Thread by @karlajstrand

Day 2 of the #Indigenous History Conference will feature panels on #colonization in American history. The first will include Jean O'Brien (Ojibwe), Tom Wickman, Darius Coombs (Mashpee Wampanoag), jessie little doe baird (Mashpee Wampanoag), and Robert Miller (Eastern Shawnee).

First, Mark Charles (Navajo) will be speaking on the doctrine of discovery. Many people in Native communities have researched and written on this in attempt to bring it to the forefront.

Charles: Doctrine of Discovery, (like one papal bull written in 1452 by Nicholas V.) Church in Europe commanded Europeans to colonize, take over, steal, conquer lands. That people inhabiting those lands are inhuman. @wirelesshogan

Charles: Doctrine of Discovery is a white Christian supremacist doctrine. Declaration of Independence refers to "merciless Indian savages". The preamble to the Constitution Art 1, sec 2 never mentions women or Native Americans and referred to Africans as 3/5 human.

Charles: No "female" pronoun in the entire Constitution. It was written to protect the interests of white, landowning men. 13th Amendment doesn't actually outlaw slavery, it just redefined and codified it. Incarceration was intended as a legal form of slavery.

Charles: 13th Amendment actually laid the groundwork for prison pipeline. The Constitution is a systemically white supremacist and sexist document.

Charles: 1823 and other 1800s legal cases created legal precedent for land titles. Native Americans referred to as "savages" by John Marshall. Other cases in 1985 and 2005 reconfirmed this argument that Europeans "civilized" the "wilderness".

Charles: Unification theory of Oneida Nation in 2005 ultimately rejected. RBG wrote this opinion. Reconfirmed that land titles were based on the legal conclusion that Native Americans were savages. This white supremacy is a bipartisan issue and belief.

Charles: RBG later said she regretted this decision. Even so, she argued for Native lands could be held by government in trust; same as what was argued during Obama administration. But these "trusts" are often revoked.

Charles: 2020, McGirt v Oklahoma opinion by Gorsuch reaffirms the right for Congress to break treaties with no repercussions. Government breaks treaties w Native Nations all the time. Native Nations must appeal to Congress to get their own land if Congress can "muster the will."

Charles: All based on idea that Native Americans are less than human without agency. Charles calls for Truth and Conciliation Commission for a national conversation of race, gender, and class.

Charles: Our nation has no common memory of its history. We need to find a way to move forward as Indian Country. Need to bring the unjust Doctrine of Discovery to light. So that Turtle Island can become a place where we can have healthy communities.