In the 15th century, several popes issued a series of edicts, which came to be known as the Doctrine of Discovery. The basic tenet of this document was that it gave the church the moral authority to take over any land that was owned by people who were not Christian, or white.
The document has served as a foundation ever since for a lot of abhorrent attitudes, especially Manifest Destiny, which was used to justify a lot of the behavior carried out against the Native tribes during the time our country was settled. It also formed the foundation for the creation and structure of Indian boarding schools, where Natives were not allowed to speak their own language or practice any cultural traditions, with the theory being that they needed to practice white Christian values in order to overcome their primitive ways.
