Fri 7/20: Film & Native Panel Discussion! Doctrine of Discovery: Unmasking the Domination Code

The Doctrine of Discovery continues to influence our legal system with regards to Native rights vs. fossil fuel companies to this DAY. 

Sonoma Solidarity with Standing Rock is hosting a one hour documentary film, followed by a panel discussion featuring Native American speakers.

This is our first collaboration with the CIMCC - the California Indian Museum & Cultural Center, which is very exciting. We hope you can join us! We are looking forward to the discussion. 

Doors open at 6:30pm, film starts at 7pm. Free event. Refreshments will be served.

“The key thing about this film is that it is not about discovery. It’s about domination.” - Steven T. Newcomb, Producer

Cristóbal Colón (Columbus) and other colonizers laid claim to the lands of original nations on the basis of the idea that Christians had a biblical right to discover and dominate non-Christian lands. This doctrine of ancient Christendom, supported by papal edicts, continues to serve as the conceptual foundation of the political and legal system of the United States, and as the conceptual foundation of other dominating political systems elsewhere in the world in relation to original nations. 

Directed by Sheldon Peters Wolfchild
Narrated by Buffy Saint-Marie

Panel selected by the executive director of CIMCC: California Indian Museum and Cultural Center: 

NICOLE LIM, JD (Pomo). Ms. Lim is a lawyer, educator, Native parent and tribal member. She has served in various capacities at The California Indian Museum and Cultural Center since 1996 and was promoted to Executive Director in 2007. She has had a significant role in developing CIMCC into a multi-media museum including directing all of its organizational planning, permanent exhibition and facility planning and design projects, and mounting major exhibitions. A former Assistant Professor of Native Studies in the California State University Sacramento, Ms. Lim brings expert knowledge of California Indian history, cultures and contemporary issues. She received a BA in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of California at Berkeley and her JD from the University of San Francisco, School of Law. In 2010, she received The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development Forty Under Forty award. She was formerly appointed director for the 4th District Agricultural Association, Sonoma-Marin Fair Board. She currently serves as the Co-Chair of the government relations committee for the California Association of Museums and as Secretary for Tribal GIS. http://www.cimcc.org

RAQUELLE MYERS is a member of the Pinoleville Band of Pomo Indians. She received her Bachelor of Arts Degree from University of California at Berkeley and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Utah. She serves as Staff Attorney for the National Indian Justice Center and as the Chief Judge/Administrator for the Intertribal Court of California, a court of limited jurisdiction currently being developed in Northern California. She has served as a member of the National Task Force on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and Fetal Alcohol Effect and also served on the CDSS Tribal Government Advisory Committee. She is currently a member of the California Judicial Council’s Committee on Racial and Ethnic Bias. Raquelle serves as a trainer for NIJC regional and on-site training sessions developed for tribal government personnel. She also teaches undergraduate courses on Federal Indian Law, California Indian History, and Tribal Government at the University of California at Berkeley.

JOSEPH A. MYERS, a Pomo Indian of northern California, is the Executive Director of the National Indian Justice Center (NIJC), a non-profit corporation with principal offices in Santa Rosa, California. He founded the NIJC in 1983, as an independent resource for tribal governments and their courts. The NIJC creates and conducts legal education, research, and technical assistance programs aimed at improving the administration of justice in Indian country. From 1976 to 1983 Mr. Myers served as associate director of the American Indian Lawyer Training Program, creating and managing its tribal court advocate training project. He is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law at Boalt Hall. Mr. Myers has contributed significantly to the improvement of justice in Indian country. For the past 20 years he has lectured in Native American Studies at U.C. Berkeley. In 1993, Mr. Myers received national recognition from Attorney General Janet Reno for his work on behalf of victims of crime in Indian country. On December 6, 2002, the California Wellness Foundation awarded Mr. Myers the California Peace Prize for his work in violence prevention on Indian reservations. Additionally, Mr. Myers is a founder and board member of the California Indian Museum and Cultural Center. Since 2002 he has served as Chairperson of CALTRANS Native American Advisory Committee.

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