Steven Newcomb (Lenape/Shawnee) is a legal scholar who is the leading authority of the Doctrine of Christian Discovery. Steven Newcomb credits his friend Birgil Kills Straight (Oglala Lakota, 1940-2019) as one of his most influential teachers. Mr. Newcomb is the author of the book 'Pagans In The Promise Land' and he is the co-producer of the documentary film, 'The Doctrine of Discovery, Unmasking the Domination Code.' Steven's scholarship has been highly influential for me personally as well. I highly recommend watching some of his videos on YouTube or reading his book or any one of his published essays. Some of my favorite esays are below.
What 15th Century Papal Bulls Can Teach Us About Indigenous Identity
Decolonial Theology and Changing the Global Church
Steven has two websites with an incredible amount of resources. I highly recommend reading through his essays, videos and blogs. His scholarship is not understood by the masses which is why it's so important to get educated about what the current law of the land says and how it effects Indigenous Peoples today.
Look up Original Free Nations and Indigenous Law Institute for cutting edge research for Indigenous Liberation.
Here are a few other essays that I found very informative.
Was the United States Founded as a Democracy?
'Conquest' is Another Word for Domination
Oak Flat and Pope Alexander VI's Papal Decree of Domination in U.S. Law
Scholar Calls on Pope to Pull the Bull from Under U,S, Federal Indian Law
Americans are simply not educated about these subjects and that is not a coincidence. The U.S. Gov't cannot prove in a court of law that it legally acquired all the land it currently occupies. Read that last sentence again. You may be surprised to learn that today, the United States federal gov't is still litigating land claims. They're NOT Indigenous Land Claims it's land being claimed by the US Federal Gov't. The US Federal Gov't does not have a receipt from a bill of sale nor do they have a Treaty that explicitly transfers the jurisprudence from Sovereign Indigenous Nations to the United States.
It's important that the American People ask themselves what do you call someone who takes something that they did not purchase nor did they get consent from the original owner? If anyone can think of any other word besides THIEF, please send me a message because I can't think of another word.
So why is "discovery" so important to the US Federal Gov't? Because without the doctrine of discovery it would simply be called theft. But from a legal perspective it's not theft because there's this legal doctrine that says white European Christian monarchs supposedly had permission from God to come to this hemisphere by boat and impose their domination on everyone and everything.
Is it possible or is it impossible to "discover" land that is already inhabited by tens of millions of other Peoples? It is impossible. The only way you can claim terra nullius is by dehumanizing. You have to first claim that tens of millions of other humans are not humans and then, once their humanity has been declared null and void THEN you can legally steal someone else's property. And that's exactly what America continues to do. No stranger can come to your private house of residence and hold a gun to your head and legally make you forfeit your property, right? If someone was to do that without consent, they would be liable to be met with the Castle Doctrine. But, this twisted view of federal (anti) indian law is legal statute the United States gov't is using to claim it's ownership over land that is not, and has never been theirs.
The Doctrine of Discovery is alive and well. Ruth Bader Ginsburg reinforced the Doctrine of Discovery in the first footnote of her majority opinion in City of Sherrill v. Onieda Nation of New York (2005). Read it for yourself.
Left wing, right wing, same bird.
This is the Original Free Nations Anthem by Steven Newcomb.
What 15th Century Papal Bulls Can Teach Us About Indigenous Identity
Decolonial Theology and Changing the Global Church
Steven has two websites with an incredible amount of resources. I highly recommend reading through his essays, videos and blogs. His scholarship is not understood by the masses which is why it's so important to get educated about what the current law of the land says and how it effects Indigenous Peoples today.
Look up Original Free Nations and Indigenous Law Institute for cutting edge research for Indigenous Liberation.
Here are a few other essays that I found very informative.
Was the United States Founded as a Democracy?
'Conquest' is Another Word for Domination
Oak Flat and Pope Alexander VI's Papal Decree of Domination in U.S. Law
Scholar Calls on Pope to Pull the Bull from Under U,S, Federal Indian Law
Americans are simply not educated about these subjects and that is not a coincidence. The U.S. Gov't cannot prove in a court of law that it legally acquired all the land it currently occupies. Read that last sentence again. You may be surprised to learn that today, the United States federal gov't is still litigating land claims. They're NOT Indigenous Land Claims it's land being claimed by the US Federal Gov't. The US Federal Gov't does not have a receipt from a bill of sale nor do they have a Treaty that explicitly transfers the jurisprudence from Sovereign Indigenous Nations to the United States.
It's important that the American People ask themselves what do you call someone who takes something that they did not purchase nor did they get consent from the original owner? If anyone can think of any other word besides THIEF, please send me a message because I can't think of another word.
So why is "discovery" so important to the US Federal Gov't? Because without the doctrine of discovery it would simply be called theft. But from a legal perspective it's not theft because there's this legal doctrine that says white European Christian monarchs supposedly had permission from God to come to this hemisphere by boat and impose their domination on everyone and everything.
Is it possible or is it impossible to "discover" land that is already inhabited by tens of millions of other Peoples? It is impossible. The only way you can claim terra nullius is by dehumanizing. You have to first claim that tens of millions of other humans are not humans and then, once their humanity has been declared null and void THEN you can legally steal someone else's property. And that's exactly what America continues to do. No stranger can come to your private house of residence and hold a gun to your head and legally make you forfeit your property, right? If someone was to do that without consent, they would be liable to be met with the Castle Doctrine. But, this twisted view of federal (anti) indian law is legal statute the United States gov't is using to claim it's ownership over land that is not, and has never been theirs.
The Doctrine of Discovery is alive and well. Ruth Bader Ginsburg reinforced the Doctrine of Discovery in the first footnote of her majority opinion in City of Sherrill v. Onieda Nation of New York (2005). Read it for yourself.
Left wing, right wing, same bird.
This is the Original Free Nations Anthem by Steven Newcomb.
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