Rescind the Papal Bulls

Summit of Indigenous Nations
Resolution # 2006-01
August 1-4, 2006
Mato Paha (Bear Butte)

RESOLUTION OF THE SUMMIT OF INDIGENOUS NATIONS CALLING FOR A RESCISSION OF THE CONCEPTUAL DOCTRINE OF DISCOVERY AND RELATED DOCUMENTS, SPECIFICALLY THE INTER CAETERA BULL (PAPAL BULLS) OF 1493 AND THE 1496 ROYAL CHARTER OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND.

Whereas, this Summit of Indigenous Nations has been convened from August 1-4, 2006 at the sacred Mato Paha (Bear Butte) in the sacred Black Hills within 1868 Ft. Laramie Treaty Territory, and

Whereas, the Pope is the governmental head of the Vatican, which is a member of the world community of nations and has diplomatic ties with foreign nations and in some cases treaties with Indigenous Nations in Canada, and

Whereas, the Queen of England and the Archbishop of Canterbury are the political and religious heads of England, which is a member of the world community of nations and has diplomatic ties with foreign nations and in some cases treaties with Indigenous Nations, and

Whereas, the conceptual doctrine of discovery (“doctrine of discovery”) and its attendant documents, specifically the Inter Caetera Bull (Papal Bulls) and the 1496 Royal Charter, represent principles of religious intolerance in its moral and legal implications, and

Whereas, the doctrine of discovery is the basis for claiming the extinguishment of aboriginal title and subjugation of indigenous peoples of Abya Yala, Turtle Island (North & South America), and

Whereas, the doctrine of discovery as adopted by the United States Supreme Court in Johnson v. McIntosh (1821), contains the legal basis and rationale for claiming extinguishment of aboriginal title to Indian lands in the United States, and

Whereas, under the doctrine of discovery as adopted by the United States and interpreted in Tee-Hit-Ton (1958) aboriginal title lands are outside the protection of the United States and the United States claims to be able to confiscate these lands without the consent of Indigenous Nations, and

Whereas, the doctrine of discovery established a legal paradigm (model) that has caused crusades in the name of Christianity and great harm and injury to Indigenous Peoples throughout the centuries including the members of Indigenous Nations gathered at this Summit, and

Whereas, as a gesture of good faith to the Indigenous Peoples of the world, the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church should revoke the Inter Caetera Bull of 1493 and the Queen of England and the Archbishop of Canterbury should revoke the 1496 Royal Charter and, now

Therefore be it resolved, that the Summit of Indigenous Nations at Mato Paha hereby urges that the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church and the Queen of England and Archbishop of Canterbury for the Church of England disavow and rescind the claimed validity of the doctrine of discovery against all peoples, specifically as it is documented in the Inter Caetera Bull of 1493 and the 1496 Royal Charter, and all other doctrines that have been relied thereon for the dispossession of lands and the subjugation of non-Christian peoples from their initial use to the present, and

Therefore be it resolved, that the Summit of Indigenous Nations at Mato Paha hereby affirms the nullification of the doctrine of discovery as a legal and political fiction in violation of the rights of Indigenous Peoples which has resulted in and continues to oppress Indigenous Peoples in Abya Yala, Turtle Island (the Western Hemisphere).

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