Papal Bulls
Papal Bulls created the foundation for the Doctrine of Discovery.
Repudiations
Repuidations of the Doctrine of Discovery by religious organizations and faith communities
Recent posts
Halverson v. Burgum Permalink
A 2025 Ninth Circuit decision that shows how Johnson v. McIntosh and sovereign immunity remain active in contemporary federal Indian law.
Domination Chronicles: Our Opening Conversation Permalink
Steven Newcomb and Peter d’Errico begin a decades-long dialogue on domination, Johnson v. McIntosh, Christian discovery, and federal Indian law.
Domination Chronicles: Trailer Permalink
Steven Newcomb and Peter d’Errico introduce Domination Chronicles, a podcast focused on domination, discovery, law, language, and Indigenous free existence.
Book Review of The Urgency of Indigenous Values Permalink
What is a way forward in the midst of the environmental and ecological crisis? How does religious studies engage with Indigenous Peoples? Philip P. Arnold explores these two different but interrelated questions in The Urgency of Indigenous Values, which offers an alternative perspective on religion that shifts away from a settler-colonial worldview to better affirm Indigenous values.
Cutting Through the US Claim of a Right of Domination over Indigenous People: An Analysis of Haaland v. Brackeen Permalink
Haaland v. Brackeen is a 2023 US Supreme Court decision rejecting several challenges to the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), a federal law establishing a framework to control adoptions of any child who is “a member of an Indian tribe” or who is “eligible for membership in an Indian tribe and is the biological child of a member of an Indian tribe.”
Gorsuch and Thomas Attack the US Claim of “Plenary Power” over “Tribes” Permalink
On November 10, 2025, Supreme Court Justices Gorsuch and Thomas teamed up to insist that the doctrine of “plenary power” over Native Peoples is not good law and never has been.
Reflections on the Erie Canal [FULL DOCUMENTARY] Permalink
In 1825, the state of New York completed the Erie Canal. Today, the singular historic purpose of the canal has been replaced by a broader significance. Together, the Erie, Champlain, Oswego, and Cayuga-Seneca canals serve communities in ways unimaginable to their creators. Now, we reflect on the two-hundred year journey of the Erie Canal and contemplate its future.
International Journal on Responsibility Permalink
The International Journal on Responsibility (IJR) (ISSN: 2576 0955) is an international, peer reviewed, interdisciplinary forum for theoretical, practical.
Religious Moral Suasion and Material Support for the Environmental Justice Movement Permalink
The Environmental Justice (EJ) movement in the United States is comprised of diverse groups of people with a variety of environmental grievances and…
THE HAUDENOSAUNEE (IROQUOIS) GREAT BINDING PEACE Permalink
What kind of worldview or religious orientation does it take to make an entire planet uninhabitable? While many think it is our dependence on fossil fuels and the population explosion that has brought us to this point of human destruction, our contention is that these problems have religious foundations which were created and continue to be used by empires as a means to hold dominion over people and the Earth. Opposition to this path of selfdestruction is something Indigenous Peoples have been trying to communicate since first contact, to not jeopardize their traditions of regenerative reciprocity which had thrived for tens of thousands of years.
Healing the Sacred: The Fight to Restore Onondaga Lake and Honor Indigenous Land Permalink
The Onondaga Nation is petitioning the Organization of American States (OAS) for land rights to Onondaga Lake, a notoriously polluted body of water in Central New York State. The Onondaga Nation is one of six nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (Iroquois), and Onondaga Lake is the sacred site where Gayanashagowa, the Great Law of Peace, was established.
A Conversation on the Urgency of Indigenous Values Permalink
A CONVERSATION WITH PHILIP P. ARNOLD AND VICTOR TAYLOR ON THE URGENCY OF INDIGENOUS VALUES
Decoding the Doctrine of Christian Discovery: A Wakaga Sovereignty Series Permalink
Decoding the Doctrine of Christian Discovery: A Wakaga Sovereignty Series is a multi-article initiative by the Wakaga Economic Development Group examining how the centuries-old Doctrine of Christian Discovery still shapes federal Indian law and impacts tribal sovereignty today. Drawing on the research of Steven T. Newcomb, this 100+ article series explores the doctrine’s colonial origins, its influence on landmark Supreme Court decisions, and its continuing effect on U.S. Indian policy and Wakaga governance. Designed as a resource for tribal members, educators, policymakers, youth, and allies, the series combines historical analysis with practical insights to challenge the legacy of domination embedded in U.S. law and foster informed action toward true sovereignty.
CrossCurrents Vol. 74. No. 4. Special Issue: 200 Years of Johnson v. M’Intosh: Indigenous Responses to the Religious Foundations of Racism Permalink
In 2022 Syracuse University received a Henry Luce Foundation grant to support the work of Philip P. Arnold and the Indigenous Values Initiative’s Doctrine of Discovery Project We received three years of funding for ‘200 Years of Johnson v. M’Intosh: Indigenous Responses to the Religious Foundations of Racism.’ This grant and project has been a collaborative initiative made possible through relationships developed over 30 years between academic and Indigenous communities. At its core, the project seeks to interrogate and critically examine connections between the Doctrine of Christian Discovery (DoCD), the Catholic Papal Bulls that undergird the Doctrine, and the Doctrine’s pernicious influence on United States Indian Law today.
S06E01: Defending Mother Earth from The Doctrine of Christian Discovery #NoKings Permalink
This episode is a live recording of The Doctrine of Christian Discovery, The Jesuits, and Laudato si: Defending Mother Earth an educational event that took place on Saturday, June 14, 2025 from 1:00-4:00PM. This event seredepitiously coincided with the #NoKings protests which were happening across the nation.