What is the Doctrine of Discovery?

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. The patterns of oppression that continue to dispossess Indigenous Peoples of their lands today are found in numerous historical documents such as Papal Bulls, Royal Charters and U.S. Supreme Court rulings as recent as 2005. Collectively, these and other concepts form a paradigm of domination that legitimates extraction industries that displace and destroy many Indigenous Peoples and other vulnerable communities, as well as harm the earth.

For more than five centuries, the Doctrine of Discovery and the laws based upon it have legalized the theft of land, labor and resources from Indigenous Peoples across the world. This Doctrine originated with the Christian church and it is now the church’s responsibility to dismantle it.

“Not surprisingly, we can see in our present situation how the privileged are protected and rewarded, and the less fortunate are demonized and ignored. Too many churches support the status-quo.”

Ken Kraybill

“We must work together to call our institutions, those whose identity is to follow the way of Jesus, to stand with us. We have an opportunity at Mennonite Church USA Convention, and again at Mennonite World Conference, to imagine together how we might go about this. Until individuals representing committed institutions stand together with Indigenous and vulnerable Peoples, our words and gestures too are rendered hollow and symbolic.”

Sarah Augustine