🎙️ Episode 10 invites us not to return to the past, but to return to the truth—to find common ground by telling the whole story. What happens to a nation when its founding words—“We the People”—never meant everyone?

“Where common memory is lacking, where people do not share in the same past, there can be no real community. Where community is to be formed, common memory must be created.”

— Georges Erasmus, Dene Nation, co-chair of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (Canada)

Mark Charles, public theologian, author, and advocate for Indigenous rights, joins us to explore the deep fractures embedded in America’s collective story. We reflect on the spiritual and structural legacies of the Doctrine of Discovery and interrogate how the U.S. Constitution was designed to protect some while excluding many. Through powerful metaphors, historical insight, and spiritual clarity, Mark helps us name the absence of a common memory—and guides us toward a path of re-membering, where belonging is not just granted, but practiced through honest relationship, acknowledgment, and repair.

Together, we examine how cultural identity, sunrise prayers, and courageous storytelling can restore what has long been severed. This episode invites listeners—especially those from dominant cultural spaces—to step into deeper responsibility, listening, and transformation.

Samantha Jarvis is a therapist in Maryland, a graduate of Covenant Theological Seminary of St. Louis Missouri, a mother of three and deeply invested in and passionate about American Indian issues and tribal sovereignty. She and Co-host, Attorney Wilton “Larry Wallace,” join in the conversation with Mr. Mark Charles.

🔗 Referenced Resources

📘 Book: Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing, Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery by Mark Charles & Soong-Chan Rah. Bookshop | Amazon

🎤 TEDx Talk: The Truth Behind “We the People” (Jan 24, 2019) Watch here → https://youtu.be/HbIbE1JMXaM

✍️ Core Takeaways

• Our foundational documents were built to protect white, landowning men—this cannot be ignored.
• Indigenous voices remain central to understanding what true belonging and healing require.
• Decolonizing faith means welcoming the questions that institutions have suppressed.
• Healing will never come from symbolic gestures—it requires truth, grief, humility, and reparation.
• Cultural practices and personal discipline—like greeting the sun—can guide us back to clarity and connection.

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 – Introduction to We the People and Its Implications

09:12 – Mark Charles: A Voice for the Marginalized

17:11 – The Doctrine of Discovery and Its Legacy

25:06 – Constitutional Critique: Who Is Included?

32:41 – The Need for a Common Memory and Healing

35:35 – Political Responses to Racial Injustice

38:52 – Understanding the Constitution’s Flaws

40:01 – The Foundation of American Society

42:27 – Recognizing Historical Context

43:16 – The Impact of Native Voices in Politics

46:50 – Spiritual Practices and Cultural Identity

48:57 – Questioning Faith and Institutional Legacy

53:50 – Cultural Revitalization and Resilience

1:02:15 – Affirming Cultural Heritage

1:03:11 – Storytelling as a Tool for Connection

1:05:08 – Life on the Navajo Nation: A Personal Journey

1:08:06 – The Isolation of Historical Trauma

1:10:10 – Reframing with the Grandmother Metaphor

1:12:59 – Belonging and Host Relationships

1:15:52 – Bridging Cultures through Indigenous Wisdom

To learn more about Mark Charles and his work, visit markcharles.org

Keywords

We the People, Doctrine of Discovery, Mark Charles, Constitution, Common Memory, American History, Marginalized Voices, Indigenous Rights, Social Justice, Healing Conversations, spirituality, decolonization, faith, indigenous rights, cultural identity, reconciliation, empowerment, community, truth, belonging