Doctrine of Discovery: Honouring our Connections to the Land

The TRC has called "all faith groups... to repudiate concepts used to justify European sovereignty over Indigenous lands and peoples, such as the Doctrine of Discovery and terra nullius" (Call to Action #49). What does this mean? What does it require?

For the past four years, Alison Casella Brookins, Michelle Milne and Ted Swartz have travelled across North America, raising awareness about the Doctrine of Discovery—the legal fiction used to dispossess Indigenous peoples of their lands—through their drama, “We Own This Now.” We'll engage them in a rich discussion to learn more about the Doctrine of Discovery, how it impacts us today, and how we might join others in the struggle to dismantle it.