Notes on Karen Diver's Talk

Dear Friends!

We have cast off the lines and we are away!

Tribal Chairwoman Karen Diver is an incredible leader and her discussion illuminates how history has woven our lives together; the thriving future we are all working toward requires all of us stepping in. I want to reiterate something she said after Brad shared some words of gratitude:

"The time you are taking to build our understanding...taking time to be really thoughtful about how we work on these things together and why it matters: the profound difference that consideration can have on a tribe, on an Indigenous community, in their place. That allyship, that understanding, that willingness to be in community means that these organizations are learning not to be part of the colonizing force, and are actually looking at being reparative. They aren't scared. They think that healthy Native communities are important. That's a gift. So, thank you for that."

That is what this Journey is about. Karen continually referenced the different worldviews of how humans relate to the lands where they live, and how this manifest in different actions as well as interpretations of treaties. Our overview of 500+ years of Federal Indian Policy with Karen and our upcoming talk with Dr. Phil Laverty help us contextualize the current challenges and opportunities, and they will inform our reflections on how we show up in this work and what we, organizationally, are carrying forward.

A few points from Karen's discussion that stuck with me:

"We can't talk about being well as people unless those other beings, non-human being, are healthy."
Historically, inclusion in a tribe was based on kinship and protocols of inclusion. The concept of blood quantum did not come up until the Reorganization Act in the 1930's.
The philosophical, mundane and structural interconnectedness between humans and their environment manifest in Fond du Lac focusing their foundational government positions on hiring a nutritionist and fish biologist.
Decolonization: "Can we stop with what your notion of conservation is and maybe start with ours? What are our rights to our own traditions, culture, science, relationships to the land? Where do we believe it begins? What are the right next steps we believe can happen?"
In California, the importance of land rematriation, particularly when Tribes lack a land base because of how colonization and federal and state Indian Policy played out. Rematriation gives Tribes a base on their ancestral territories; a base of being able to build capacity around governance and government.
Rematriation is a spectrum, and there is a role for our organizations:
- Provide access, co-management agreements, confer rights to gather;
- Conserve land that Tribes prioritize and don't want developed so they can access land they would want to develop "Maybe you're the keeper; maybe you're the long-term place holder;”
- Support and mentorship to tribally incorporated non-profits to hold land;
- Serve as a fiscal agent for a grant;
- Provide stipends for their culture bearers to bring knowledge to you (and to their own people);
- Leverage our influence with government and funders to ensure there is ongoing support.

I want to point out that your organizations are already taking many of these actions on the rematriation spectrum!

For those who want to revisit the talk, the recording is here.

Use this password: a4L+vTZ.

Here are some resources that Karen mentioned:

The Papal Bulls and the Doctrine of Discovery:
- The Doctrine of Discovery is rooted in a series of papal bulls issued in the 15th century, which provided religious authority for Christian empires to invade and subjugate non-Christian lands, peoples, and sovereign nations. Among these, two papal bulls are particularly significant:
  - Inter Caetera (1493): Issued by Pope Alexander VI, this bull granted Spain the right to possess all lands discovered or yet to be discovered west of a line 100 leagues west of the Azores and Cape Verde Islands. It aimed to justify Christian European explorers’ claims on land and waterways they allegedly discovered, promoting Christian domination and superiority. This doctrine has been applied in various regions, including Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the Americas.
  - Romanus Pontifex (1455): Issued by Pope Nicholas V, this bull granted Portugal the right to invade, search out, capture, vanquish, and subdue all Saracens and pagans. It provided religious backing for the Portuguese and Spanish kingdoms to expand their territories in Africa and the Americas for the sake of spreading Christianity.
- In March 2023, the Vatican officially repudiated the Doctrine of Discovery, acknowledging that the papal bulls on which the doctrine is based did not adequately reflect the equal dignity and rights of indigenous peoples. However, the statement did not rescind the papal bulls themselves.
- I am attaching a communique from the Haudenausaunee Confederacy from 1992 that offers an Indigenous articulation of how the Doctrine of Discovery has influenced US lawmaking, and the layers of legal conflict and injustice that has created.
The Rediscovery of America, Native Peoples and the Unmaking of US History by Ned Blackhawk
Native American Rights Fund
An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

As reminders:

We are gathering next January 24th for a discussion with Dr. Phil Laverty about the California context for right relations across conservation and Indigenous Groups. You have been sent a calendar invite for this. If you don't have it, please reach out to Maya Hoffman.
Links to the core resources:

Please, reach out if you have any questions!

Erin + the Collaborative for Right Relations Team