The Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery Podcast

Sophie Pierre served her community of ‘Aqam (the St. Mary’s Indian Band) of the Ktunaxa Nation for 30 years, 26 as elected chief, and for 25 years was the administrator of the Ktunaxa/Kinbasket Tribal Council, now the Ktunaxa Nation Council. Sophie was recognized with the Order of Canada in 2016; the Order of British Columbia in 2002 and the National Aboriginal Achievement Award in the business category in 2003. Sophie’s commitment to good governance, accountability and leadership has been recognized by three honorary degrees from Simon Fraser University, University of British Columbia and University of Canada West. Sophie, a mother of three and grandmother of five, now spends much of her time as an elder advisor to her community of ‘Aqam and to the Ktunaxa Nation. As a fluent speaker of the Ktunaxa language her commitment to the responsibility of passing on traditional knowledge remains her lifetime goal. Show Notes St. Eugene Golf Resort & Casino - Ktunaxa owned resort Watch the Speaker Series on YouTube Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery Website: dismantlediscovery.org

In the Indigenous Speaker Series being released on the Coalition website we asked Indigenous thought-leaders to reflect with us about what might comprise ecologically successful systems. Sarah and Sheri discuss some clips from Sarah’s interview with Tela Troge of the Shinnecock Nation. Tela Loretta Troge, Esq. is a member of the Shinnecock Indian Nation and a member of the Hassanamisco Nipmuc Tribe. Tela is the director of the Shinnecock Kelp Farmers and the Niamuck Land Trust. She recently organized the Warriors of the Sunrise Sovereignty Camp 2020 in an attempt to raise awareness about the plight of the Shinnecock people. Tela graduated from Michigan State University College of Law with a Juris Doctor and certification in Indigenous Law and Policy from the Indigenous Law Program. She has been fighting for tribal sovereignty for the past 11 years as the attorney with the Law Offices of Tela L. Troge, PLLC. Watch video recordings of this and other episodes from Season 4 of the Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery Podcast on our YouTube Channel. Show notes: Access the Indigenous Speaker Series on the DDoD website Watch Tela’s Indigenous Speaker Series video/interview Sarah’s Substack article about the Shinnecock Nation: Support the Shinnecock Right to Self-Determination Sign up for a New Coalition Volunteer Orientation and/or a Coffee Hour Sign up to receive our Newsletter Prayers for Shinnecock and other Coalition campaigns Sarah and Sheri’s book: So That We and Our Children May Live: Following Jesus in Confronting the Climate Crisis Sarah and Sheri’s Substack: So That We and Our Children May Live You can follow the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery on Instagram (@coalitiontodismantle) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/dismantlediscovery)

As groups that came out of Mennonite organizing, Mennonite Action and the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery share similar values. Like our shared commitment towards decolonization. Learn about the origins of Mennonite Action and how the story of Anabaptism has inspired, and sometimes hindered, public organizing in this interview with Jonathan Smucker and Tim Nafziger. Jonathan Smucker has worked for over twenty-five years as a political organizer, campaigner, and strategist. He is the co-founder of Popular Comms Institute, PA Stands Up, Lancaster Stands Up, Common Defense, Beyond the Choir, and Mennonite Action. He is a PhD candidate in sociology at University of California, Berkeley and author of Hegemony How-To: A Roadmap for Radicals. Tim Nafziger lives in the Ventura River watershed on the traditional lands of the Chumash people in southern California. He has been organizing for peace and justice in Mennonite communities for 27 years, including with the Coalition and Mennonite Action. He enjoys writing, board games and photography and works professionally as a digital marketing consultant. Watch video recordings of this and other episodes from Season 4 of the Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery Podcast on our YouTube Channel Show Notes: “The Courage to Enter the Song,” written by Sarah Augustine, Tim Nafziger and Jonathan Smucker. “Beyond Blaurock: The Other Origin Story of Anabaptism,” by Tim Nafziger. A good article on Mennonite Action and its founding: “I Was Arrested While Singing Hymns for Ceasefire in Gaze.” “The Movement Makes Us Human, An Interview with Dr. Vincent Harding on Mennonites, Vietnam, and MLK,” by Joanna Shenk. Mennonite Action’s website “Front Light” - A Mennonite Action Podcast Sarah’s and my book: So That We and Our Children May Live: Following Jesus in Confronting the Climate Crisis Sarah’s and my Substack: So That We and Our Children May Live You can follow the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery on Instagram (@coalitiontodismantle) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/dismantlediscovery)

In this episode, Sarah and Sheri interview Allen Buck about his work within the United Methodist Church. Allen discusses the necessity of truth telling in building trust and relationships, and its importance in Repair work within the Church. Dr. William Allen Buck is a Cherokee (CNO) Native American Ordained Elder, currently serving at Great Spirit, the only United Methodist Native American Church in the Oregon Idaho Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church. He is also the Director of the Circle of Indigenous Ministries for the United Methodist Church. Social justice, especially advocating for the rights and protection of Indigenous peoples’ spaces, traditions, cultures, and wisdom, is at the heart of his work. He is also passionate about addressing issues surrounding the environment, civil rights, education, intergenerational trauma, and poverty. His vision is to help create a beloved community where all people are embraced and uplifted. Show notes: Circle of Indigenous Ministries for the United Methodist Church: https://greaternw.org/circle/ About Father Wilbur (this is the colonized version of the story) https://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/wilbur_james_h_1811_1887_/ Sarah’s and my book: So That We and Our Children May Live: Following Jesus in Confronting the Climate Crisis Sarah’s and my Substack: So That We and Our Children May Live You can follow the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery on Instagram (@coalitiontodismantle) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/dismantlediscovery)

Sarah has been working with Leora Tadgerson for months on a national Episcopal committee working to tell the truth and repair the harms of church-led boarding schools. In this episode, we talk with Leora about her work as chair of the MW062 Executive Council Committee for Indigenous Boarding Schools and Advocacy. Leora is a proud dual citizen of Gnoozhikaaning, Bay Mills and Wiikwemkong First Nations. She serves as Director of Reparations and Justice with the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Michigan. Leora’s role focuses on truth-telling, racial equity through restorative justice, reconciliation research from the Native American boarding school era, and place-based community work and bridge building as a tribal liaison. Her research involves the Michigan-based Indian boarding school experience and the Episcopal-run schools. Through Leora’s research, she hopes to aid in the healing of Native hearts. In her spare time, she can be found with her partner, Tye and four boys, Quinn, Shiloh, Evan and Jack. Sarah’s and my book: So That We and Our Children May Live: Following Jesus in Confronting the Climate Crisis Sarah’s and my Substack: So That We and Our Children May Live You can follow the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery on Instagram (@coalitiontodismantle) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/dismantlediscovery)

Arleth Martinez and Manny Villanueva are student leaders at Goshen College who have been instrumental in organizing the college and surrounding community to support Apache Stronghold in their attempt to protect their sacred lands at Oak Flat. In this episode, Arleth and Manny talk about how they got involved with the work to dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery, how that connects with their faith, and why they are passionate about organizing. Sarah and Sheri wrote a book together! Find out more about So We and Our Children May Live: Following Jesus in Confronting the Climate Crisis here. We are also publishing a Substack with the same title based on the theme found in our book — ecological justice, decolonization, faith, and where we find hope for our future. We’re excited about this Substack because it’s a more personal, unfiltered space in which we can share our thoughts and writings. Please contact Sheri at sheri@dismantlediscovery.org if you can’t afford the price and would like a complimentary subscription. You can follow the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery on Instagram (@coalitiontodismantle) and Facebook.

On our podcast today are Doe Hoyer and John Stoesz, two amazing organizers based in Minnesota who work with the Coalition. We can all learn so much from them about making justice happen in the real world, going beyond statements to actions – including returning land to Indigenous people, forming “repair communities” made up of (mostly) white settlers and participating in legislative campaigns. Through their attitudes and actions, they demonstrate what it means to show up in a good way in solidarity with Indigenous People. What Does Justice Look Like: The Struggle for Liberation in Dakota Homeland by Waziyatawin Makoce Ikikcupi (Land Recovery) Please consider signing the "I Support the Sacred" petition to show your support for Apache Stronghold's legal case to protect Oak Flat. Resolution Copper, a subsidiary of British and Australian mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP, proposes to completely destroy this sacred site and contaminate the surrounding land, water and air. Preserving the religious liberty of Apache peoples is essential to preserving our own. We must all join together to protect sacred land from the forces of destruction. Sarah and Sheri wrote a book together! Find out more about _So We and Our Children May Live: Following Jesus in Confronting the Climate Crisis _here. We are also publishing a Substack with the same title based on the theme found in our book — ecological justice, decolonization, faith, and where we find hope for our future. We’re excited about this Substack because it’s a more personal, unfiltered space in which we can share our thoughts and writings. Please contact Sheri at sheri@dismantlediscovery.org if you can’t afford the price and would like a complimentary subscription. You can follow the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery on Instagram (@coalitiontodismantle) and Facebook.

In this recurring episode, Sarah answers questions from listeners. This time, she is joined by Native friends Mark Charles and Phil Fox. Questions include: How can you practice Christianity and your own Indigenous spirituality at the same time? Can you be true to yourself and your Indigenous identity and be a Christian at the same time? The Bible is pretty clear that men shouldn’t have long hair. What do you think about having long hair? (This was actually a topic at the church in which Sarah grew up.) As a member of a church that is trying to be more than superficial about acknowledging that we occupy land that was illegitimately taken from natives, how can we respond in an honest way? We want your questions, especially those you might feel too embarrassed to ask “out loud.” Please submit any questions to Sheri at sheri@dismantlediscovery.org. You can even do so anonymously, if you wish. Please consider signing the "I Support the Sacred" petition to show your support for Apache Stronghold's legal case to protect Oak Flat. Resolution Copper, a subsidiary of British and Australian mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP, proposes to completely destroy this sacred site and contaminate the surrounding land, water and air. Preserving the religious liberty of Apache peoples is essential to preserving our own. We must all join together to protect sacred land from the forces of destruction. Sarah and Sheri wrote a book together! Find out more about So We and Our Children May Live: Following Jesus in Confronting the Climate Crisis here. We are also publishing a Substack with the same title based on the theme found in our book — ecological justice, decolonization, faith, and where we find hope for our future. We’re excited about this Substack because it’s a more personal, unfiltered space in which we can share our thoughts and writings. Please contact Sheri at sheri@dismantlediscovery.org if you can’t afford the price and would like a complimentary subscription. You can follow the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery on Instagram (@coalitiontodismantle) and Facebook.

In this episode, we talk to Basil Brave Heart and Hilary Giovale. This was an amazing conversation about forgiveness – forgiving our oppressors, how true healing and repair happen given the reality of historical harms, how white settlers need to forgive themselves as part of the work of reparation. Basil also shares deeply from his tradition in ways that Sarah and Sheri found very moving. Basil Brave Heart is an Oglala Lakota Elder who lives in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. He is a Catholic boarding school survivor, retired school administrator, addiction counselor, and Korean War combat veteran who served as a paratrooper in the 1950s. As a young child in the 1930s, Basil’s Grandma Lucy told him about the 1890 Wounded Knee massacre. She counseled him to forgive the soldiers who perpetrated the massacre. A dream of his Grandma later guided Basil to change the name of a peak in the Black Hills. In 2016, it was renamed “Black Elk Peak” at the federal level. Basil studies how quantum physics corroborates the wisdom woven throughout the Lakota language and other Indigenous languages. Over the last decade, he has been facilitating truth, healing, and forgiveness across historical divides. Hilary Giovale is a mother, writer, and community organizer who lives in Flagstaff, Arizona. A ninth-generation American settler, she is descended from Celtic, Germanic, Nordic, and Indigenous peoples of Ancient Europe. An active reparationist, her work is guided by intuition, love, and relationships. Hilary seeks to follow Indigenous and Black leadership in support of human rights, environmental justice, and equitable futures. She is the author of Becoming a Good Relative: Calling White Settlers Toward Truth, Healing, and Repair (Green Writers Press, April 2024). Since 2019, Basil and Hilary have been collaborating on healing work, focused on repairing the harm that has been wrought by the Doctrine of Discovery. You can read more about their relationship in this two-part interview. Learn more about Hilary’s work at goodrelative.com. Please consider signing the "I Support the Sacred" petition to show your support for Apache Stronghold's legal case to protect Oak Flat. Resolution Copper, a subsidiary of British and Australian mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP, proposes to completely destroy this sacred site and contaminate the surrounding land, water and air. Preserving the religious liberty of Apache peoples is essential to preserving our own. We must all join together to protect sacred land from the forces of destruction. Sarah and Sheri wrote a book together! Find out more about _So We and Our Children May Live: Following Jesus in Confronting the Climate Crisis _here. We are also publishing a Substack with the same title based on the theme found in our book — ecological justice, decolonization, faith, and where we find hope for our future. We’re excited about this Substack because it’s a more personal, unfiltered space in which we can share our thoughts and writings. You can follow the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery on Instagram (@coalitiontodismantle) and Facebook.

In this episode, Sarah and Sheri reflect on the Richard Heinberg interview as it relates to the message of their new book So That We and Our Children May Live: Following Jesus in Confronting the Climate Crisis. We discuss why we are hopeful despite the polycrisis described in both our new book and in the interview with Richard. We also talk about why conspiracy theories like QAnon are onto something true and why it is important to be in kinship and solidarity with the working-class and poor people who believe these theories. Note: At the beginning of this episode, we refer to a segment of the interview with Richard that wasn’t included in the previous episode. It’s a segment where he talks about the work of complexity scientist Peter Turchin. If you want to listen to that 7-minute segment – shameless plug alert! – you can do so by subscribing to Sarah’s and my new Substack, where you will get a quite personal weekly reflection on ecological justice, decolonization, faith, and hope for our future. We’ll begin posting Nov. 30. We refer to this podcast episode, “Insects – A Silent Extinction” on Nate Hagens’ “The Great Simplification.” You can follow the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery on Instagram (@coalitiontodismantle) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/dismantlediscovery)

In anticipation of the Day of Prayer for Oak Flat on Nov. 4, we talk to Dwight Metzger, who has struggled with Apache Stronghold for decades to protect their sacred ancestral lands from destruction by a copper mine. In this interview, Dwight talks about the importance of the sacred sites of Oak Flat and Mount Graham for the San Carlos Apache and how he has been converted from the worldview of Western corporate environmentalism to one that follows the leadership of Indigenous people. For more information about the Nov. 4, 2023, Day of Prayer, please go here. Other websites: Dwight’s union print shop, The Gloo Factory To learn more about Oak Flat and Mount Graham, go to the Apache Stronghold website Sarah and Sheri wrote a book together! Find out more about So We and Our Children May Live: Following Jesus in Confronting the Climate Crisis here. You can follow the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery on Instagram (@coalitiontodismantle) and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/dismantlediscovery) Correction: In this episode, Sarah refers to the mine that Resolution Copper wants to build at Oak Flat as an open pit copper mine. Actually, the copper deposit is one mile underground, which is why Resolution Copper is proposing an unproven "block and cave" method to extract the copper. The process is also sometimes referred to as block caving.

In episode #7, we discussed the Indian Child Welfare Acts or ICWA, which is a major piece of civil rights legislation for Native Americans that has come under threat in the courts. This important law, passed in 1978, strengthened the legal rights of Indigenous families and specified that when Native children are removed from the care of their families, they will be placed in the care of extended family members, families in their own tribe, or Indigenous families from another tribe. On Nov. 9, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear a case that challenges the constitutionality of ICWA. In this episode, we will hear about the importance of ICWA by talking to a mother from the dominant culture who fostered a Native child. For more information: The National Indian Child Welfare Association website. Chapter one of Sarah Augustine’s book, The Land is Not Empty: Following Jesus in Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery. Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery Coalition website.

In this recurring episode, Sarah answers questions from listeners. Questions include: What is the deal about dressing up like and Indian? Why is that offensive? What do Native people think about Columbus Day, Thanksgiving Day, etc.? Many white settlers look to Indigenous People for ideas about how to connect with the land and live more sustainably. But Indigenous people have been so assimilated – what wisdom do they actually have to offer the larger culture? We want your questions, especially those you might feel too embarrassed to ask “out loud.” Please submit any questions to Sheri at fmcsf@aol.com. You can even do so anonymously, if you wish.