Indigenous Religious Traditions Archives

“Freedom of Conscience and Religion in the Americas: Following OAS General Assembly Resolutions to Promote Pluralism and Strengthen Communities” by Emily Cole

Feb 19, 2025Canopy ForumSeriesCole, Emily, Human Rights / Civil Rights, Indigenous Religious Traditions, Latin America (Geography), Religious Freedom

The “Temple of the Sun” of Ingapirca, Ecuador by Bernard Gagnon (CC BY-SA 3.0) The following essay is reprinted and adapted on Canopy Forum in collaboration with the journal Derecho en Sociedad, a biannual electronic publication that is free and open access. Their issue 19(1) features full length articles in Spanish and English. Read Cole’s long-form essay on Freedom of Conscience and…

“Land is Kin” by Dana Lloyd

Dec 2, 2024Canopy ForumLiterature HighlightsDana, December 2024, Human Rights / Civil Rights, Indigenous Religious Traditions, Lloyd, Property Law

Land is KinDana Lloyd The following is a forward of Dana Lloyd’s book, Land Is Kin: Sovereignty, Religious Freedom, and Indigenous Sacred Sites (University Press of Kansas, 2023). “The struggle by American Indians to protect their sacred sites and to have access to them for traditional ceremonies is a movement in which all peoples should…

“Climates of Anti-Blackness: Religion, Race and Environmental Politics in Bolivia” by Mareike Winchell

Jun 6, 2023Canopy ForumEssaysHuman Rights / Civil Rights, Indigenous Religious Traditions, June 2023, Latin America (Geography), Winchell, Mareike

The sunset in Santa Ana de Chiquitos, Santa Cruz, Bolivia, by Osireg. (CC BY-SA 2.0). It was sweltering — nearly 90 degrees. The thatched roof of the community building provided limited relief. We pulled up chairs diagonally, maneuvering to miss the sun’s imposing rays. These thatched buildings have emerged as sites of interest in media…

“Johnson v. M’Intosh and the Missing Cover of the Jigsaw Puzzle” by Steven Newcomb

Apr 13, 2023Canopy ForumSeriesApril 2023, Constitutional Law, History, Indigenous Religious Traditions, Newcomb, Steven T.

“A Close Up View of a Puzzle Piece” by Pierre Bamin (Unsplash license). This article is part of our “200 Years of Johnson v. M’Intosh: Law, Religion, and Native American Lands” series.If you’d like to check out other articles in this series, click here. The Jig Saw Puzzle February 28, 2023 marked 200 years since Chief Justice John…

“Johnson v. M’Intosh, Wi Parata v. Bishop of Wellington, and the Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery in Aotearoa-New Zealand” by Tina Ngata

Apr 11, 2023Canopy ForumSeriesApril 2023, History, Indigenous Religious Traditions, Ngata, Tina, Oceania (Geography), Property Law

Lake Mystery, Canterbury, New Zealand by Michal Klajban (CC BY-SA 4.0). This article is part of our “200 Years of Johnson v. M’Intosh: Law, Religion, and Native American Lands” series.If you’d like to check out other articles in this series, click here. Here in Aotearoa-New Zealand the doctrine of discovery is, for many, a very new concept. If…

“The Legacy of the Right to Control Land and Dependency” by Kerri J. Malloy

Apr 1, 2023Canopy ForumSeriesApril 2023, Federal Indian Law, History, Indigenous Religious Traditions, Malloy, Kerri J., Property Law

This article is part of our “200 Years of Johnson v. M’Intosh: Law, Religion, and Native American Lands” series. If you’d like to check out other articles in this series, click here. Legacy embeds the actions and inactions of those before us into the current legal, political, and social processes. Reverberating through history are the echoes of words…

“The International Law of Colonialism: Johnson v. M’Intosh and the Doctrine of Discovery Applied Worldwide” by Robert J. Miller

Mar 30, 2023Canopy ForumSeriesHistory, Indigenous Religious Traditions, March 2023, Miller, Robert J., Property Law

This article is part of our “200 Years of Johnson v. M’Intosh: Law, Religion, and Native American Lands” series. If you’d like to check out other articles in this series, click here. The United States Supreme Court’s first Indian law case, Johnson v. M’Intosh, was decided in 1823. In that case, the Court summarized and then applied four…

“Johnson v. M’Intosh, Plenary Power, and Our Colonial Constitution” by Alexandra Fay

Mar 29, 2023Canopy ForumSeriesAlexandra Fay, Constitutional Law, Federal Indian Law, History, Indigenous Religious Traditions, March 2023

“Wife and Child of Bull Plume” by Kathryn Woodman Leighton (Wikimedia PD-US) This article is part of our “200 Years of Johnson v. M’Intosh: Law, Religion, and Native American Lands” series. If you’d like to check out other articles in this series, click here. In Johnson v. M’Intosh, Chief Justice John Marshall articulated the doctrine of discovery as…

“However, Extravagant The Pretensions Of Johnson V. M’Intosh” by Betty Lyons and Adam DJ Brett

Mar 23, 2023Canopy ForumSeriesBrett, Adam DJ, Federal Indian Law, History, Indigenous Religious Traditions, Lyons, Betty, March 2023, Property Law

The George Washington Belt, the Two Row Wampum, and the Hiawatha Belt. The Canandaigua, Two Row, and Haudenosaunee Confederacy Wampum Belts. Image by Lindsay Speer, 2008. This article is part of our “200 Years of Johnson v. M’Intosh: Law, Religion, and Native American Lands” series.If you’d like to check out other articles in this series, click here. “Democracy…

“Haaland v. Brackeen and the Logic of Discovery” by Dana Lloyd

Mar 18, 2023Canopy ForumSeriesFamily Law, Federal Indian Law, History, Indigenous Religious Traditions, Lloyd, Dana, March 2023

Old Supreme Court Chamber by Michael Savidge (CC BY-SA 4.0). This article is part of our “200 Years of Johnson v. M’Intosh: Law, Religion, and Native American Lands” series. If you’d like to check out other articles in this series, click here. In 1823, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a decision in Johnson v M’Intosh, the first…