UBCIC wants King Charles III to renounce Doctrine of Discovery

Indigenous leaders in British Columbia are calling on the new King to reject a 15th-century doctrine used to justify colonization.

The Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs (UBCIC) wants King Charles III’s first official act to be renouncing the Doctrine of Discovery, the Catholic Church framework which initiated European conquest across the globe.

Kukpi7 Judy Wilson, UBCIC secretary-treasurer, says renouncing the doctrine during this change of head of state would also show a change in the Crown’s approach to Indigenous sovereignty.

“He also has a lot of obligation and responsibility toward restoring our language and our culture and also most of all Land Back – because that’s where we were dispossessed from by the Crown on annexing our land,” she told CityNews.

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Wilson hopes the King plans to meet with Indigenous peoples soon and help mend historical wrongs.

“I don’t want him coming to Canada and just doing photo ops and saying some nice words, we’ve heard them before. We need some action from King Charles,” she said.

UBC professor Handel Kashope Wright says he understands why people from British-colonized countries like him have mixed feelings about the Queen’s death.

“This is very much a moment of ambivalence. I think we can be sad at the passing of the matriarchy, but at the same time I don’t think people ought to be obligated to feel that way, and I don’t think that we should shut down the idea of people expressing their opinions [about] what is and what was awful about colonization,” Wright explained.

The calls come as demands to cut ties with the Monarchy grow louder in some countries, such as Jamaica.

Meanwhile, Indigenous justice organization RAVEN (Respecting Aboriginal Values and Environmental Needs) is calling on the new King to take an active role in shaping Canada’s future after Queen Elizabeth II’s death on Sept. 8.

“The Queen did her job with grace, and we send her family our condolences,” RAVEN wrote in a statement. “But: the office itself was part of a colonial tradition responsible for cultural genocide around the world. Institutions like the monarchy are designed to dazzle people with the manners and comportment of people who are tasked with upholding systems built on inequity.”

The organization says its heart goes out to Indigenous communities whose losses are being overlooked as the world “celebrates the legacy” of Queen Elizabeth.

RAVEN says Prince Charles III, the Queen’s successor, will be “pulling on a mantle heavy with untended sorrows,” noting the British royal family has not apologized for its role in the residential school system, “and made no reparation for loss of lands, livelihood, and language.”

“The Queen is dead: the King’s journey of repair begins today,” RAVEN said.