Canada's First Nations Leadership Council has called on King Charles III to renounce the Doctrine of Discovery.
The Council, which comprises the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs, the British Columbia Assembly of First Nations, and the First Nations Summit, said the Doctrine dehumanized non-Europeans while empires waged war and stole lands, resources and wealth.
With Charles III proclaimed Canada's new head of state on Saturday, following the death of Queen Elizabeth II last Thursday, the First Nations Leadership Council urged the new king to embrace reform.
"We call for this international law doctrine to be renounced by the King of England. With a change in Canada's head of state, it's time for a change in the Crown's approach to Indigenous sovereignty," they said in a statement.
The Doctrine of Discovery was originally created by Pope Nicholas V in 1452 through the issue of a papal bull which authorised the Portuguese empire to conquer and enslave Saracens and "pagans".
In 1493, one year after the arrival of a Spanish-sponsored expedition in the Americas, the notoriously corrupt Pope Alexander VI issued the papal bull Inter Caetera, which gave a green light to the Spanish and Portuguese empires to devour more of Africa and the Americas.
The papal bull said land not inhabited by Christians could be claimed and "barbarous nations be overthrown and brought to the faith itself".
A subsequent treaty between Spain and Portugal ratified by Pope Julius II agreed boundaries between the two vast global empires.
Popes Leo X and Clement VII later supported the contention of France that older bulls favouring the Iberian empires did not apply to "new" territories conquered by other powers, including England, but the Doctrine of Discovery did apply.
England retained the Doctrine even after the Reformation and break from Rome, and competed with France to colonise Canada, ultimately defeating French forces and taking control of the entire country in 1763.
Many First Nations signed treaties with the British, which included commitments to share resources that were later breached by the Crown.
Pacific Association of First Nations leader and member of the Wolf Clan from the Oneida Nation Diana Day told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation it was vital to hold the monarchy to account.
"It's important to hold them responsible and to have them take a greater part in reconciliation and truth-telling of the history of this country," she said.
Ms Day said recognising the Queen's long reign and marking her death was significant, but it was is also crucial to focus on those First Nations people in Canada who live in conditions of severe deprivation and disadvantage.
In May, after Pope Francis apologised for the role of the Catholic Church in Canada's residential schools, where First Nations children suffered poor treatment and conditions, Métis National Council president Cassidy Caron was among many calling for the Queen to issue a similar apology on behalf of the Anglican Church, which also operated residential schools.
Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs secretary-treasurer Kukpi7 Judy Wilson noted that the late Queen had also been asked to renounce the Doctrine of Discovery, but had not done so.
