In this episode of the underview, Melissa Horner introduces listeners to the foundational principles of settler colonialism and its enduring impact on U.S. society. Beginning with her personal story, Melissa shares how her identity as a Métis citizen and descendant of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa informs her work and perspective. She frames settler colonialism not as a historical event but as an ongoing framework that influences every aspect of American life, from land ownership to cultural norms. Melissa also explores the Doctrine of Discovery and its role in legitimizing colonization, alongside concepts like terra nullius, manifest destiny, and westward expansion, which reinforced settler claims and erased Indigenous sovereignty.
Throughout the conversation, Melissa details the systemic policies—such as the Indian Removal Act, the creation of reservations, and the Indian boarding school era—that systematically dispossessed Native peoples of land, culture, and community. She outlines four key components of settler colonialism: the elimination of Indigenous peoples, the imposition of property systems, the erosion of relationality, and the limiting of societal options. By weaving historical context with her own experiences, Melissa invites listeners to reconsider how these structures persist today and to begin the work of understanding their pervasive influence on both history and the present.
About the underview:
The underview is an exploration of the development of our Communal Theology of Place viewed through the medium of bikes, land, and people to discover community wholeness.
Website: theunderview.com
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Host: @mikerusch
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