"On Sept. 18, Larry Echo Hawk, assistant secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs, gave a keynote address at Taos Pueblo during the 40th anniversary of the “return” of the Sacred Blue Lake to the Taos people. The United States, Mr. Echo Hawk remarked, has “a long history, with many dark chapters.” In this context he went on to explain the Doctrine of Discovery.

“When the Europeans discovered a land that was unknown to them, if the land was inhabited by natives, the Europeans owned the land. … This seems to me a very arrogant area of the law.”

It is quite possible that the Blue Lake Commemoration at Taos Pueblo marks the first time in history that a high-level U.S. government official has spoken officially, and critically, of the Doctrine of Discovery. It is a welcomed development.

What was missing from Mr. Echo Hawk’s comments, however, was an explanation of the basis for the argument (an argument to be firmly rejected) that “if the land was inhabited by natives, the Europeans owned the land.” The basis for this argument is found in the 1823 U.S. Supreme Court ruling Johnson v. M’Intosh. In keeping with the verbatim language found in the Johnson decision, Mr. Echo Hawk’s explanation needs to be slightly modified.

In Johnson v. M’Intosh, Chief Justice Marshall, writing for a unanimous Supreme Court, used the example of England as a means of illustrating the Doctrine of Discovery. “No one of the powers of Europe gave its full assent to this principle [of discovery] than England. The documents upon this subject are ample and complete.”"

Get the Story:
Steven Newcomb: The Doctrine of Discovery (Indian Country Today 11/10)

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