How many here knew that George Washington ordered slaughter of Indians during Revolutionary War?

[TigressDem]

18. Some study into reparations led me to Sarah Augustine - and the 1493 Doctrine of Discovery

The Land Is Not Empty: Following Jesus in Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery

White settlers saw land for the taking. They failed to consider the perspective of the people already here.

In The Land Is Not Empty, author Sarah Augustine unpacks the harm of the Doctrine of Discovery--a set of laws rooted in the fifteenth century that gave Christian governments the moral and legal right to seize lands they "discovered" despite those lands already being populated by indigenous peoples. Legitimized by the church and justified by a misreading of Scripture, the Doctrine of Discovery says a land can be considered "empty" and therefore free for the taking if inhabited by "heathens, pagans, and infidels."


https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/spotlight-primary-source/doctrine-discovery-1493

The Papal Bull "Inter Caetera," issued by Pope Alexander VI on May 4, 1493, played a central role in the Spanish conquest of the New World. The document supported Spain’s strategy to ensure its exclusive right to the lands discovered by Columbus the previous year. It established a demarcation line one hundred leagues west of the Azores and Cape Verde Islands and assigned Spain the exclusive right to acquire territorial possessions and to trade in all lands west of that line. All others were forbidden to approach the lands west of the line without special license from the rulers of Spain. This effectively gave Spain a monopoly on the lands in the New World.


https://dofdmenno.org/

Our Coalition emerged from the Anabaptist faith tradition, and we invite anyone to join us who seeks to support Indigenous self-determination and efforts to protect the earth from ongoing colonization.

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January Newsletter

Mennonite Church USA Signs on to Amicus Brief to Support Apache Stronghold January Newsletter and Coalition Updates Learn about supporting Apache Stronghold ahead of appeals case Find inspiration from congregations’ art displays Read Jane Ross Richer’s article about the importance of protecting ICWA Sign up for a LandBack webinar with Coalition staff