Robert J. Miller: Property & Sovereignty

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Introduction

We begin this episode with a land acknowledgement.

The podcast explores how a centuries-old Christian doctrine encouraged conquest and colonization of non-Christians – and how its legacies still affect various lands and peoples.

Special guest: Robert J. Miller, professor of law at Arizona State University.

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Show Notes

• Property and sovereignty with legal expert Robert J. Miller. 0:03
• Sovereignty, consent, and indigenous rights. 3:32
• Indigenous sovereignty and religious freedom. 9:20
• The Doctrine of Discovery and its impact on indigenous peoples. 21:03

Ten Legal Elements of the Doctrine of Discovery

The episode begins with Miller offering a definition of the Doctrine of Discovery as the foundation of international law and the legal justification “justification for European Americans to acquire legal title and sovereignty and jurisdiction over the Indigenous nations around the entire world.” Using this powerful and brief definition Miller goes on to discuss the Ten Legal Elements of the Doctrine of Discovery based on his careful reading of Johnson v. M’Intosh. As Miller explains how the ten elements function inn international law, Bigtree reminds us that these 10 elements are also connected to a genocidal project of Christianizing the world.

Resources

• Past Episode: S02E02 – The International Dimensions of Johnson v. M’Intosh with Robert J. Mille.
• Marshall Trilogy
  • Johnson & Graham’s Lessee v. McIntosh
  • Cherokee Nation v. Georgia
  • Worcester v. Georgia
• Lone Wolf v. Hitchcock
• McGirt v. Oaklahoma
• Onondaga Nation Land Claim
• Robert J. Miller Books and Articles
• A Promise Kept: The Muscogee (Creek) Nation and McGirt v. Oklahoma (University of Oklahoma Press 2022) (co-author)
• Creating Private Sector Economies in Native America: Sustainable Development through Entrepreneurship (Cambridge University Press 2019; paperback 2020) (co-editor & co-author)
• Reservation “Capitalism:” Economic Development in Indian Country (Praeger Publishers 2012; Univ. Neb. Press paperback 2013)
  Native America Calling Book of the Month - May 2012
• Discovering Indigenous Lands: The Doctrine of Discovery in the English Colonies (Oxford University Press 2010, Oxford paperback 2012) (co-authored)
• Native America, Discovered and Conquered: Thomas Jefferson, Lewis & Clark, and Manifest Destiny (Praeger Publishers 2006, Univ. Neb. Press paperback 2008)
• Brazil, Indigenous Peoples, and the International Law of Discovery 37 Brook. J. Int’l L. 1 (2011) (co- author Micheline D’Angelis)
• “The Ten Legal Dimensions of the Doctrine of Discovery: The International Law of Colonialism,” Doctrine of Discovery Project (27 July 2018), https://doctrineofdiscovery.org/the-doctrine-of-discovery-the-international-law-of-colonialism/.
• Felix S. Cohen, “Original Indian Title” (1947). Minnesota Law Review. 1296.https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/mlr/1296

Doctrine of Discovery Project Resources

• Indigenous Values Initiative, “What is the Doctrine of Discovery?,” Doctrine of Discovery Project (30 July 2018), https://doctrineofdiscovery.org/what-is-the-doctrine-of-discovery/
• Canopy Forum 200 Years of Johnson v. M’Intosh: Law, Religion, and Native American Lands A Canopy Forum Thematic Series March – April 2023 https://canopyforum.org/200-years-of-johnson-v-mintosh-law-religion-and-native-american-lands/
• Telma Alencar, “Uncovering the Invisible: The Doctrine of Discovery, its Impact on the Brazilian Indigenous Peoples, on the environment and how it continues to shape the Brazilian landscape today: English,” Doctrine of Discovery Project (3 April 2023), https://doctrineofdiscovery.org/blog/uncovering-invisible-en/
• Indigenous Values Initiative, “Ten Religious Themes of the Doctrine of Christian Discovery (DoCD) that Contrast with Indigenous Values,” Doctrine of Discovery Project (26 September 2022), https://doctrineofdiscovery.org/10-religous-dimensions/
• Skä-noñh Great Law of Peace Center https://www.skanonhcenter.org/

Credits

• Hosts: Mitch and Tanner Randall, Good Faith Media.
• Executive producers: Mitch Randall, Good Faith Media; Philip P. Arnold and Sandy Bigtree, Indigenous Values Initiative; and Adam DJ Brett, Syracuse University and American Indian Law Alliance.
• Producer: Cliff Vaughn.
• Editor: David Pang.
• Music: Pond5.
• Production Assistance: American Indian Law Alliance.
• Sponsors: The Henry Luce Foundation; Syracuse University; Indigenous Values Initiative; American Indian Law Alliance; American Indian Community House; Good Faith Media; Tonatierra; and Toward Our Common Public Life. We appreciate your support.

Citation

Mitch and Tanner Randall, “Robert J. Miller: Property & Sovereignty,” Doctrine of Christian Discovery (Podcast), February 20, 2024. https://podcast.doctrineofdiscovery.org/special/s03/.