Earlier this year, I made a request, via my website, that Pope Francis rescind the Doctrine of Discovery, a Papal Bull from 1493 that was used to justify colonization by European countries, first as a religious concept, and later as a legal precedent. I was very happy to hear that on March 30th, the Vatican announced “The Catholic Church therefore repudiates those concepts that fail to recognize the inherent human rights of Indigenous peoples, including what has become known as the legal and political ‘doctrine of discovery.’”
So now that the originators of the Doctrine of Discovery have admitted that it was wrong, will the New York State and the United States, which have both used it to deny Indigenous land claims, also admit that they were operating on a false premise?
Rebuilding New York means examining our foundation. It isn’t wise to rebuild on a cracked and poorly laid foundation, one that is unjust; stolen. So how do we bring this foundation to conscious awareness? Art is one way. Last month I met an artist named Ben Altman. He’s doing a photo project called “I OWN THIS STOLEN LAND”. He’s also been hosting Gayogohó:nǫˀ culture bearer Stephen Henhawk in maple sugaring. Stephen shared Gayogohó:nǫˀ culture, during workshops, and brought the syrup back to the 6 Nations Reserve, where he grew up, to share with Gayogohó:nǫˀ who can not be here. I’m looking forward to attending a Gayogohó:nǫˀ poetry event that will take place {at the stolen land Ben owns} on Earth Day, with Gayogohó:nǫˀ poets from the diaspora traveling back to the homeland to share their work.
It is my desire to find more ways to make amends for the damage and destruction that has taken place in the name of “New York”. I would like to invite other New Yorkers to pull back the veil of how we’ve been taught to see the world. We’ve learned to see land as real estate, to be bought and sold. We’ve been taught to see other animals and plants this way too. What if we acknowledged that the earth was here long before us, and will be here long after we are gone? The earth sustains our lives and all lives. Allowing the highest bidder to control and keep others from accessing the land and water is part of the broken foundation we need to let go of, in order to move forward.
