Indigenous Peoples’ Day: City of Dubuque Proclamation
At the City Council Meeting where the proclamation was made were (front row): Franciscan Associate Dave Heiar (l.), BVM Ann DeNicolo, Suzanne Gallagher, PVBM, BVM Associate Nancy McCarville, Dubuque County Reads Program Coordinator Sarah Smith, and Dubuque County Library District Engagement Librarian Lydia Sigwarth. Back row: Councilman Danny Sprank and Mayor Brad Cavanagh.
On October 6, area congregations came before the Dubuque City Council to proclaim October 13 as Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Ann DeNicolo, BVM spoke on behalf of the religious communities:
Over the past two years the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Sisters of the Presentation, and the Dubuque Sisters of St. Francis, and their respective Associates have participated in the Land Justice Futures Program with congregations of women religious from around the country.
During this time, we became reacquainted with the 15th-century papal bulls, now known as the Doctrine of Discovery. Promoted by the Roman Catholic Church, these documents asserted and justified that Christian nations had the right to claim lands inhabited by non-Christians. European nations had the right to claim lands in America based on their discovery relegating Native Americans as mere occupants of the land without ownership rights. Later upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, this principle remains in effect today through federal, state, and municipal laws.
We hope to embrace the invitation of Mary Ellen Baker, an elder of the Ojibwe tribe, to end the Doctrine of Discovery and to partner with Indigenous peoples and all who have suffered from this principle, to build a new Doctrine of Unity.
Our study led us to seek ways to make reparation for the dehumanization suffered by our Indigenous brothers and sisters. We are grateful to the City Council and the City of Dubuque who join with us in deepening our understanding of the issues, expressing an openness to learning about the Native American culture, and acknowledging the injustices that continue to take place. We hope our collective efforts bring about a culture-changing pathway on which we think differently about property, land, and relationships.
On behalf of the congregations of women religious in the city, we say thank you to the Council and all in city government for this proclamation and its efforts to right the wrongs of the past.
