From “The Land is Not Empty: Following Jesus in Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery” by Sarah Augustine
The Doctrine of Discovery is often discussed in the past tense. I hear people lament what has happened, explaining to themselves that it is sad that Native Americans were killed in the settlement of the United States and Canada, but there isn’t much we can do about it now. Those who take the history to heart even talk with shame about the actions of their ancestors. What few recognize is that the processes of displacing Indigenous Peoples from their homelands so that the powerful can appropriate and settle Indigenous lands is happening now, all across the world. Laws based on the Doctrine of Discovery continue to be created, and the processes of colonization continue. Indigenous Peoples are still intentionally being poisoned, brutalized, and displaced for their land and natural resources.
I was shocked to learn this reality through my work in Suriname. I realized that what is happening there today is the exact process that unfolded in North America 150 years ago. While attending the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and attending meetings held by the World Council of Churches, I also learned that what is happening in the Suriname rainforest is happening around the world. I was befriended by Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines, West Papua, Sweden, Norway, Mexico, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Peru, Australia, New Zealand, Greenland, and many other countries. All faced legal forced removal from their lands. All faced major human rights abuses – in many cases including targeted violence and extrajudicial killings. In nearly every country, extractive industry was legally polluting land, causing disease, forcefully removing communities from their lands, and killing innocent people.