The Doctrine of Discovery and its Enduring Impact on Indigenous Peoples WHAT IS THE DOCTRINE OF DISCOVERY? The Discovery Doctrine is a concept of public international law expounded by the United States Supreme Court in a series of decisions, intially in Johnson v. M’Intosh in 1823. An important Supreme Court Decision stated that "the "Doctrine of Discovery" was an established legal principle of English and American colonial law that had also become the law of the American state and federal governments." not under the sovereignty of a Christian ruler, could be possessed on behalf of God. Discovery was used as legal and moral justification for colonial dispossession of sovereign Indigenous Nations, including First Nations in what is now Canada. WHEREAS the UUA Board of Trustees has submitted to the member congregations a report explaining the Doctrine of Discovery and why the Board believes it to be contrary to Unitarian Universalist Principles. This book shines new light on the mostly ignored historical and legal evidence of the use of the Doctrine of Discovery in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. And two of the most important sources of this principle of international law were the Papal Bulls of Romanus Pontifex (1455) and Inter Caetera (1493). the “Doctrine of Discovery” is a philosophical and legal framework dating to the 15th century that gave Christian governments moral and legal rights to invade and seize indigenous lands and dominate Indigenous Peoples. This “Doctrine of Discovery” became the basis of all European claims in the Americas as well as the foundation for the United States’ western expansion. Dutch and Portuguese traders made their way around the tip of India to Sri Lanka, Indonesia, China, and Japan. Marc Lescarbot, a French lawyer, articulated this warped Christian law in 1618 in his explanation of France's right to Acadia (now the Canadian Provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island): Under this doctrine, the native populations had the right of occupancy, not ownership. The Discovery Doctrine is a construct of public international law expounded by the United States Supreme Court in a series of decisions, initially in Johnson v. M’Intosh in 1823. The Doctrine of Discovery was used by European monarchies, beginning in the mid-fifteenth century, as a means of legitimizing the colonization of lands outside of Europe. The Doctrine of Discovery has been cited by the courts numerous times between 1823 and 2005. civilization. The Discovery Doctrine is a perception of the law that has been demonstrated by the United States Supreme Court in more than one decision, starting with Johnson v. McIntosh in 1823. The Doctrine of Discovery is so taken for granted that it is rarely mentioned in historical or legal texts published in the Americas. It was issued in 1493, the year after Christopher Columbus arrived on the shores of what is now known as North America. This presentation was given as the third of six offerings in a lament over the Doctrine of Discovery held on Tuesday, July 10, at the 77th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, in Indianapolis. The Doctrine of Discovery in U.S. Law. The doctrine was Chief Justice John Marshall’s explanation of the way in which colonial powers laid claim to newly discovered lands during the Age of Discovery. In these countries, Christian Europeans assumed that they held sovereign, property, and commercial rights over the indigenous peoples under the ‘legal authority’ of the Doctrine. The Doctrine of Discovery was used when France first claimed the land of the Mi'kmaq, which they christened Acadia. In 1823, the Christian Doctrine of Discovery was quietly adopted into U.S. law by the Supreme Court in the celebrated case, Johnson v. The Doctrine of Discovery emanates from a series of Papal Bulls (formal statements from the Pope) and extensions, originating in the 1400s. The Doctrine of Discovery also legalized piracy, and European ships hunted each other on the open sea and seized ships and cargo. The Doctrine of Discovery refers to a set of Papal Bulls that justified the invasion and confiscation of lands, and the genocide of the original inhabitants of those lands who did not declare themselves to be Christians. The Doctrine of Discovery includes all doctrines, policies and practices based on advocating superiority of peoples or individuals on the basis of national origin or racial, religious, ethnic or cultural differences. The document supported Spain’s strategy to ensure its exclusive right to the lands discovered by Columbus the previous year. 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