The Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery

Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery Coalition Autumn 2020 Newsletter

• DDOD Coalition hires first staff member, Katerina Friesen
• Reports and Video from the Mother Earth’s Pandemic conference
• Announcing our New Indigenous Repair Partner – Makoce Ikikcupi
• Annual report for 2020
• Announcing Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery Campaign for Oak Flats
• Reparative Justice Resource coming next year!
• New Podcast coming in 2021
• Unite to Decriminalize Indigenous Struggles
• Board game update

Katerina Friesen will serve as Coalition Organizer 

Katerina Friesen, who joined the Coalition when we started in 2014 and has served as the chair of the Arts and Education Committee, will be moving into a new role we created for the next year as a part-time organizer (5-10 hours a week). She’ll offer internal coordination of the Coalition, build our networks, and organize congregations ready to take the next steps of repair and solidarity with Indigenous Peoples. Donations toward the Coalition will also support this new role and help us grow our capacity and movement as a volunteer-led Coalition! 

Reports and Video from the Mother Earth’s Pandemic conference

In August 2020, The Indigenous Values Initiative hosted a 3-part online forum entitled Mother Earth’s Pandemic: The Christian Doctrine of Discovery. Wide ranging topics and speakers from around the world connected the dots between our current pandemic, environmental devastation, the Doctrine of Discovery, and a way forward. Too often these are thought of as unrelated concepts, rather than being the core impediment in working towards social justice in an ecologically balanced Earth. All the individual sessions are available to watch here on Youtube.

As a coalition we held our annual gathering in conjunction with this online conference and invited Mennonites to join us. You can read Lynda Hollinger-Janzen’s reflections on her participation in the conference here.

New Indigenous Repair Partner – Makoce Ikikcupi (“Land Recovery” in Dakota)

We are thrilled to select Makoce Ikikcupi as the coalition’s new Indigenous repair partner. You probably know that last year’s repair partner was the Suriname Indigenous Health Fund. We are grateful for our continuing relationship with this fine organization. Makoce Ikikcupi will be our repair partner until another Indigenous community is announced next fall.

You can read more about their work here in our flier here.

Our annual report

We wrote a report about our work over the last year and we hope you will read it! You can read it here. Here’s an excerpt:

DDoD Annual Meeting pivoted to a three-part zoom gathering and welcomed the largest number of participants since we began meeting as a Coalition. Over three Sunday evenings: we gathered in prayer, got (re)acquainted, reflected on various teachings we received from the Mother Earth’s Pandemic Conference, heard courageous stories and invitations into Indigenous solidarity, and explored how to continue to grow this work and movement within the church.

Read the full report

Announcing Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery Campaign for Oak Flat

Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery Coalition (DDoD) is starting a campaign backing the San Carlos Apache led efforts to save Oak Flat from destruction by a proposed copper mine. You are invited to join in!

Oak Flat, (Chi’chil Bildagoteel) is a sacred site of the San Carlos Apache from time immemorial. It is a place of ceremony and other prayer, a place to collect acorns and medicinal plants, a burial site. They were “temporarily” removed from the area by the US government in the late 1800’s but have continued to return. For instance the last weekend of October and early November in Oak Flat they have celebrated Sunrise Ceremonies honoring the coming of age of young women of the Nation.

You can read and share our blog post with action steps you can take here.

Reparative Justice Resource coming next year!

We’ve heard Indigenous Peoples say that apologies are not enough in light of the harms done under the Doctrine of Discovery that continue today. This resource seeks to engage Anabaptist settlers to respond in more tangible, reparative ways to the Doctrine of Discovery. Approximately 25 contributors offer creative examples, stories, and Biblical and theological foundations for reparative justice. This resource will be available online and in print format in early 2021.

Introducing: The Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery Podcast!

Sheri: The Doctrine of Discovery is the current system of laws and policies that justify the removal of land from Indigenous Peoples. These laws are rooted in church doctrines that originated in the 15th century. 

Sarah: Together, we will uncover this deep structure of colonization that systematically deprives Indigenous Peoples of human rights.  

Sheri: I’m Sheri Hostetler, and I helped start a coalition of Anabaptist people of faith that seek to dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery. I’m also a Mennonite pastor in San Francisco.

Sarah: I’m Sarah Augustine and I also helped start this coalition. As an activist and scholar, I am the descendant of the Tewa People, and a displaced person. This is the Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery podcast.

That is the opening that will begin every episode of our Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery podcast. We began working on this podcast months ago, and we are pleased to say that we hope to launch the podcast sometime in the beginning of 2021.

We are hoping that this podcast can serve as an educational resource and a call to action for individuals and congregations as we work to collectively dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery. Stay tuned for more information!

-Sheri Hostetler and Sarah Augustine

Unite to Decriminalize Indigenous Struggles!

Christian Peacemaker Teams, and Friends of Sabeel North America are teaming up to put on an online rally, “Unite to Decriminalize Indigenous Struggles.” The webinar takes place on Nov. 29, which is International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, and the Sunday after Thanksgiving. The online event will center Palestinian and Indigenous voices who will speak about the impacts of settler-colonialism on their lives. There will be a focus on the ways that criminalization is used by states to control land and liberation struggles.

Learn more about the event, and register at https://cptaction.org/unite/

Board game update

We’re designing a board game!  The Tesa Collective is partnering with our coalition to create a fun game that helps players learn historical concepts, and identify aspects of current-day injustice tied to the Doctrine of Discovery.  Once you’ve playfully engaged with these concepts at the game table, you’ll be better at noticing ways we are complicit in structural oppression out in the world; and, you’ll have new skills to respond and build a world of justice!  We’ve raised $4,400 and we need $5,600 more to cover game development and design by the renowned professionals at the Tesa Collective.  Be part of building a better world by funding this playful tool for teaching anti-racism! If you are able to give via the button below or check, please include a note designating the donation towards this project.