A new documentary focused on a centuries-old religious doctrine that led to the conquest of Indigenous peoples and lands recently screened in Santa Fe.
The Doctrine was shown for the first time anywhere in late April at Santa Fe’s Center for Contemporary Arts.
It shines the light on mid-15th Century decrees from the Vatican, called papal bulls, that authorized colonial powers to seize lands and dominate non-Christians living in those locations.
It emboldened early explorers to take control of lands and people when their ships arrived on shores.
One of the people featured in the film, Mitch Walking Elk, a member of the Southern Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, spoke after the screening about bringing the truth to light.
"For centuries, it's been a big secret and people need to know about it and, we were taught in school that the pilgrims came over here because they were being religiously persecuted in their country, and they wanted to get away from that, and they came over here, et cetera, et cetera. And really it was this, what we've seen today—the doctrine of discovery”
The discovery doctrine is an interpretation of the papal bulls that, in one version, became enshrined in U.S. law in 1823.
That’s when Supreme Court justice John Marshall ruled on a case that elucidated the doctrine for the United States.
In the film, attorney and University of Oklahoma Indigenous Peoples Law scholar Lindsay Robertson said the Marshall decision set the rule for dispossessing Indigenous people and opening lands for African American slavery.
Another scholar featured in the film, Arizona State University law professor Robert Miller, explained, in an excerpt from the film trailer, how the doctrine took hold in the U.S. and beyond.
"Colonial law—that's truly what the doctrine of discovery is. The explorers of all these countries, when they went to new lands just like Columbus, they planted the flag," Miller said.
"They planted the cross claiming God-given rights and powers over the people that they thought were inferior. The right to claim lands, to claim property. It's not history. It's not completely gone well. This 500-year old doctrine of discovery became part of international law. The United States and other countries have adopted it."
The award-winning filmmaker who created the documentary on the doctrine, Gwendolen Cates, has made several films about indigenous history and culture.
Her interest was sparked from a very young age.
"It really goes back to my father who was a linguist and he lived on the Navajo Nation for the two years before I was born and learned the language, Diné Bizaad, fluently. When I was very small, I remember he just. He would talk Diné Bizaad and talk about his friends who were very traditional. And he brought me out there when I was a kid," Cates said.
That influence led eventually to Cates filming a group of 30 plus Indigenous people from around the world who traveled to Rome and met with Vatican officials about the papal bulls.
Cates and the people featured in the new film said that its aim was to raise awareness about the little-known Doctrine, but also to convince the Vatican to recognize the history, and accelerate efforts to dismantle the doctrine.
One of those travelers to Rome, Nina Berglund, from the Twin Cities, is Northern Cheyenne and Oglala Lakota.
Berglund spoke at the Santa Fe screening and, in an interview afterward, said the trip to the Vatican, the film, and her activism is about reclaiming culture for future generations.
”As it comes to my nieces and nephews—the next generation of our family—is we are changing that story," Berglund said.
"We're allowing them to speak their language. We are allowing them and saying that we learned this for you. We are creating this for you. That this, this was made for you. Our ceremonies were made for you. Our prayers were made for you, our language, our ways of being, that they were created exactly for you.”
In 2023, Vatican officials repudiated the doctrine of discovery.
Cates said that she hopes by showing the film widely, more action will be taken to right the wrongs that continue to make life difficult for Indigenous communities worldwide.
Nina Berglund said she hopes the film will be the start of a dialogue among all people, not just those that live in tribal communities.
"I hope the conversations continue in that not only the Indigenous people of the world, but non-Indigenous folks really take this seriously and understand that this is not just on the backs and the roles and responsibilities of Indigenous people, that this really takes confronting colonialism in each and every one of our lives," Berglund said.
Because whether you're benefiting from it or being oppressed from it, it's still affecting you. You cannot get away from it. “
Learn more about the film, The Doctrine at gwendolencates.com
