I am Edmund K. Paki-Silva Jr., Ali‘i Nui Mō‘ī, Sovereign King of The Kingdom of Hawai‘i (The King). These are my mana‘o (thoughts).

There are many in the world who do not know of Colonialism or the Doctrine of Discovery, yet for the Indigenous, this was the beginning of being invisible or, worse, being treated as sub-human beings. This explains why the Indigenous knowledge has been suppressed and disrespected.  

The Doctrine of Discovery documents clearly indicated Indigenous were sub-humans, not even capable of owning land. (1) The origin of the doctrine goes back to the Papal Bulls issued by Pope Nicholas V in 1452 and 1455 respectively, allowing the invasion and killing of the Indigenous Peoples. European countries like Spain, Portugal, England, France, and Holland used the doctrine. (2)

The most evil lie coming from the Vatican’s Doctrine of Discovery was undoubtedly when the Papal Bull stated that any land not inhabited by Christians was available to be discovered, claimed, and exploited by Christian rulers and declared that “the Catholic faith and the Christian religion be exalted and be everywhere increased and spread, that the health of souls be cared for and that barbarous nations be overthrown and brought to the faith itself.” This Doctrine of Discovery became the basis of all European claims in the Americas as well as the foundation for the United States’ western expansion. In the US Supreme Court in the 1823 case Johnson v. McIntosh, Chief Justice John Marshall’s opinion in the unanimous decision held “that the principle of discovery gave European nations an absolute right to New World lands.” In essence, American Indians had only a right of occupancy, which could be abolished. (3)

In the name of the Colonialism cancer, the great Indigenous knowledge was stolen and many Indigenous were forced into a culture that was not their own. Indigenous children were most often separated from their families and their culture at a young age creating the loss of their language, the theft of their ancient creation stories and traditions, stripping them of their Way of Knowing, as well as being forced off land inherited from untold generations. This is the legacy of colonialism with its resulting genocide for the Indigenous.