Vatican's disavowal of Doctrine of Discovery a good step but 'fundamental change' still needed: Manitoba elder

The Vatican's repudiation of what's known as the Doctrine of Discovery is welcome, but there is still a long way to go toward reconciliation with Indigenous people, says a Manitoba residential school survivor.

"On the surface it sounds good, it looks good but there has to be a fundamental change in attitudes, behaviour, laws and policies from that statement," Ernie Daniels, a former chief of Long Plain First Nation, told host Marcy Markusa in a Thursday interview with CBC Manitoba's Information Radio.

On Thursday, the Vatican formally repudiated the doctrine a legal and religious concept that has been used for centuries to justify colonial conquests and form the basis of some property law today.

But it's only a step toward the significant change that's needed, Daniels said.

"Worldwide, bureaucracy has to change, politics have to change, the churches have to change, the corporate world has to change towards Indigenous people, because there's still a mentality out there they want to assimilate, decimate, terminate, eradicate Indigenous people."

Those attitudes are more subtle than they used to be, but they remain, he said.

In its statement, the Vatican said the 15th-century papal bulls, or decrees, that form the Doctrine of Discovery did not reflect the equal dignity and rights of Indigenous people and were manipulated for political purposes by colonial powers "to justify immoral acts against Indigenous peoples."

They have never been considered expressions of the Catholic faith, the Vatican said.

Indigenous people have been demanding for decades that the Vatican formally rescind the decrees, which provided the Portuguese and Spanish kingdoms the religious backing to expand their territories in Africa and the Americas for the sake of spreading Christianity.

The impacts of that doctrine are still being felt today, said Daniels, including the effects of the residential school system. The last of the residential schools in Canada closed in 1997, but the abuse students endured within them has had lasting physical and mental effects for generations.

During his visit to Canada last year, Pope Francis apologized to Indigenous Peoples for the conduct of some members of the Roman Catholic Church in Canada's residential school system, which forcibly removed Indigenous children from their homes and subjected many to abuse.

He was also met with demands for a formal repudiation of the papal bulls something the Truth and Reconciliation Commission also called for in 2015.

Daniels, who personally met the pontiff during his tour of Canada, would have liked to see the Pope take a stand against the bulls then. Nonetheless, Thursday's gesture can begin the process for more healing, he said.

"This is kind of recognition, acknowledgement, and some sort of apology towards us," he said. "A lot of [residential school] survivors have passed on. Not much of us left.

"For those [that are left], I'm happy for them. Thank you to the Pope."

Manitoba elder says fundamental change still needed after disavowal of Doctrine of Discovery

2 years ago

Duration 2:36

On Thursday, the Vatican formally repudiated the doctrine a legal and religious concept that has been used for centuries to justify colonial conquests and form the basis of some property law today.

Niigaan Sinclair, who is Anishinaabe and a professor of Native studies at the University of Manitoba, also says the decision is welcome, though a long time coming.

"It's taken over 500 years for the Catholic Church to see us as human beings, so it's clear the church is very resistant and very slow," Sinclair said.

"This Pope, while being quite progressive, is moving the church in ways that many are resistant to within its own walls."

That's why Sinclair doesn't expect the fundamental changes mentioned by Daniels to take place anytime soon.

Four countries in the world particularly the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Australia are based on the premise of the Doctrine of Discovery, and so officially rejecting it could lead to a "constitutional crisis," he said.

"The constitutions of those countries are built on the idea that Indigenous peoples are not human and you can simply take the lands with absolutely no regard for their rights or their land claims."

'Beginning to fray'

Those four countries also voted against accepting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007.

The declaration, which affirms the rights of Indigenous people to self-determination and also spells out the need for informed consent from Indigenous people on anything that infringes on their lands or rights, was finally fully endorsed by Canada in 2016. A bill aimed at harmonizing Canada's laws with the declaration was passed in 2021.

But so far Canada has not repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery. Sinclair doesn't expect that to happen in the near future "because of the legal problems it would cause."

At some point, though, it is inevitable, he said.

"The fact is, you have to be able to rebuild your relationships with Indigenous nations, and that means returning stolen land, it means treating Indigenous nations on par with federal governments, provincial government and so on," he said.

"It really is a ticking clock in that Indigenous rights are now being seen across the world as existing. So state governments that have been built on colonialism or racism in the past simply just cannot hold.

"They're beginning to fray at the edges."

Next steps unclear: Marc Miller

Cree lawyer and former Assembly of First Nations regional chief Kenneth Young, a residential school survivor from Opaskwayak Cree Nation, says the Vatican's repudiation of the doctrine is only the first step.

"I'm happy that they did it, but I'll be happier if the courts and the governments agree to say that the doctrine is gone," he told CBC. "It should not be the basis on how we relate to one another on land."

He said federal and provincial governments need to meet with First Nations to discuss Section 35 of the Constitution Acts, which recognized and affirmed treaty rights for Indigenous peoples in 1982.

"There has to be a rights framework negotiated and it has to be approved by the First Nations, the provinces and Canada. The issue of land has to be resolved in that document," he said.

Federal Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Marc Miller told CBC by phone that he doesn't have all the answers about what the government will do now.

"This is part of a greater discussion on the inherent right of Indigenous communities to self-determination as a matter of respect, recognizing that these policies did have the effects that they did," he said.

Repudiating the doctrine is among the Truth and Reconciliation's 94 Calls to Action.

The government's next steps are something residential school survivors will be watching closely, according to survivor Jennifer Wood, who works with the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.

She said it was important for the Vatican to denounce the doctrine before the government, because many Indigenous people are still recovering or have been destroyed by the actions of the church.

Indigenous people will be looking towards their law scholars and knowledge keepers for guidance, she said. But the next step should be government action.

"We're in an era of change, and I believe the time is right, especially in light of reconciliation," she told CBC.

"We are entering into new ways of thinking, new forms of negotiating, and I believe that the governments will start to look at First Nations under a different lens."

Support is available for anyone affected by their experience at residential schools or by the latest reports.

A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for survivors and those affected. People can access emotional and crisis referral services by calling the 24-hour national crisis line: 1-866-925-4419.

Mental health counselling and crisis support is also available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the Hope for Wellness hotline at 1-855-242-3310 or by online chat atwww.hopeforwellness.ca.