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[Contact Us](/contact/) --- [Built with Eleventy](https://www.11ty.dev/) | Design: [HTML5 UP](https://html5up.net/) | Maintained by [Adam DJ Brett](https://adamdjbrett.com) | [Credits](/credits/) [Listed at Duotrope](https://duotrope.com/magazine/journal-cultural-religious-theory-20464?ref=lst-7vbKB-7r3u0g8&pc=L-7VBKB) JCRT The Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory JCRT The Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory - [Home](/) - [Archives](/archives/) - [25.1](/archives/25.1/) - Article No. 06 # An Intergenerational and Perpetual Imperium of Domination and Subjugation of Indigenous Peoples: The Doctrine of Christian Discovery and Royal Supremacy Phillip Rodgers-Falk Macquarie University April 16, 2026 | doi.org/10.17613/9w00n-new38 Download Article Download Citation (RIS) Download Citation (JSON) ## Table of Contents This paper traces the historical and legal evolution of sovereignty in relation to Indigenous land rights, exploring how colonial legal systems have sustained race-based power structures through legal fictions such as *terra nullius* and *res nullius*. It argues that the colonial legal system has consistently framed Indigenous peoples as *usufructuaries*, entitled to the “use” of land but not ownership, while maintaining the ultimate sovereignty of the colonial state. The paper examines the conceptual parallels between Blackstone’s doctrine of *occupancy,* the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in *Johnson v. McIntosh* (1823), and the modern recognition of *native title*, particularly in Australia’s landmark *Mabo v. Queensland* (1992) decision.Occupancy and native title, like Blackstone’s “user” rights, reflects a colonial framework that subordinates Indigenous land rights to the Crown’s absolute sovereignty, a sovereignty founded on the principles of the *Doctrine of Discovery* and the *Act of Supremacy* (1534). Through the lens of the authors two-chamber model of sovereignty, *absolute sovereignty/imperium* (Chamber 1) and *proprietary rights/dominion*(Chamber 2), the paper highlights how these legal fictions perpetuate a racialised hierarchy where Indigenous peoples are positioned as neither fully sovereign nor fully enslaved. The concept of *native title* is critiqued as a modern rebranding of Blackstone’s ‘*user rights*,’ which continue to deny Indigenous peoples full ownership and control over their lands, positioning them within a colonial legal system that traps them in a perpetual state of legal subordination. In tracing the historical lineage of *terra nullius* and its evolution into *native title*, the paper reveals how colonial legal systems used race-based distinctions to justify the dispossession and marginalisation of Indigenous peoples. Despite its suggested advancement, the recognition of native title does not represent equality or true land restitution but rather reflects a continued denial of Indigenous sovereignty. The paper concludes with a call for a fundamental reassessment of the colonial legal structures that uphold *absolute sovereignty*and their inherent ties to the racialised dispossession of Indigenous lands. The continued legitimacy of these doctrines, embodied in both legal and political systems, ensures that Indigenous peoples remain trapped within a system designed to perpetuate domination rather than justice. © the author(s). Free to read; see the [copyright notice](/copyright/) for reuse terms. Keywords: doctrine-of-christian-discovery johnson-v-mintosh indigenous-sovereignty white-supremacy decolonization Share Openly [The Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory (JCRT)](https://jcrt.org) is an online, peer-reviewed, academic publication published by [The Whitestone Foundation](http://thewhitestonefoundation.org/), a 501c3 corporation located in Boulder, Colorado. ISSN 1530-5228. Articles are open access under a [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) license; authors retain copyright. Indexed by [EBSCO](https://www.ebsco.com/). Listed with [Duotrope](https://duotrope.com/magazine/journal-cultural-religious-theory-20464?ref=lst-7vbKB-7r3u0g8&pc=L-7VBKB). Website © The Whitestone Foundation dba The Journal for Cultural and Religious Theory 1999-2026. 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