Outcome Documents for
200 Years of Johnson v. M’Intosh (JvM): Indigenous Responses to the Religious Foundations of Racism
This website is the official archive of the outcome publications from the Henry J. Luce Foundation Grant Funded project “200 Years of Johnson v. M’Intosh (JvM): Indigenous Responses to the Religious Foundations of Racism". Professor Philip P. Arnold was the PI on this project which ran from 2022-2024. Project activities included a conference, podcasts, and various types of publications.
Summary
“200 Years of Johnson v. M’Intosh (JvM): Indigenous Responses to the Religious Foundations of Racism,” is 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.
The 200th anniversary of JvM provides an excellent moment to challenge the theology and jurisprudence of DOCD and this critical Supreme Court decision. The project will deliver a range of digital products and written works combined with a host of public outreach activities to raise awareness about the harmful impacts of the DOCD and provide support for a global movement of Indigenous People’s that seek to repudiate it.
Reappraising the Doctrine of Discovery
Again, were we to inquire by what law or authority you set up a claim [to our land], I answer, none! Your laws extend not into our country, nor ever did. You talk of the law of nature and the law of nations, and they are both against you. ~ Corn Tassel (Cherokee, 1785)
David E. Wilkins, Ph.D
S04E01: Unearthing the Foundations: Examining Native American Legal Battles and the Doctrine of Discovery
Our hosts Philip P. Arnold and Sandy Bigtree speak with Paula Johnson, Peter d'Errico, Joseph J. Heath, Steven T. Newcomb - In this confernece recording Paula Johnson, Peter d'Errico, Joseph J. Heath, and Steven T. Newcomb discusson the legacy and impact of Johnson v. M'Intosh.
Indigenous Consent: A Right Rooted in the Doctrine of Discovery
Indians being the prior occupants, possess the right to the soil. It cannot be taken from them unless by their free consent…. To dispossess them in any other principle, would be a gross violation of the fundamental laws of nature” (Henry Knox, Secretary of War, 1789).
Urszula Piasta Mansfield
S04E02: Exploring the American Religious Tapestry: From Civil Religion to Secularism and the Impact of the January 6th Insurrection
Our hosts Philip P. Arnold and Sandy Bigtree speak with Joel Harrison - In this podcast episode, hosts Phil Arnold and Sandy Bigtree interview Joel Harrison, an associate professor of religion at Northern Virginia Community College, and two of his students.
