Above photo: Indigenous people hold a banner that reads “Rescind the Doctrine” as Pope Francis presides over a mass at the Shrine of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre in Quebec on July 28, 2022. Giglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters.
Restoration Not Reparation.
This morning, I had to call my cousin and tell her to stop doing the Snoopy Happy Dance. She was dancing because we had heard the Pope had revoked the Doctrines of Discovery. That was not true. He only ‘repudiated’ the Doctrines of Discovery, not “revoked” them. Then another cousin called and I had to tell him the same thing. There is a difference between ‘repudiate’ and ‘revoke’.
The word “repudiate” according to the Mirriam-Webster Dictionary means “to cast off” or “to refuse to have anything to do with” or “to refuse to acknowledge.” We can all do that to those atrocious, horrible, abominable, appalling, and revolting Doctrines that were established by the Catholic Church.
The fact that these political Doctrines came into being in the late 1400s is no excuse as these doctrines are the legal foundation upon which American and Canadian laws stand today. As recently as 2005, the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginzberg used these Doctrines against the Oniedas in Sherrill v. Onieda Indian Nation in New York.
These Doctrines still have an effect on us today. This does not even begin to cover the genocide of nations (plural) in the Americas, Africa, and the Pacific. The torture and suffering endured over these hundreds of years is carried over on our genes as methylates from the trauma. The colonizing nations, such as the USA, continue to do as they will with no regard to the Human and Civil Rights of Indigenous peoples. After all, it is only the resources they are after.
The word “revoke”, also according to the Dictionary, means “to annul by recalling or taking back” or “to repeal” or “to rescind.” The Pope does have that capability, which the rest of us do not. The Catholic Church needs to ‘revoke’ the Doctrines of Discovery. He needs to repeal them since the whole world now knows that Indigenous peoples all over the world are, indeed, human beings. Although in the United States, we are not “human beings” unless we denounce our own Indigenous Nations, and expatriate ourselves according to the Standing Bear case. But that’s for another discussion.
The question is “Why would the Pope do this now?” Many Indigenous representatives have been asking him to do this for decades? So why would he do this now?
Then I remembered recently submitting a response to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Promotion of Truth, Justice, and Reparation, Fabian Salvioli, who asked for Inputs on the question of financing of reparations owed to victims of serious violations of human rights. And I also remembered seeing articles on the Catholic Church and reparations primarily from the descendants of slaves taken from Africa. Then I knew why the Pope and the Catholic Church are doing this now. It has nothing to do with Indigenous peoples as human beings but rather with how much financing will be asked.
There can be no reparation for the genocide for all of the Indigeous nations that are no longer here. How do you financially pay for one human life? Isn’t that what slavery is all about? Isn’t that what human trafficking all about?
Remember, the Vatican is a City-State. In the current international political understanding they are a State, and the Vatican has a seat at the table of the United Nations as a non-voting member. Did the Vatican bring up this question at the General Assembly regarding financing for the human rights violations of slavery and the treatment of Indigenous peoples?
There is a difference between “reparations” and “restoration.” In the situation of the Sioux nation it is simple. There must be Restoration. How? The way is simple. Enforce the complete 1868 Fort Laramie Treaty, the last legal treaty made between the Sioux Nation and the United States. In particular is Article II which states the territory named in the Treaty is “…set apart for the absolute and undisturbed use and occupation of the Indians…” And who can do this?
The process is already there with the UN Decolonization Committee. Yes, it will take time. Yes, it will take money. But the way has already been proven with other Indigenous nations such as East Timoor.
So, is the Pope saying “Repudiate” the Doctrines of Discovery now, while buying time so he can say “Revoke” the Doctrines of Discovery after the Special Rapporteur on Truth etc. gives his report to the UN General Assembly next Fall, 2023? Right now as far as Reparations are going, the Catholic Church is delegating that to regions or areas on an individual basis. We will see.
Charmaine White Face (76) is Oglala Tituwan Oceti Sakowin and the Spokesperson for the 1894 Sioux Nation Treaty Council. She can be reached at cwhiteface@gmail.com.