E004: Seeing Through To The Emperor's Extravagant Pretension

In this episode, Steve Newcomb and Peter d'Errico dissect a recent concurring opinion from the Washington State Supreme Court that denounces the racist language in foundational federal Indian law cases while leaving the core doctrines of domination untouched. Using the FLYING T RANCH v. STILLAGUAMISH TRIBE decision as their entry point, they expose a crucial distinction: cleaning up offensive rhetoric does nothing to dismantle the legal architecture that continues to deny Indigenous sovereignty and legitimize settler control over Native lands. Steve and Peter demonstrate how well-meaning critiques of racist language can actually obscure the persistence of domination by allowing courts to appear enlightened while perpetuating the same colonial doctrines—now dressed in sanitized prose. The conversation challenges listeners to see through the emperor's new clothes: redacting slurs doesn't erase the extravagant pretension that Euro-American law has legitimate authority over peoples who never surrendered their freedom and independence. 

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