Film: Doctrine of Discovery

St Philip will be watching this film and discussing the topics it raises as part of our Lenten program in Feb-March 2023. We will meet in the church on Tuesday evenings at 7pm, starting Tuesday 28 February in the first week of Lent. All are welcome. This series runs parallel to, and the subject matter is thematically related to, but does not duplicate, the Thursday morning book study of Randy Woodley's Indigenous Theology and the Western Worldview: A Decolonized Approach to Christian Doctrine.

“Doctrine of Discovery: Stolen lands, Strong Hearts” is a film about a devastating decision, made over 500 years ago, which continues to profoundly impact Indigenous and Settler people worldwide. Pope Alexander VI ruled that the lands being discovered by European explorers at the time was “empty” land and its millions of Indigenous inhabitants were “non-human”.

Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission released 94 Calls to Action in 2015, with many of them referring to the Doctrine of Discovery and calling for its repudiation.

This film is one of the responses of the Anglican Church of Canada’s Primate’s Commission on Discovery, Reconciliation, and Justice. The purpose of this film is to respond to the calls to action by helping to provide education and insight into the racist foundations of many of our property and other laws still in existence to this day.

“Reconciliation is not about being a spectator”.  Senator Murray Sinclair

Learning More

The film is a good introduction to a huge and complex subject, but there is more homework to do. Each discussion session during Lent will focus on th eissues raised in a specific segment of the film, but viewing the whole film, or at least that sessions' segment, ahead of time is a good idea.

Each section  is accompanied by its own downloadable study guide: click here for the full list.

The Indian Act: a brief introduction, and a book

Indigenous Canada is a 12-lesson Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) from the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta that explores the different histories and contemporary perspectives of Indigenous peoples living in Canada. The course is self-directed and free - you do need to set up a free account via the Coursera platform : click here to start

Home on Native Land, a free online course about Indigenous justice in Canada from the Raven Trust

For Indigenous voices from within, and speaking to, the Anglican Church of Canada, have a look on YouTube for talks by Ray Aldred, Martin Brokenleg, and Bp Chris Harper - just for a start. The Anglican Church of Canada's YouTube channel hosts playlists of Sacred Circle, Gospel Jamboree, and the Sacred Teachings podcast.

Even more local resources: click here