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The Vatican has rejected the “Doctrine of Discovery”, which was used to legitimize colonization and the seizure of Indigenous lands.
As Dan Karpenchuk reports, some Native leaders see the move as an important step on the journey toward reconciliation.
Native leaders in Canada have long called for such a move and it may have been their pressure that brought the Vatican to formally repudiate the doctrine.
In a statement, the Vatican said the fifteenth century papal bulls, or decrees, did not adequately reflect the equal dignity and rights of Indigenous peoples and they have never been considered an expression of the Catholic faith.
The statement went on to say the documents had been manipulated for political reasons by colonial powers to justify immoral acts against Indigenous peoples that were carried out, at times, without opposition for ecclesiastical authorities.
The Vatican also acknowledged that it was right to recognize these errors and acknowledge the terrible effects of colonial era assimilation polices on Indigenous peoples and ask for their forgiveness.
The move came just months after the pope’s visit to Canada.
Rose Lemay is the CEO of the Indigenous Reconciliation Group.
“The pope coming to Canada has been a major step, I believe, in that openness of the Vatican in order to hear alternative perspectives. And alternative perspective is what needs to be heard in order to adjust some of the monumental mistakes of the past.”
Some Native leaders say it shows there is hope for the future that the church is stepping up and recognizing their wrongs and correcting them.
Others say the rejection of the doctrine could also change perceptions of Canadian history and how it is taught in schools.
National Native organizations in the U.S. are responding to the Vatican rejecting the “Doctrine of Discovery”.
The National Congress of American Indians released a statement Thursday, commending the Vatican’s move, saying it hopes the announcement is the beginning of a full acknowledgement of the history of oppression and a full accounting of the legacies of colonialism by the church and governments worldwide.
The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition in a statement said while the Vatican’s decision is the right one, the Vatican’s statement lacks accountability.
The coalition is calling on the Catholic Church to be more transparent, including granting access to Indian boarding school documents, returning land to tribes and supporting a full inquiry into boarding school policies.
The coalition is also calling on the church to respects tribal sovereignty and Indigenous ways of life.
The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes say nearly $2 million in federal funding it recently received will expand services at a newly built medical clinic and pharmacy.
Montana Public Radio’s Aaron Bolton reports.
The CSKT clinic in Ronan, which will soon offer full primary care and pharmacy services, replaces an old clinic that offered immunization services for children.
The tribes last week received $1.9 million to pay for an expansion from a federal program that gives companies tax credits in exchange for donations that will be invested in low-income communities.
CSKT member services director Patricia Hibbeler says money will allow the clinic to offer drive-through services for the pharmacy and build a physical therapy and community fitness space, programs previously cut from the plans.
“So we’re excited about this project because it means we get to expand into some of those areas that we had actually taken off of the plan due to cost of construction.”
Hibbeler says the construction on that expansion is expected to begin shortly after the main clinic and pharmacy open and will be complete in early 2024.
That main clinic is expected to open in May.
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