Documenting Domination in International Relations Through the Doctrine of Discovery

This article examines the Doctrine of Discovery as a theological, legal, and ideological structure of domination that continues to shape international relations, settler colonial governance, and the denial of Indigenous sovereignty. Centering the work of the American Indian Law Alliance, Tonya Gonnella Frichner, Steven T. Newcomb, and Haudenosaunee leaders, it traces how the Doctrine of Discovery became embedded in international law, U.S. property law, Federal Indian Law, and Christian imperial thought. The article argues that repudiation statements by churches and the Vatican, while important, remain insufficient without rescinding the Papal Bulls, returning land, paying restitution, and dismantling the broader framework of Christian domination. It situates Haudenosaunee diplomacy—from the Two Row Wampum and Deskaheh’s 1923 appeal to the League of Nations to contemporary advocacy at the United Nations—as a powerful counter-tradition grounded in sovereignty, treaty relations, and the territorial integrity of Mother Earth. The article also considers the limitations of UNDRIP, especially Article 46, while affirming Indigenous efforts to transform rights-based frameworks into responsibility-based relationships with all living beings. Drawing on seven generation thinking, the Great Law of Peace, and ongoing international advocacy, the authors call for a value change capable of superseding the Doctrine of Discovery. The path forward requires rescinding and repudiating the doctrine, honoring Indigenous self-determination, restoring right relationship with Mother Earth, and building educational, legal, and political movements that make another world possible.