Mapping the Doctrine of Discovery
The Mapping the Doctrine of Discovery podcast, hosted by Philip P. Arnold and Sandy Bigtree (Mohawk Nation), critically examines the historical and ongoing impacts of the Doctrine of Christian Discovery. Rooted in 15th-century papal edicts, this doctrine provided theological and legal justification for European colonialism, the seizure of Indigenous lands, and the subjugation of non-Christian peoples. The podcast explores how these principles became codified in U.S. law, from Johnson v. M’Intosh (1823) to Sherrill v. Oneida (2005), and continue to underpin contemporary legal, religious, and corporate frameworks. Featuring discussions with scholars, legal experts, and Indigenous leaders, the series sheds light on how this doctrine fuels environmental destruction, economic exploitation, and cultural genocide while also highlighting Indigenous resistance and calls for justice, land restoration, and the repudiation of these colonial structures.
This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en.
Learn more: podcast.doctrineofdiscovery.org.
Mapping the Doctrine of Discovery
Latest Episodes
S06E09: The Legacy of Charles H. Long Part 2: How & Why White Supremacy Persists
Ever wonder how a 15th‑century church decree still shapes who owns land in the United States today? We follow the Doctrine of Discovery from papal bulls and royal charters to Supreme Court opinions, then ground that history in living Haudenosau...
Remembering The Teacher: Charles H. Long (Part 1)
The story begins with a mentor called simply “the teacher.” From a first lecture on sky gods to late-night phone calls and a leather coat the color of memory, we trace how Charles H. Long shaped minds through myth, method, and a rare musicality...
Inside The Seven Mountains Mandate And The Rise Of Turning Point USA
Power rarely announces itself as a plan. Here, it does. We dive into the Seven Mountains mandate with Matthew Boedy, tracing how Turning Point USA evolved from a campus brand into a nationwide movement designed to seize cultural institutions—ed...
S06E06: Sacred Waters: Trauma of the Erie Canal
A celebrated waterway can also be a wound. We open the Erie Canal’s familiar legend and find the story most of us never learned: how a triumph of engineering cut a dam through Haudenosaunee homelands, accelerated dispossession, and rewrote law,...
S06E05: The Sloan Lecture - The Oneidas, the Best Land, and the Erie Canal - By Susan Brewer
We trace the Erie Canal’s celebrated corridor through one farm in Oneida, New York, revealing how innovation rode alongside broken treaties, pressured sales and the erasure of Oneida lives. Through the intertwined stories of Polly Denny and Ang...
