Tribal leaders in Wisconsin applaud Vatican’s repudiation of 'Doctrine of Discovery': ‘It’s good to hear that recognition, however late it is’

GREEN BAY - After more than half a millennium, the Catholic Church finally repudiated its Doctrine of Discovery, which civil rights advocates say gave Europeans the belief they had the moral license to steal land from Indigenous people.

“It’s been a long time coming, but it’s good to hear that recognition, however late it is,” said Brandon Yellowbird-Stevens, vice chairman of the Oneida Nation in Wisconsin. “The Doctrine was the basis for the dispossession of Indigenous lands.”

The Doctrine was a series of papal bulls from the Middle Ages from the Vatican that essentially permitted Christian European nations to subjugate and spread forced Christianity on Indigenous people in the Americas and Africa, as well as steal their lands.

The Vatican formally repudiated the Doctrine on March 30, responding to demands from Indigenous groups.

“The Doctrine has become the foundation of people’s understanding relative to North America and its original inhabitants,” said the Rev. Kerri Parker, executive director of the Wisconsin Council of Churches. “The settlers had a sense of understanding that their mission was for God and king. That understanding has become part of our psyche. It’s ingrained in our laws and was part of the idea of Manifest Destiny. It’s not just history, but still happening today.”

Experts say the Doctrine was incorporated into some U.S. laws that allowed the government to take Indigenous lands.

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“While the Vatican’s decision to renounce the Doctrine of Discovery is the right one, it downplays the Church’s role and accountability for the harm it has caused to Native peoples,” said Deborah Park, CEO of the Minneapolis-based National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition. “It does not change the fact that the Church’s views gave permission to colonizers to take Native lands and assimilate Native peoples. This doctrine imposed itself into U.S. policies and played a crucial role in justifying the genocide of Native peoples. It gave colonizers the ‘go ahead’ to steal land and kill Native children and destroy families.”

Indigenous advocates believe church leaders in the past had used the Doctrine to justify forcefully assimilating Indigenous children in the infamous boarding schools of history. Several of these boarding schools had been located in Wisconsin.

Boarding schools in Wisconsin: 'People need to know what happened': Wisconsin tribes, families welcome federal scrutiny of Indian boarding school system

"We demand more transparency (from the Catholic Church), including access to Indian boarding school documents, which they have refused to provide. We demand that the Church returns lands to the Tribal Nations in which it operated Indian boarding schools,” Park said. “We demand that the Church supports the Truth and Healing Bill, which would establish a federal commission and conduct a full inquiry into the assimilative policies of U.S. Indian boarding schools.”

Deborah Haaland, the first Native American woman to lead the Department of the Interior, announced the Federal Board School Initiative in 2021, which includes a comprehensive review of the horrific legacy of federal boarding school policies.

"We are aware of the complicated history of the residential schools, and the Catholic Church’s involvement in running these schools in the United States,” read a previous statement from the Diocese of Green Bay. “We remain committed to understanding our history of involvement with Native American communities in the Diocese of Green Bay as we work towards a place of healing for all."

Justine Lodl, spokesperson for the Diocese, said the March 30 formal announcement from the Vatican speaks for itself and they have nothing further to add.

Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, secretary for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, released a statement saying that there were times in history when church leaders failed to fully oppose the destructive and immoral actions of the competing colonial powers against Indigenous people.

“As a Church, it is important for us to fully understand how our words have been used and misused to justify acts that would be abhorrent to Jesus Christ,” he wrote. “We hope for more dialogue among Indigenous and Catholic scholars to promote greater and wider understanding of this difficult history.”

Local church leaders say more needs to be done.

“The Vatican's statement is a long-needed recognition of the tragic and devastating consequences that the Doctrine of Discovery has had on Indigenous peoples around the world,” said the Rev. Peter Bakken, justice and witness coordinator for the Wisconsin Council of Churches. “But as Christian churches we must do much more to take full responsibility for our active role in the dispossession, oppression and genocide of Native peoples. We have to take costly, meaningful action to repair the damage that has been done, actively pursue justice for Native communities, and join them in working for the well-being of all people and for the health of our common home.”

The Wisconsin Council of Churches includes 34 member churches.

Yellowbird-Stevens said the repudiation of the Doctrine may help some people understand history better as tribal leaders do today. And that history is a major factor in tribal responses today.

He said, “I think it’s a beginning of a better understanding of the tribes’ position reacquiring our original homeland.”

William Gollnick, an Oneida Nation official with tribe's intergovernmental affairs department, recalled some of the history behind the Doctrine.

"When Europeans first encountered the so-called New World, they didn't know how to address the people whom they encountered there," he said. "The Pope was asked to direct how they should proceed. The initial interpretation was that the people who became known as Indians (because those were the people who were being looked for) were not Christians and therefore did not have souls. If they did not have souls, the people of Europe could pretty much act as they wished."

Then in 1532, Gollnick said, Francisco de Vitoria, an advisor to the Spanish Crown, pointed out the hypocrisy of European leaders recognized people of the Middle East, who were considered enemies, were recognized as human beings and owners of their lands. He question why American Indians were being treated differently.

"The Pope agreed and so began the treaty period with the Indian nations," Gollnick said. "The concept of ownership belonging to the European discoverer was foundational in the Doctrine of Discovery."

This concept soon made its way into U.S. laws concerning tribal nations.

John Marshall, who was chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court in the early 1800s, devised a unique status in which the U.S. government held title to the land and tribal nations had the right to live on and use its territory.

"Today we wonder how the Pope's recognition will be interpreted by the religious community," Gollnick said. "We do not expect that the legal or political bodies will be impacted. We are grateful that the Pope has moved yet another historical error for the masses to understand."

Dig deeper:

• Indigenous exhibits: Exhibits in this Wisconsin city on Native American boarding schools and violence against Indigenous women are leaving some in tears

• Boarding school survivors: 'They never broke my spirit': Survivors of Indian schools on Menominee Reservation demand Catholic church to acknowledge abuse

• Landcestry: Wisconsin’s story doesn't start with Jean Nicolet. A brief history of forced relocation and 'landcestry.'

Frank Vaisvilas is a Report for America corps member who covers Native American issues in Wisconsin based at the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Contact him at fvaisvilas@gannett.com or 815-260-2262. Follow him on Twitter at @vaisvilas_frank.You can directly support his work with a tax-deductible donation online at  GreenBayPressGazette.com/RFA or by check made out to The GroundTruth Project with subject line Report for America Green Bay Press Gazette Campaign. Address: The GroundTruth Project, Lockbox Services, 9450 SW Gemini Drive, PMB 46837, Beaverton, Oregon 97008-7105.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Wisconsin tribes applaud Vatican repudiation of Doctrine of Discovery