Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery

How is it possible that any Pope, King or Queen, or explorers from Europe could “discover” lands in the New World if Indigenous Peoples were already occupying such lands, according to our own laws and legal orders?

The Doctrine of Discovery emanates from a series of Papal Bulls (formal statements from the Pope) and extensions, originating in the 1400s. Discovery was used as legal and moral justification for colonial dispossession of sovereign Indigenous Nations, including First Nations in what is now Canada. During the European “Age of Discovery”, Christian explorers “claimed” lands for their monarchs who felt they could exploit the land, regardless of the original inhabitants.

This was invalidly based on the presumed racial superiority of European Christian peoples and was used to dehumanize, exploit and subjugate Indigenous Peoples and dispossess us of our most basic rights. This was the very foundation of genocide.

Such ideology lead to practices that continue through modern-day laws and policies. The Assembly of First Nations remains deeply concerned about the contemporary ramifications of the doctrine of discovery and other discriminatory practices. Now is the time for Canada to finally and formally end any reliance on the doctrine of discovery.