Steven Newcomb: Indian law and policy based on domination

To become hyper-conscious of the pattern of domination is to see that pattern as ubiquitous in the dominating society in relation to peoples called “indigenous.” The word “civilization” immediately translates to “domination” in the context of indigenous peoples, and what is so commonly expressed as “The Conquest” by Western thinkers is simply another way of referring to the overall pattern of what is accurately called “The Domination.” Once we have recognized this, we are then able to accurately name the pattern of domination found in the titles of important books. Kirkpatrick Sale’s book The Conquest of Paradise (1990), for example, becomes The Domination of Paradise. Tzvetan Todorov’s The Conquest of America (1982) becomes The Domination of America. Lindsay Roberton’s book Conquest By Law (2005) becomes Domination By Law.

Our manner of interpreting what we read changes once we understand that “conquest” means domination. A sentence from Linda Parker’s Native American Estate (1987), provides a prime example: “Later the doctrine [of the Crusades] evolved to justify world conquest,” is accurately re-expressed: “Later the doctrine [of the Crusades] evolved to justify world domination.”

Another sentence of Parker’s reads: “By divine law the Christian imperial nations were superior and had the right to dominion and rule over non-Christian inhabitants and their territories.” This is accurately re-expressed as follows in terms of the domination code: “By divine law the Christian imperial nations were superior and had the right of dominate and rule over non-Christian inhabitants and their territories.” Phrases and words in that just that one sentence which contain the theme of domination include “Christian imperial nations,” “superior,” “dominion” and “rule over.”

Federal Indian law and policy is a language and idea system predicated on the U.S.’s domination of our nations and peoples. Yet we have been conditioned to habitually use variety of euphemisms (positive sounding words for negative things) that direct our attention away from the phenomenon of domination and resulting dehumanization. It’s far past time to learn how to break the code and read the underlying idea-system of domination that has been used against our nations for more than two centuries by the United States and other countries. If Professor Anaya is correct and “the roots” of the problems faced by “indigenous peoples” are “derived from similar patterns of domination,” then let’s name and address those patterns of domination.