Research Guides: Doctrine of Discovery: Books and Articles

Books, Films, and eBooks on the Doctrine of Discovery

The Land Is Not Empty by Sarah Augustine
Call Number: Click on the title link to access this ebook.
ISBN: 9781513808314
Publication Date: 2021-06-22
"In The Land Is Not Empty, author Sarah Augustine unpacks the harm of the Doctrine of Discovery—a set of laws rooted in the fifteenth century that gave Christian governments the moral and legal right to seize lands they “discovered” despite those lands already being populated by indigenous peoples. Legitimized by the church and justified by a misreading of Scripture, the Doctrine of Discovery says a land can be considered “empty” and therefore free for the taking if inhabited by “heathens, pagans, and infidels.”
Pagans in the Promised Land by Steven T. Newcomb
Call Number: Click on the title link to access this ebook..
ISBN: 9781555916428
Publication Date: 2008-01-01
"Pagans in the Promised Land provides a unique, well-researched challenge to U.S. federal Indian law and policy. It attacks the presumption that American Indian nations are legitimately subject to the plenary power of the United States."
Soul of the Indian by Charles Eastman
Call Number: Please click on title to open the ebook
"In The Soul of the Indian, Eastman brings to life the rich spirituality and morality of the Native Americans as they existed before contact with missionaries and other whites. This is a rare firsthand expression of native religion, without the filters imposed by translators or anthropologists. Rather than a scientific treatise, Eastman has written a book, 'as true as I can make it to my childhood teaching and ancestral ideals, but from the human, not the ethnological standpoint.'"
Unsettling Truths by Mark Charles; Soong-Chan Rah
ISBN: 9780830845255
Publication Date: 2019-11-05
"You cannot discover lands already inhabited. In this prophetic blend of history, theology, and cultural commentary, Mark Charles and Soong-Chan Rah reveal the damaging effects of the "Doctrine of Discovery," which institutionalized American triumphalism and white supremacy. This book calls our nation and churches to a truth-telling that will expose past injustices and open the door to conciliation and true community".