New Publication: Destroying the Doctrine of Discovery

We are pleased to share Destroying the Doctrine of Discovery, a new publication by Robert J. Miller. The paper examines how the Doctrine of Discovery became an international legal framework for colonization and outlines ways Indigenous nations and peoples can challenge its continuing effects on their lands, sovereignty, and human rights.

⬇️ Read or download Destroying the Doctrine of Discovery (PDF).

Miller traces the doctrine’s development through the Church and European colonial powers and examines its adoption by the United States Supreme Court in the 1823 decision Johnson v. M’Intosh. He identifies ten elements of the doctrine, including preemption, restrictions on Indigenous sovereignty, terra nullius, and claims of Christian and European superiority. These elements, he argues, provide a framework for recognizing colonial assumptions that remain embedded in national laws and policies.

Moving from history to action, the paper sets out five strategies for dismantling the doctrine:

1. Identify the specific harms caused by the doctrine and document how they appear in current laws, policies, and everyday life.
2. Educate Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples about the doctrine’s history and continuing effects.
3. Protest its ongoing application and the harms it causes.
4. Lobby governments to change laws and policies that perpetuate colonialism, including advocating for adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as national law.
5. Litigate to defend Indigenous human, sovereign, and property rights when education and lobbying do not produce results.

Miller’s central argument is that international law can change. Understanding the doctrine’s history and identifying its present-day operation are essential steps toward removing its influence and advancing Indigenous rights and self-determination.