Allegheny Mennonite Conference Repair Committee
If you are interested in learning more about the Doctrine of Discovery and the work of the AMC Repair Committee, please send an email to the conference office - office@alleghenymennoniteconference.org
A Brief Overview
We are grateful for your interest in exploring the awakening taking shape today among people of faith about the Doctrine of Discovery, a Doctrine that may be a brand new concept for some of us. It refers to a legal doctrine in the United States that forms the basis for policies and laws -- including Supreme Court decisions – governing Indigenous people. This Doctrine originated in legal decrees called “Papal Bulls,” over five hundred years ago and was employed to justify the dispossession of Indigenous people in the name of Christ. Since then, its assumptions have been used to enforce and maintain unequal and unjust relationships between Indigenous people and our federal and state governments. The Doctrine was cited as recently as 2005 in a Supreme Court decision which ruled against the Oneida Indian nation. With resources that you find here, you can learn about this foundational history and how it impacts Indigenous communities today, as well as steps that our denomination and our conference are taking to learn more and begin the work of repair.
This growing Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery is made up of Anabaptist congregations dedicated to addressing the “extinction, enslavement, and extraction” done in the name of Christ on Indigenous lands. These “three E’s,” are still with us, impacting Native people. The Allegheny Mennonite Conference Repair Committee was formed as a partner with the Coalition and to support relationships with indigenous Mennonites in our denomination.
AMC donated part of the tithe from the sale of the International Guest House property to the Coalition and its work. Sarah Augustine, a Pueblo descendent who lives in the Yakima Valley in Washington, is co-founder and executive director of the Coalition. She wrote a book that we recommend called, “The Land is Not Empty: Following Jesus in Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery,” (Herald Press, 2021).
Our hope is that, with the content on this website prepared by the AMC Repair Committee, as well as content on the Coalition’s website at https://dofdmenno.org/, you will find helpful resources to learn about this issue facing our congregations today, and join the effort to dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery.
Resources for Congregations
Our Mission
The AMC Repair Committee has a twofold mission to:
- foster congregational and conference dialogue regarding historical and contemporary settler impacts on our Indigenous neighbors at local, state and national levels, and
- offer suggestions for working towards some measure of restorative justice and repair.
Repair Committee Members
Kimberly D. Schmidt
Mary Hershberger
Alice Moyer
Dave Mishler
We are learning from and listening to Indigenous voices who are leading this educational and activist endeavor. We hope to continue to prepare materials for you to find within this website, so that all Allegheny congregations can determine how they may want to engage this work. Check back from time to time to see additional materials.
