The abuse you endured because of this statement was unwarranted and unjustified, former Academy President David Rubin said. [3][8][9][10] It is sometimes also referred to as a form of fraud,[1] ethnic fraud or race shifting.[11][12]. Listen closely, to the reality and truth, discern the lies and distortions, and be careful. Its nearly 50 pages of Keeler's history of harassing others. Distorted Descent: White Claims to Indigenous Identity, Inventing an Indigenous People in Algonquin Territory, Settler Colonialism + Native Ghosts: An Autoethnographic Account of the Imaginarium of Late Capitalist/Colonialist Storytelling, Waterloo, Ontario: University of Waterloo, Becoming Indian: The Struggle Over Cherokee Identity in the Twenty-First Century, Native American DNA: Tribal Belonging and the False Promise of Genetic Science, APTN Investigates: Cowboys and Pretendians, "Indigenous 'Race Shifting' Red Flags: A Quick Primer for Reporters and Others", Pretendians and Their Impact on Mtis Identity in the Academy, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pretendian&oldid=1138314384, Erika T. Wurth is a novelist claiming Apache/Chickasaw/Cherokee descent whose novel, This page was last edited on 9 February 2023, at 01:08. Yeah, Fake Race Fraud Claims to sell podcasts and books are also Race Fraud. Making their data available opens them up to possible harassment or worse. She attached links to Ancestry.com with some names, which indicates at least some of this research is being conducted via Ancestry.com searches. The Academy apologized to Littlefeather in a letter reported in April. Hebrew-Israelite teen sues after alleged forced pizza feed 11-year-old reads aloud from 'pornographic' book he checked out from library at school board meeting, Chicago's top cop quits one day after woke mayor lost re-election bid, Influencer refuses to switch business class seats so family can sit together, RHOA star Drew Sidora accuses ex Ralph Pittman of cheating, mental abuse, Original Gone With The Wind script reveals secret war over slavery, cut scenes, Drake regrets disrupting someones life by name-dropping exes in his songs, Good luck 'worming' your way out of this one, Sunny Hostin Points Finger at China for COVID Crisis: Did Not Cooperate With the International Community, 'Disgraceful' Meghan, Harry 'provoked' King Charles to evict them: royal expert. Back in my youth, we called them wannabes; nowadays, they are referred to as pretendians or race-shifters. [31], In January 2021, Navajo journalist Jacqueline Keeler began investigating the problem of settler self-indigenization in academia. to cover the Posts possible manipulation, letting readers know what those terms mean, she has allegedly tweeted the N-word and has allegedly supported doing blackface, has been caught doing this very thing in the past. At the same time, in the years following the Occupation of Alcatraz, the formation of Native American studies as a distinct form of area studies, and the awarding of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction to Kiowa author N. Scott Momaday, publishing programs and university departments began to be established specifically for or about Native American culture. Your email address will not be published. Contrary to Littlefeather's half-century long claims, she has no White Mountain Apache or Yaqui heritage . Apparently her real name is Harsha Patel and she is of Asian Indian descent. Arer you saying your uncle wouldnt have married her if she werent a Fauxcahontas? Your joke in protest, they say they are hungry for more ? Theres not a clear process on how this research is being conducted or how individuals are singled out for suspicion. ", Slippery Characters: Ethnic Impersonators and American Identities. Not some random journalist who wants to speak for all Indigenous peoples. Jacqueline Keeler is a Native American writer and activist, enrolled in the Navajo Nation and of Yankton Dakota descent, who co-founded Eradicating Offensive Native Mascotry (EONM), which seeks to end the use of Native American racial groups as mascots. The term is a pejorative colloquialism, and if used without evidence could be considered defamatory.As a practice, being a pretendian is considered an extreme . DNA tests are setting up other problems involving those who discover Native DNA [sic] in their bloodline. [32] Academic Kim TallBear writes that all those mentioned on the list are public figures who have profited from their alleged Indigenous status, that Keelers and her teams list documents that the overwhelming number of those who benefit financially from pretendianism are white, and that these false claims are related to white supremacy and Indigenous erasure. What the heck? Keeler replied on Twitter, referencing the Indigenous Wire piece. Great comment, Bryce. As with the Abenakis of Vermont and New Hampshire, the Penobscots, Maliseets, Mikmaqs, nor the Passamaquoddies, let alone the Federally Recognized tribal communities, in the past or present, have ever questioned or even really validated objectively, that these people in Vermont and New Hampshire actually descend from the Abenakis. Any findings should only be released publicly after they have been determined. United States Poet Laureate Joy Harjo (Mvskoke) writes: We have had to contend with an onslaught of what we call 'Pretendians', that is, non-Indigenous people assuming a Native identity. Unless a person shares their background and history, appearance isnt going to give anything away. This site requires JavaScript to run correctly. Linda turned my family against me. All because she thinks she has the authority to question other's heritage. [41] Academic Dina Gilio-Whitaker wrote that the truth about community leaders is "crucial", even if it means losing a "hero", and that the work Littlefeather did is still valuable, but there is a need to be honest about the harm done by pretendians, especially by those who manage to fool so many people that they become iconic:[35], The stereotype Littlefeather embodied depended on non-Native people not knowing what they were looking at, or knowing what constitutes legitimate American Indian identity. A screenshot from 2014 purporting to show Jacqueline Keeler advocating for dressing up in blackface began circulating on Twitter. Now I've known about Marie Cruz (stage name Sacheen Littlefeather) and her false claims to Apache/Yaqui ancestry for a while now, thanks to Jacqueline Keeler's Pretendian list.But it's only in the last couple of days that it's become wider knowledge, thanks to an article Keeler penned for the San Francisco Chronicle.. Dartmouths assistant undergraduate dean, Susan Taffe Reed, is named. Who are hiding behind a serious BLM issue to deflect from their fraud. Because what appears to be real, may not be the reality after all, especially when in comes to dealing with the Abenakis of the Northeast. Keeler has also added a Pee Dee tribal member to her list. The Pretendian list as originally conceived was supposed to address the false claims of Indigeneity that we're causing harm to our Native Nations. [38] Bourassa was placed on immediate leave from her post at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research after her claims of Indigenous ancestry were found to be baseless.[39]. [22][23][24] Attempts by non-Natives to racialize Indigenous identity by DNA tests have been seen by Indigenous people as insensitive at best, often racist, politically and financially motivated, and dangerous to the survival of Indigenous cultures. My grandparents didnt even speak English! ", "Genetic Markers Not a Valid Test of Native Identity", "Elizabeth Warren's claim to Cherokee ancestry is a form of violence - Be it by the barrel of a carbine or a mail-order DNA test, the American spirit demands the disappearance of Indigenous people", "Can DNA Determine Who is American Native American? Now I've known about Marie Cruz (stage name Sacheen Littlefeather) and her false claims to Apache/Yaqui ancestry for a while now, thanks to Jacqueline Keeler's Pretendian list.But it's only in the last couple of days that it's become wider knowledge, thanks to an article Keeler penned for the San Francisco Chronicle.. Why Are Land Acknowledgements Important? We suspect that might change soon. [35] Keeler has stressed that the list does not include private citizens who are "merely wannabes", but only those public figures who are monetizing and profiting from their claims to tribal identity and who claim to speak for Native American tribes. Not the people or communities of the identity being claimed. She is going to put a lot of people in jeopardy with this action; their livelihoods, their families. Any findings should only be released publicly after they have been determined. Unclear how he got enrolled. Keeler doesnt mention if she reached out to Northern Cheyenne tribal officials. Fruitlands show postponed over this 'profoundly divisive' issue", "Museum won't verify claims of tribal ancestry after artists withdraw from show", "The Curious Case of Gina Adams: A "Pretendian" investigation", "Dear Unsuspecting Public, Jimmie Durham Is a Trickster Jimmie Durham's Indigenous identity has always been a fabrication and remains one", United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, "Vancouver curator's Indigenous ancestry claims panned as 'pretendian', "Who Bears the Steep Costs of Ethnic Fraud? While Indigenous communities have always self-policed and spread word of frauds, mainstream media and arts communities were often unaware, or did not act upon this information, until more recent decades. ), Keeler concluded, Especially since the vast majority on the Alleged Pretendians list are White Americans playing Indian for profit? https://wapo.st/3zCUpau. "Report on Conclusion of Preliminary Review in the Matter of Professor Ward Churchill". As a practice, being a pretendian is considered an extreme form of cultural . I know. Jacqueline Keeler, a Native American writer and activist, created the list to expose the fakers. Problem was, no one was a deep-dive-oriented genealogist, nor did anyone look into the groups genealogies objectively, until 2002, when Eve Jacobs-Carnahan began to do that research. Theres no question about that but to accuse people of fraud with little resaerch and research that has been proven false is damaging to the actual activism she has provided. Littlefeather clearly looks like a Native/Mexican woman in the last photo I saw of her. Im investigating actual ethnic fraud which harms Native people. But we didnt listen. "Everyone on this list . ", "Why Your DNA Results Didn't Show Your Native American Ancestry", "Native Americans fear potential exploitation of their DNA", "DNA tests stand on shaky ground to define Native American identity", "How 'pretendians' undermine the rights of Indigenous people - We must guard against harmful public discourse about Native identity as much as we guard against harmful policy", "Across North America, academics have allegedly manufactured indigenous identity for personal, professional and financial gain", "The Curious Case of Gina Adams: A "Pretendian" investigation - She was hired by Emily Carr University in an effort to recruit Indigenous faculty. It was a list that was to be researched by. Were on the list that apparently matters. Hence, she believes that some on the list are hiding behind the Black Lives Matter movement by strategically labeling her list racist and pointing to times she has allegedly tweeted the N-word and has allegedly supported doing blackface.). [36], On September 13, 2021, the CBC News reported on their ongoing investigation into a "mysterious letter", dated 1845 (but never seen before 2011[37]) that is now believed to be a forgery. His family came from Mexico. In particular, the great-grandmother she claimed was Tlingit, Johanna Salaba, is well-documented as having emigrated from Russia in 1911; she was a Czech-speaking Russian. Falsely claiming to be Native American is bad. The group in Swanton submitted their initial petition for federal recognition in 1982 (after having their internally-trained -by John Moody- but biased genealogists who claimed to be Abenakis, members of the group, do the research and an Addendum was added in 1986. Problem was, none of their narratives of connection to the Abenakis was objectively validated by any documentation whatsoever. Then questions arose about her identity", "Sacheen Littlefeather and ethnic fraud why the truth is crucial, even if it means losing an American Indian hero", "Playing Indian Constitutes a Structural Form of Colonial Theft, and It Must be Tackled", "Mysterious letter linking 1,000 people to $1B Algonquin treaty likely fake, CBC investigation finds Author of conspiracy theory books says letter was dropped in his mailbox in 2011", "Health scientist Carrie Bourassa on immediate leave after scrutiny of her claim she's Indigenous", "Sacheen Littlefeather was a Native American icon. I take issue with While faking Indigenous American identity for positions of prestige is a problem, sovereign tribes and nations should be leading investigations into citizenship claims. As a practice, being a pretendian is considered an extreme form of cultural appropriation,[8] especially if that individual then asserts that they can represent, and speak for, communities they do not belong to. Nadema Agard, a New York City visual artist who claims Lakota, Cherokee, and Powhatan ancestry, is named. A parody website lists her and like-minded natives as Karendians.. We were written off, no more dialogue to be had, and our thoughts on the Posts coverage were apparently just plain stupid, not worthy of a response (no matter that we repeat, again, that Fox News has been caught doing this very thing in the past in an attempt to undermine people it disagrees with). Staff genealogist. Be it said the four winds drew me near my last acceptance at a university before i gave up was to LSSU. Black Natives should never see this type of behavior from someone with such a large platform, whom theyd entrusted to advocate on their behalf. Again, believe it or not. I know how you feel Rob, we have been pushing Fawn Sharp, President of the National Congress of American Indians on my Original Pechanga blog for years. Individuals who made careers out of pretending an Indigenous identity include James Beckwourth,[14] Chief Buffalo Child Long Lance,[15] and Grey Owl. Getting rid of every single pretendian isn't going to (I think) strengthen our sovereignty changing our rolls to include all our people does . UC Santa Barbara making progress on planned student housing development in partnership with visionary philanthropist Charlie Munger. Ms. To be clear: We were. Keeler, 53, a member of the Navajo Nation, was born in Cleveland to parents who went there as part of a voluntary relocation program by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in the mid-20th century, I am an enrolled Navajo Nation citizen. In response to an Indigenous Wire item yesterday about the way the New York Post treated a picture of writer and activist Jacqueline Keeler in its coverage of the Pretendian/Karendian/Defendian Native identity and ethnic fraud controversy, Keeler shot the messenger in this case, yours truly. The Vermont Eugenics Records NEVER once mentioned in the 40+ boxes of materials the word Abenaki for any of his or any other family (including my ancestors, the Wood(w)ards, nor their lateral line relatives, the Ways, Sweetsers, etc. Keeler has a reputation for doing this kind of thing. The reestablishment and exercise of tribal sovereignty among tribal nations (following the era of Indian termination policy) meant that many individuals raised away from tribal communities sought, and still seek, to reestablish their status as tribal citizens or to recover connections to tribal traditions. The Real Problem With Jacqueline Keeler's 'Alleged Pretendian' List. In an apparent response to these incidents, Navajo and Yankton Dakota writer Jacqueline Keeler recently created an "alleged pretendian" list a spreadsheet of people she thinks are pretending to be Indian. Indeed, some deceivers have argued that her list is in itself racist, or that it has racial undertones, because it includes people who identify as both Black and Native. Keeler says she and other researchers capped the list at 200 to help make the investigative caseload manageable, but that the true number of alleged fraudsters is closer to 500. The Pee Dee tribes in South Carolina are thoroughly documented and are supposed to become federally-recognized soon, along with the Waccamaw tribe. Several people on the list have also denied Keelers claims of fraud. There is an element of narcissism. Taking a key step to advance a project that will transform the campus residential experience and the campus itself UC Santa Barbara has released a notice of preparation for a new student housing development. The crux of the article is as follows: Cruz' sisters deny that . It goes into detail with each entry and us cotinually being updated. Get quality preowned and refurbished ophthalmic equipment Save thousands over new equipment when you can get the same quality and . A list of pretendians. You might be a pretendian if you've legally changed your name from "Weissvogel" to "White Eagle Soaring." You might be a pretendian if you burn to a crisp in ten minutes of strong moonlight. Let us focus on unity and building bridges! What more do you need? Fair warning, I know Jackie Keeler and she stood with us at a protest at the BIA. Rhiana Yazzie, a Native-American playwright, said she had mixed feelings about the list. in service of a greater discourse of this topic. Keeler included places of employment, LinkedIn profiles and, in some cases, the names of their actual Native relatives or in-laws. I'll just hold off my judgment till more comes out. [35], There are several possible explanations for why people adopt pretendian identities. 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