 1942 article "The Spanish Origin of Indian Rights in the Law of The United States." A positive and constructive view, which is what need if we are to ever move beyond racism. "If our law of Indian affairs were the result of a purely local adaptation of Anglo-American common law . . . , we might not expect it to have much relevance to the problems of inter-racial and inter-cultural relations in other parts of the world. But if, on the other hand, the spirit of this law and its creative principles came to us across wide waters, and across wider gulfs of polity, religion, and culture, there must be in this spirit and these principles something that is not merely local and particular, something that is universal and enduring, something that can be carried to other lands across wide waters and wider gulfs of polity, religion and culture."
42397622NightHawk said on Sunday, May 2 at 1:12 AM
The Pilgrims are johnny come latelys. The Spanish came first long before them. You want to learn about Christian values read Prosopopeia, 1601, Bento texeira Pinto. Then skip across the fields later in time with Lord Jeffrey Amherst who they still regard so well today. He was a good Christian. Still I'm only an old Indian born and raised (N'dee) on the reservation who's a first generation U.S. citizen. That gained the right to vote without testing in the late 60's, and the right of religion around the same time. Their religions? You can ask some that were dragged off to attend their forced religious schools. See what kind of answers you get there.
42392267anonymous said on Saturday, May 1 at 10:32 PM
To Les Lindsay: It might make some sense to actually read the preliminary study before jumping to a conclusion as to the use of the term "Christian." The preliminary study identifies the use of the term "Christian" by Christian Europeans, and the distinction between Christians and non-Christians as a key part of the rationale for the domination of Indigenous nations and peoples.
42387529Candace Colbert Odom said on Saturday, May 1 at 4:37 PM
Native people were considered heathens because we were different from their so-called civilized customs. Men had more than one wife and this was immoral in the puritan peoples eyes. The visions that the Tribal shamans had in their spiritual ceremonies were taboo...and I am sure it frightened them. But we today, are suppose to have Freedom of Religion as the pictures of "Norman Rockwell" depicted but domination still incurred. Just the elimination of someones spiritualism is just one way of domination. If you were a religious person and you were use to going to church every week, if someone told you- you can't go to church anymore, you can't worship in the manner you are accustomed to, you, too, would feel demonized by the oppressor.
42376732Tanasi said on Saturday, May 1 at 2:29 PM
17 yrs ago I was asked to leave a large evangelical church I was a member of becuase I presented Biblically-based evidence that the actions of Christopher Columbus and the premise of the Christian Doctrine of Discovery were in direct violation of the Scriptures and the teachings of Jesus Christ. Using historic documentation and the Bible, I pointed out the enormous injustices perpetrated against the indigenous peoples by the colonial governments and their descendents using "Christian civilization" as an excuse even as their actions were most decidedly unchristian. I am a Native follower of Jesus Christ, have been all my life. It seems that pointing out violations of Jesus' teachings by the church and self-proclaimed "christian" cultures and governments is considered both heresy and treason. Hmm, what would Jesus do?
42373054Youyou said on Saturday, May 1 at 9:54 AM
The Muslim religion has totally destroyed the indigenous culture of the areas it takes over. So Islam is worse because Islam imposes strict Arabic ideals onto indigenous cultures in parts where it has spread.
42362192"Genocide, anyone?' said on Saturday, May 1 at 3:39 AM
Obviously, from any thinking persons point of view, the "white supremacist" attitude is alive and well in this hemisphere. Can't we "remnants of the past", (i.e. People) quit quibbling amongst ourselves, toss out the christian, restore grandmother, gather together to produce yuwipi? "D. Yeagley", are you familiar with the "rev. col. chivington? thomas jefferson? l. frank baum. (author of the wizard of oz). warren buffet? The Sun Dance? G. Bush? "Indian Boarding Schools?"
42353812modern_ndn said on Friday, Apr 30 at 9:52 PM
I think the most important thing this article brings up is: Johnson v M'Intosh which says that Indian people don't have a right to land, just a right to occupancy. I think this case should be over turned!
42343889Les Linzey said on Friday, Apr 30 at 9:25 PM
Using the word Christian in any way in this report is uncalled for. Being a white man or "wasicu" does not make anyone a Christian. A true Christian is nothing more than a forgiven sinner. A true Christian IS A WASHED IN THE BLOOD, BORN AGAIN SINNER. They are not perfect like Jesus but they attempt to follow in his footsteps. Granted, the Catholic faith is the largest religion in the world, but that does not make them any better than any one else. There was no attempt by them to convert anyone because they did not care. Remember how the children in the Catholic schools and homes were treated.
42342774Candace Colbert Odom said on Friday, Apr 30 at 1:26 PM
The waterways in the United States came into play with most of the power struggles in the early days. The French and Indian Wars were fought over it. The French lost and we know the end to that story. The only way they got grain, cotton and other resources to Europe was by ships and barges. The Commerce of the United States really depended on these water roadways at that time... The Louisiana Purchase came about during that time period. Its a shame the waterways in Louisiana are getting ruined by the Oil Spills from Mobile to the bottom of Texas. Think of the devastation this is causing to the waterways???
42317922Candace Colbert Odom said on Friday, Apr 30 at 1:06 PM
The World Book says that only two Soverign Countries can come together to create a "Treaty". Therefore, from the beginning the Government has acknowledged that the Native Americans were a country within themselves, in order for the United States to have Treaties that were entered into many years ago...
42316357Anonymous said on Friday, Apr 30 at 12:38 PM
Thanks Anthony for getting back on topic. A member of the UN CERD Committee has called the ‘plenary power’ of Congress ‘racist at its roots’. And it is. And you are right. Congress would have never assigned such power to itself without the encouragement of the Doctrine of Discovery and how it had been applied in Supreme Court cases. Even in the last 10 years, the Court has cited this fake fake ‘authority’. It’s easier to spot if you know more about it.
42314307Anthony said on Friday, Apr 30 at 12:25 PM
For those who say it's "time to move on," the Doctrine of Discovery is by no means a thing of the past. We live with its effects every day. Why does the United States Congress have the authority to unilaterally set Indian policy without tribal input? Why are trust lands under the authority of the United States? Why do United States courts have the authority to adjudicate claims arising in sovereign Indian nations? The article clearly says this doctrine is responsible for the discriminatory legal framework that exists today. To understand how to undo this injustice, we must understand where it came from.
42313319David Yeragley said on Friday, Apr 30 at 12:25 PM
John D-Krall, I appreciate your info, though I was not able to find it on internet collections. Are you also aware of Codwallader Colden's work, THE HISTORY OF THE FIVE INDIAN NATIONS (1727 and 1747)? Times obviously changed. However, my question for you would pertain to the evidence of implementation. What were the effects of this Proclamation you have cited? But aside from that, the two-time fill-in governor was a Royalist. Not an American. Another source says Phips was predominantly occupied with creating a peace treaty with native tribes near Falmouth. His efforts were disrupted by continued violence by English settlers, which never allowed sufficient peace to conclude his negotiations. He died in office. Furthermore, the circustmances had to do with war between Americans and the British. If Indians wouldn't fight with the British, they were to be executed, like the colonists themselves. It was a British order. We need to be careful about what we quote, and not int
42313294Apache Warrior said on Friday, Apr 30 at 11:29 AM
This was one reason I walked away form being a Christaian. Today, on many reservations they still comdemn our traditional and cultural beliefs. "They say we are devil warshippers". The Catholic church has been more tolterant. The Protestants or the evangelicales are the worst.
42308817David Yeagley said on Friday, Apr 30 at 11:07 AM
I don't have a lot of confidence in the good intensions of white liberals who want to say to the Indian "You poor mistreated, miserable creature." This does not help Indians. I'm telling you, it is against all psychological law. It is crippling.
42306894David Yeagley said on Friday, Apr 30 at 11:06 AM
Yes, I am the "Dave" from OKC that tried to educate Laura Ingraham on the facts in the case of Indian mascots. Conservatives generally do not know how to hold a conversation on Indian topics. Liberals converse mistakenly, in my opinion. Indians actually have no one to talk to but ourselves. As for re-writing history, I think we should include the fact that the Pilgrims did NOT come here to conquor Indians. Indian relations with the English, Dutch, and French, were side effects. These Europeans did not come here to relate to Indians. Indians were simply "in the way" of the European visions. In other words, these were "car wreck" relations. Train wreck management. No one planned this. Re-write THAT. And, make sure you include the relations between Indian tribes which did not involved white presence at all. Remmeber how the Comanche ran out ever other Indian tribe from the southwest hunting ground. That's a fact I live with.
42306799John Dieffenbacher-Krall said on Friday, Apr 30 at 11:01 AM
Mr. Yeagley, please consider the 11/3/1775 proclamation of Spencer Phips, Governor of Massachusetts: I have , therefore, at the desire of the House of Representatives... thought it fit to issue this proclamation and to declare the Penobscot Tribe of Indians to be enemies, rebels and traitors to his Majesty. ...And I do hereby require his Majesty's subjects of the Province to embrace all opportunities of pursuing, cativating, killing and destroy - all and every of the aforsaid Indians. And whereas the General Court of this Province have voted that a bounty ... be granted and allowed to be paid out of the Province Treasury ... the premiums of bounty following viz: For every scalp of a male Indian brought in as evidence of their being killed as aforesaid, forty pounds. For every scalp of such female Indian or male Indian under the age of twelve years that shall be killed and brought in as evidence of their being killed as aforesaid, twenty pounds.
42306352kinajin said on Friday, Apr 30 at 10:56 AM
We natives should be ashamed of ourselves, we are abusing the 'whiteman', we are abusing them with guilt. We know the 'wasicu' have a need or 'unsika', so some of us are trying to help.
42305994Donte said on Friday, Apr 30 at 10:36 AM
there need to be a healing between the Church and the native commuity i hope the Great spirit can send someone to do this thats my prayer and stop fight even native christians Jesus stood for the people sadly christians haven,t follow his exmaple of loving others.
42304347Truthsayer said on Friday, Apr 30 at 10:29 AM
Regarding David's comment that he does not know of any American law or government edict, colonial, state, or federal, that called for the annihilation, elimination, or eradication of any American Indian tribe. How about the The Racial Integrity Act of 1924? It required that a racial description of every person be recorded at birth and divided society into only two classifications: white and colored. American Indians in Virginia were being erased as a group from official records, therefore, adversely affecting the continuity of Virginia's American Indian tribes and making it very difficult for them to attain federal recognition today. The TRUTH is ugly sometimes but we can't afford to forget about it! It has to be told in order to move forward and to start healing the spirit on both sides.
42303707Daisy said on Friday, Apr 30 at 9:24 AM
I would agree there are differences between the way Catholics & Protestants viewed Native people. Cathoics wanted to convert Native people but still saw them as human beings. The other group wanted to destroy them. With that being said, it is imortant to remember the past but how are people supposed to healwehn we bring it up all of the time? It is time to more forward.
42298682Mihku Paul said on Friday, Apr 30 at 9:05 AM
David, I would be curious to know what research you did on "colonial, state and federal" laws and edicts. The evidence exists that points to a systematic attempt to control and suppress Native tribes, including declarations of war, in order to access the natural resources of this continent. Stating the truth about a situation can be painful and unsettling, but that is no excuse for ignoring it. There is a difference between "Waving the bloody shirt" and calling for open dialogue about this country's sometimes shameful history. There were marked differences in how Native tribes were viewed by Protestants and Catholics, and there are particular reasons why more Native people are Catholic. Still, the fact remains that MANIFEST DESTINY and the DOCTRINE OF DISCOVERY greatly contributed to the dynamic of white hegemony in the America's.
42297217HonorIndians said on Friday, Apr 30 at 9:03 AM
To David Yeagley (Comanche) Are you "Dave the Comanche" from Oklahoma City that called into the Laura Ingraham radio show a couple weeks ago on the topic of Indian mascots? Just curious.
42297062Adios, amoebas! said on Friday, Apr 30 at 2:45 AM
Presumably, by reading the "Requeirimiento" to the non-Latin speaking natives, the invaders inherited, from "God", this country? If I go speak jibberish to my neighbor, and infect him with a deadly disease in the process, does that make his casa my casa? Oops, I guess "God" thinks I'm special? Really! I hope everyone reads Steven T. Newcomb's Pagans in the Promised Land. As informative as 1491 by Charles C. Mann.
42286502Skinwalker said on Thursday, Apr 29 at 11:11 PM
Bring on the lions and jesus the rabbie the sheep are in panic
42279274Kinew said on Thursday, Apr 29 at 7:29 PM
What power does the UN have or hold over any sovereign nation? The UN in reality is a very ineffective org. that creates problems instead of resolving any. Wow "the UN in a groundbreaking" please give me a break.
42268322Two Words: Go Brown said on Thursday, Apr 29 at 7:12 PM
Respectfully, Mr. Yeagley your argument is passionate and meaningful. It is for the benefit of healing that professionals with financial and educational backing be able to rewrite the story--correctly. As you remember, our Native Nations were nearly wiped clean from the Earth, and those with money wrote triumphant memoirs of their discoveries which most American classrooms use as curriculum. The next step for North American Representative to the Permanent Forum Tonya Gonnella Frichner, to do would be sponsor a republishing or revision of those history books to schools in America so that we can finally do as you write, be "about strength." Our People across the continent and America have survived and we are ready open the curtain and let in hope and light.
42267484David Yeagley said on Thursday, Apr 29 at 6:51 PM
Ninety-nine percent of tribal elders today are all active Christians, and have been since the late 19th century. Why would you alienate them from the next generation like this? What do you gain from this, besides publication or some other form of personal professional noteriety? Objectively, psychologically, this kind of report is simply not helpful. (Again, TRUTH is not the issue! Just basic socio-psychology.)
42266384David Yeagley said on Thursday, Apr 29 at 6:48 PM
Next time I'll type more carefully. No opportunity to correct. Sorry.
42266269David Yeagley (Comanche) said on Thursday, Apr 29 at 6:47 PM
I don't see this kind of report as helpful. (ruth is not the issue.) According to Robert A. Williams, Jr, in THE AMERICAN INDIAN IN WESTERN LEGAL THOUGHT (1990), even the early Catholic fathers considered the American Indians EQUAL, so long as the Indians left off any too "heathen" practices. Long before the English pilgrims came. I don't know of any American law or government edict, colonial, state, or federal, that called for the annihilation, elimination, or eradication of any American Indian tribe. I know that certain hot-headed, terrified officers out there on the field of battle often made statements to that effect, however. But this was never official policy. I think to hang this dark, depressing curtain of Indian people is to cripple the spirit, to snuff out the natural aspirations of Indian youth. It all makes for good academic impression, but, the effect on Indian people is not positive. That's my opinion. This is not about rights, but about strength.
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