Most Rev. Thomas J.
Olmsted
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix
400 East Monroe
5 de Mayo, 2013
Good Greetings,
Our intention of moving deliberately out of the age of colonialism and towards decolonization, called upon us to define and determine for ourselves as "Peoples, equal to all other Peoples" the criteria of fundamental processes required to guide this vision of our political, economic, cultural, and spiritual liberation from the schema of domination which has been normalized by Christendom and justified by the Doctrine of Discovery for over five hundred and twenty years in this continent of Abya Yala [the Americas].
The report of the Forum in Arizona was presented in May of 2012 to the 11th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York. Two recommendations from this session of the UNPFII are especially pertinent to this communiqué:
In consequence and in implementation of the above recommendation from the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, we convened at Arizona State University West on April 19-20, 2013, an International Conference organized under the theme of DISMANTLING the Doctrine of Discovery. Co-conveners of this International conference were TONATIERRA, Maya Vision, Centro Cultural Techantit, Instituto de Ciencia y Cultura Indigena (ICCI) of Ecuador, and Universidad Amawtay Wasi also of Ecuador. The event was hosted by the Social Justice and Human Rights Program at ASU West.
Sincerely,
Tupac Enrique Acosta, Yaotachcauh
NAHUACALLI
400 East Monroe
Phoenix, AZ
85004
5 de Mayo, 2013
Good Greetings,
On
March 23, 2012 our organization organized an Indigenous Peoples Forum on the Doctrine of Discovery at the
Arizona State Capitol House of Representatives. The purpose of this forum was to bring forward the
perspectives and historical processes which frame the inter-relationships
between the Nations and Pueblos of
Indigenous Peoples of the territory and the hemisphere, in terms of our
coexistence with the States that are direct beneficiaries of the Doctrine of Discovery in the Americas.
Our intention of moving deliberately out of the age of colonialism and towards decolonization, called upon us to define and determine for ourselves as "Peoples, equal to all other Peoples" the criteria of fundamental processes required to guide this vision of our political, economic, cultural, and spiritual liberation from the schema of domination which has been normalized by Christendom and justified by the Doctrine of Discovery for over five hundred and twenty years in this continent of Abya Yala [the Americas].
The report of the Forum in Arizona was presented in May of 2012 to the 11th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York. Two recommendations from this session of the UNPFII are especially pertinent to this communiqué:
4.
The Permanent Forum recalls the fourth preambular paragraph of the United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which affirms that all
doctrines, policies and practices based on or advocating superiority of peoples
or individuals on the basis of national origin or racial, religious, ethnic or
cultural differences are racist, scientifically false, legally invalid, morally
condemnable and socially unjust. Legal and political justification for the
dispossession of indigenous peoples from their lands, their disenfranchisement
and the abrogation of their rights such as the doctrine of discovery, the
doctrine of domination, “conquest”, “discovery”, terra nullius or the Regalian doctrine were adopted by colonizers
throughout the world. While these nefarious doctrines were promoted as the
authority for the acquisition of the lands and territories of indigenous
peoples, there were broader assumptions implicit in the doctrines, which became
the basis for the assertion of authority and control over the lives of
indigenous peoples and their lands, territories and resources. Indigenous
peoples were constructed as “savages”, “barbarians”, “backward” and “inferior
and uncivilized” by the colonizers who used such constructs to subjugate, dominate
and exploit indigenous peoples and their lands, territories and resources. The Permanent Forum calls upon States to
repudiate such doctrines as the basis for denying indigenous peoples’ human
rights.
9.
The Permanent Forum recommends that States include in all education curricula, in particular the school system, a discussion
of the doctrine of discovery/dispossession and its contemporary manifestations, including land laws and policies of
removal.
In consequence and in implementation of the above recommendation from the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, we convened at Arizona State University West on April 19-20, 2013, an International Conference organized under the theme of DISMANTLING the Doctrine of Discovery. Co-conveners of this International conference were TONATIERRA, Maya Vision, Centro Cultural Techantit, Instituto de Ciencia y Cultura Indigena (ICCI) of Ecuador, and Universidad Amawtay Wasi also of Ecuador. The event was hosted by the Social Justice and Human Rights Program at ASU West.
In the
course of reviewing the local history of the issues of conflict and criminal
violations of our Human Rights as Indigenous Peoples, which lie at the core of
continuing pogroms of persecution disguised as “legal” policies under the mantle
of the Doctrine of Discovery, we now present to you the following archive of
documents:
- 2010 UN Preliminary Study on the Impact of the Doctrine of Discovery.
- 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
- Papal Bull Inter Caetera of 1493
- El Requierimiento of 1513
- ANASAZI: Spring 1984 Letter to Pope John Paul II
- May 30, 1984 Response: Vatican Secretary of State
- February 7, 2012 Memorandum to the US Justice Department
- March 14, 2013 Article: “Usurped” - Cardinal Bergoglio and the 30th Anniversary of the War over the Malvinas/Falklands Island between Great Britain and Argentina.
Our purpose
in presenting this archive of information to you at this time is to establish a
proactive and inclusive approach to addressing the issues of Human Rights violations, in particular
the Right of Self Determination of
Indigenous Peoples, in order to move forward into the repudiation of the
Doctrine of Discovery as it continues to serve as a cloaking device of
pathology and colonization which deforms and distorts the spirit and well-being
of our common humanity. Please
consider this communiqué as a request to meet and discuss the implications and
clarifications required as we prepare to participate in May of 2013 once again
at the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York, and expect to
provide a report of the developments here in Arizona relevant the ongoing
process of implementing the cited resolutions of the UNPFII, in the Spirit of
Truth.
Sincerely,
Tupac Enrique Acosta, Yaotachcauh
Tezcatlipoca Quetzalcoatl Huitzilopochtli
TENAMAZTLE
NAHUACALLI
Embassy of Indigenous Peoples
802 N. 7th Street Phoenix AZ 85006
Annex:
2010 UNPFII Preliminary Study on the Impact of the Doctrine of Discovery
2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
1493 Papal Bull Inter Caetera
1513 El Requierimiento
1984 ANASAZI Letter to Pope John Paul II
1984 Letter of Response : Vatican Secretary of State
2012 Memorandum to US Department of Justice
2013 Catholic Herald: "Usurped" Malvinas-Falkland Islands
2010 UNPFII Preliminary Study on the Impact of the Doctrine of Discovery
2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
1493 Papal Bull Inter Caetera
1513 El Requierimiento
1984 ANASAZI Letter to Pope John Paul II
1984 Letter of Response : Vatican Secretary of State
2012 Memorandum to US Department of Justice
2013 Catholic Herald: "Usurped" Malvinas-Falkland Islands
