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The Executive Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) published the “Statement on the doctrine of discovery and its enduring impact on Indigenous Peoples” in 2012.
Through the statement, the WCC makes known that Indigenous people have been and continue to be greatly harmed by the ‘Doctrine of Discovery,’ “the idea that Christians enjoy a moral and legal right based solely on their religious identity to invade and seize Indigenous lands and to dominate Indigenous Peoples.”
“The ways of life, identities, well-being and very existence of Indigenous People are threatened by the continuing effects of colonization and national policies, regulations and laws that attempt to force them to assimilate into the cultures of majoritarian societies. A fundamental historical basis and legal precedent for these policies and laws is the ‘Doctrine of Discovery.’”
The Doctrine of Discovery is evident in numerous historical documents, including Papal Bulls, Royal Charters and court rulings. These documents called for Christians to “discover and conquer,” “subdue” and “acquire” non-Christian lands and peoples for the “propagation of the Christian empire.”
In 1823, the U.S. Supreme Court used the Doctrine of Discovery to rule in Johnson & Graham’s Lessee v. M’Intosh that the U.S. had the “ultimate title” (right of territorial domination) over all lands within the claimed boundaries of the U.S. and that Indigenous people only had “right of occupancy.” This case has been cited and upheld repeatedly by Australian, Canadian, New Zealand and U.S. courts. “The Doctrine remains the law in various ways in almost all settler societies around the world today.”
Throughout the world, “Indigenous Peoples are over-represented in all categories of disadvantage,” including poverty, unemployment, lack of access to basic infrastructure and clean water, and inadequate health care, education and housing. The result is increased rates of social issues among Indigenous peoples, including substance use, violence and poor health outcomes.
Through this statement, the WCC “expresses solidarity with the Indigenous Peoples of the world and supports their rights to live in and retain their traditional lands and territories, to maintain and enrich their cultures [and religions] and to ensure that their traditions are strengthened and passed on for generations to come.”
The WCC urges governments to “dismantle the legal structures and policies based on the Doctrine of Discovery” and support Indigenous peoples in exercising “their right to self-determination and self-governance.”
In this statement, the WCC “denounces the Doctrine of Discovery as fundamentally opposed to the gospel of Jesus Christ and as a violation of the inherent human rights that all individuals and people have received from God,” and urges churches to reflect on their history, grow in awareness of issues facing Indigenous people today, and support and advocate for and with them.
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