Episode 10: "Where No Common Memory Exists: Finding the Point of Entry for Common Ground," interview with Mark Charles, July 22, 2025.
šļø Episode 10 invites us not to return to the past, but to return to the truthāto find common ground by telling the whole story. What happens to a nation when its founding wordsāāWe the Peopleāānever 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."
ā 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 Americaās 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 memoryāand 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 listenersāespecially those from dominant cultural spacesāto 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.
š Referenced Resources
š Book: Unsettling Truths: The Ongoing, Dehumanizing Legacy of the Doctrine of Discovery by Mark Charles & Soong-Chan Rah. Bookshop | Amazon
š¤ TEDx Talk: The Truth Behind āWe the Peopleā (Jan 24, 2019) Watch here ā https://youtu.be/HbIbE1JMXaM
āļø Core Takeaways
- Our foundational documents were built to protect white, landowning menāthis 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 gesturesāit requires truth, grief, humility, and reparation.
- Cultural practices and personal disciplineālike greeting the sunācan guide us back to clarity and connection.
ā±ļø Chapters
00:00 ā Introduction to We the People and Its Implications
09:12 ā Mark Charles: A Voice for the Marginalized
17:11 ā The Doctrine of Discovery and Its Legacy
25:06 ā Constitutional Critique: Who Is Included?
32:41 ā The Need for a Common Memory and Healing
35:35 ā Political Responses to Racial Injustice
38:52 ā Understanding the Constitution's Flaws
40:01 ā The Foundation of American Society
42:27 ā Recognizing Historical Context
43:16 ā The Impact of Native Voices in Politics
46:50 ā Spiritual Practices and Cultural Identity
48:57 ā Questioning Faith and Institutional Legacy
53:50 ā Cultural Revitalization and Resilience
1:02:15 ā Affirming Cultural Heritage
1:03:11 ā Storytelling as a Tool for Connection
1:05:08 ā Life on the Navajo Nation: A Personal Journey
1:08:06 ā The Isolation of Historical Trauma
1:10:10 ā Reframing with the Grandmother Metaphor
1:12:59 ā Belonging and Host Relationships
1:15:52 ā 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