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. Agard denied faking her ancestry and called the allegations from Keeler a witch-hunt, and sent her own slew of documents which she said backed up her claim. Keeler's list lacks documentation, is libelous, and includes dozens of people who are recognized by their tribes and communities as kin and contributing members of their communities. There is an element of narcissism. Then she deletes related tweets and other social media that would undermine her integrity, and she usually presents herself in the end as the aggrieved, yet righteous, victor on whatever issue she is championing. Ms. The Pretendian list as originally conceived was supposed to address the false claims of Indigeneity that we're causing harm to our Native Nations. 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. Anyway, no one has entrusted Keeler with anything. Researchers found her people actually originated from Eastern Europe and Russia. Creating an alleged pretendian list of possible offenders with incomplete research, possible bias and implication of actual Natives alongside alleged pretensions isnt safe for Indian Country nor should it be the standard. Believe it or not, some non-Indian folks, not steeped in this stuff, dont know what a Pretendian, a Defendian, a Karendian and/or a Kendian are. It goes into detail with each entry and us cotinually being updated. EXAMPLE: Vermont and New Hampshires alleged and reinvented Abenakis. "It's not reconnection if I don't like you" Kendian Cornsilk. Required fields are marked *. Littlefeather clearly looks like a Native/Mexican woman in the last photo I saw of her. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The Google doc can be viewed by requesting access with an email address. Several people on the list have also denied Keelers claims of fraud. "[4], In October 2021, the CBC published an investigation into the status of Canadian academic Carrie Bourassa, who works as an Indigenous health expert and has claimed Mtis, Anishinaabe and Tlingit status. Everyone on this list has made public claims through interviews, in books authored, documentaries, and even in Congressional testimony. [32] Academic Dina Gilio-Whitaker, who reviewed Keelers documentation on Sacheen Littlefeather before it was published (see below), wrote that in her opinion Keeler did solid research. Why aren't either public to allow for observation and/or scrutiny without the need for data collection? Embattled now by the Miamis who share the reserve land in OK. One thing less important than the main part here was that tribes might lose the power in law to distinguish themselves in kindness in continuing to bring kindred into the circle. The Alleged Pretendians List is the creation of Jacqueline Keeler (inset), a Native American writer and activist who has spent years busting fakers in politics and . Yet, these lived experiences, bearing the epigenetic imprints of historical trauma, are distinct from experiences of Indigeneity. 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. We become a spectacle for those who at best think of us as a Halloween costume idea. For a first-time violation of the Act, an individual can face civil or criminal penalties up to a $250,000 fine or a five-year prison term, or both. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Pow Wows are one of the best ways to connect with your ancestral heritage and celebrate Native American culture. Your place here is more secure than that. So called Indianness is good enough for every purpose. The crux of the article is as follows: Cruz' sisters deny that . In popular culture, this style of "outing" is historically most associated with revealing those suspected of being closeted gays and lesbians. "[9], Patrick Wolfe argues that the problem is more structural, stating that settler colonial ideology actively needs to erase and then reproduce Indigenous identity in order to create and justify claims to land and territory. records were people who ALREADY incarcerated in institutions previous to the Eugenics Survey, as the Childrens Aid Society had been documenting child of impoverished homes, truancy cases, and abusive homes across both states, and Harriet E. Abbott, came from that organization (as did others) and later became agents of the Eugenics Movement. UC Santa Barbara making progress on planned student housing development in partnership with visionary philanthropist Charlie Munger. Jacquelin "Stands With a List" Keeler Din (Navajo) writer Jacqueline Keeler's reputation has fallen considerably since she was fired from Indian Country Today for biased reporting and later her controversial research methods in building the "Alleged Pretendian List". jacqueline keeler is a known racist and xenophobe (just google "Opinion: The Real Problem With Jacqueline Keeler's 'Alleged Pretendian' List" there's an article that links an entire google doc of the racist shit she's done over the years and . There are some questions to both her own and her husband's Native ancestry / enrollment as both of their stories shift over time. [] Harm is caused when resources and even jobs go to fakes instead of the people they were intended for. From 2012 to this year. [4] The CBC investigation used handwriting analysis, and other methods of archival and historical evaluation to conclude the letter is a fake. [38] In response, Bourassa admitted that she does not have status in the communities that she claimed but insisted that she does have some Indigenous ancestors and that she has hired other genealogists to search for them. But call the Sault Tribe enrollment department if you must. This topic is complex and deeply personal and quite frankly it is nobody's fucking business, least of all any Non-Native/White person's. It is invasive, inappropriate, unethical, and a violation of one's personal and private life especially if you are outside of the community. Written by author Jacqueline Keeler, whose running "Alleged Pretendians" list documents cases of Native American ethnic fraud, the article cites two of Littlefeather's sisters who say that their sibling lied about her heritage. A controversial piece in the San Francisco Chronicle features interviews with the actress sisters, who say she wasnt part of a Native American tribe. A screenshot from 2014 purporting to show Jacqueline Keeler advocating for dressing up in blackface began circulating on, The conversation apparently took place during organizing action against Native. Only Navajo!. (20 years to "get the records straight). It is hard to see this as anything other than an individual's capitalist claim, just another version of a colonial offense. The Alleged Pretendians list now has 90 folks on it. Keelers rationale is that these are public-facing people. [35], There are several possible explanations for why people adopt pretendian identities. Her enemies among whom we do not consider ourselves, but she might think otherwise based on what youll read below say she tends to serve up disordered logic on a number of topics. What you are doing to Keeler is no different than the abuse you allege she is inflicting. Listen closely, to the reality and truth, discern the lies and distortions, and be careful. In an apparent response to these incidents, Navajo and Yankton Dakota writer Jacqueline Keeler recently created an alleged pretendian lista spreadsheet of people she thinks are pretending to be Indian. Who are hiding behind a serious BLM issue to deflect from their fraud. How can you tell if someone is Native American? The list contains both those being probed and those who have already been disavowed by tribes they claim affiliation with. I stopped at 1800 for each line because at that point all the families were in east of Ohio - outside of the . And I have witnessed tribes, simply NOT leading the investigations into fraudulent claims of native identity. Fair warning, I know Jackie Keeler and she stood with us at a protest at the BIA. They claimed they were all hiding in plain sight due to fears of discrimination, and of course, using the Eugenics Survey of Vermont 1925-1937 as an excuse, hijacking that for gains publicly and politically. There is a pattern that "pretendians" follow: They exploit peoples lack of knowledge about who American Indian people are by perpetuating ambiguity in a number of ways. Keeler insists Agards heritage traces itself back to Barbados and showed genealogical records which she said backed up the assertion. Then questions arose about her identity. , Keeler went a different routeone that we had been told in advance she might. ", "Yellowstone Star Kelsey Asbille Grows Into Her Cherokee Identity Onscreen", "Kelsey Chow speaks Chinese for LA Teen Festival", "Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Says Wind River and Yellowstone Actress is Not Enrolled nor Descended from Tribe", "Eurasian Actress Exposed After Falsely Claiming She Was Part Native American Over Film Role", "Iron Eyes Cody, 94, an Actor And Tearful Anti-Littering Icon", "Native Son: After a Career as Hollywood's Noble Indian Hero, Iron Eyes Cody is Found to Have an Unexpected Heritage", "Disney Exploiting Confusion About Whether Depp Has Indian Blood", "Sonny Skyhawk on Johnny Depp, Disney, Indian Stereotypes and White Film Indians", "Johnny Depp's History of Racism and Broken Promises to Native Americans", "Why I Question Joseph Boyden's Indigenous Ancestry", "Author Joseph Boyden's shape-shifting Indigenous identity", "Identity of Indian Memoirist is Disputed", "Agent Confirms Author Nasdijj and Gay-Erotica Writer Timothy Barrus Are Same Person", "Publisher stops issuing memoirs by disputed author", Stanisaw Supatowicz. - A list of pretendians. Copyright 2023 Pow Wows, Inc. All rights reserved, on Opinion: The Real Problem With Jacqueline Keelers Alleged Pretendian List, Unless a person shares their background and history, appearance isnt going to give anything away. Are there pretendians out there, sure. Today, the Nulhegan groups leader, Don Stevens has hijacked a 1796 Deed in northern Vermont and New Hampshire, ratified by Louis Metallic in the 1830s, implying that his ancestor Peter Phillips Sr. (1832-1906) and his ancestors were Abenakis connected to that Deed. [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]. in November 2021, writing for the Toronto Star about the Bourassa situation as well as the actions of Joseph Boyden and Michelle Latimer, K.J. At the same time, we were defining the long-established Karendian and Kendian terms not supporting misogyny and, again, we do believe this issue is of utmost importance, as we said in the original post. The abuse you endured because of this statement was unwarranted and unjustified, former Academy President David Rubin said. [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. Its worse to shut down someone trying to reconnect with their ancestral roots than to let a pretendian slip by. Tallbear stresses that people who fabricate fraudulent claims are in no way the same as disconnected and reconnecting descendants who have real heritage, such as victims of government programs that scooped Indigenous children from their families. At the same time, he said the piece has a gotcha ethos that could prove harmful. This is a contentious document that questions peoples identity by insinuating ethnic fraud is being carried out. 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. Keeler, who has been accused of conducting "witch hunts" to expose fake Native Americans, told The Post she met Wurth a few years ago when the novelist publicly accused Native American writer . Screenshots and links. My moms full Navajo. 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. To be clear: We were. As for Jacqueline Keeler, I haven't interacted with her in real life as you have, but in this case she reacted the way a number of people over many years have said she has to other situations in the past. Were on the list that apparently matters. In the academy and government, they are mostly white women. [7][16][17], The academic Joel W. Martin noted that "an astonishing number of southerners assert they have a grandmother or great-grandmother who was some kind of Cherokee, often a princess", and that such myths serve settler purposes in aligning American frontier romance with southern regionalism and pride.[18]. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. By claiming indigeneity without the recognition of Native nations, pretendians undermine a core tenant of tribal sovereignty: the ability for tribes to determine citizenship. Reactions to the list among Natives online range from the passive agreement that Indian Country needs a vetting process to outright protest over the ethics of adding names to a public list without verification. Keelers list is controversial within native communities as well. Keeler included places of employment, LinkedIn profiles and, in some cases, the names of their actual Native relatives or in-laws. [31], In January 2021, Navajo journalist Jacqueline Keeler began investigating the problem of settler self-indigenization in academia. Accusations of anti-Black bias in the creation of the list have also been brought up. 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.. Among famous names like Johnny Depp and . Sometimes family stories with no truth behind them run amuck. Again, (Keeler is referring here, we think, in a roundabout way to people with a combination of Black and Native ancestry/heritage who have felt attacked by, . While there are some genetic markers that are more common among Native Americans, these markers are also found in Asia, and in other parts of the world. There are many angles to the story, and this one, while not the most crucial, piqued our interest due to the New York Post/Fox News connection and Fox News previous manipulation of photos.). 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. Thanks for contacting us. https://jacquelinekeeler.substack.com/p/hollywood-fantasy-is-sacheen-littlefeather?utm_medium=email. It is so difficult to hold one another accountable these days. The op-ed was a letter of advice to Deb Haaland, a Native American who had just been nominated to serve as President Bidens Interior Secretary. A notorious and deeply unreliable 'pretendian hunter' making the claim that Sacheen Littlefeather wasn't Native is profoundly suspicious and i'm gonna need my non indigenous mutuals to generally . What the heck? Keeler replied on Twitter, referencing, . And then I stopped pretending, beginning to research a thousand and one fellow race shifters social, historical, and genealogical backgrounds who claim today, to be thee Vermont or New Hampshires Abenakis who have Vermont State recognition, and have their laminated membership cards at the ready. 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.. "Don't ask me about Cherokee Freedmen" kilometres of land". The Eugenics didnt target Abenakis, but rather Poor White persons, and families, as well as French-Canadians, and Black families such as the Phelps up in St. Albans, Vermont. No public retraction or apology was made for this huge oversight. Most of the people mentioned in the V.E.S. The crux of the article is as follows: Cruz' sisters deny that . Other tribal citizens, who had been raised in American Indian boarding schools under genocidal policies designed to erase their cultural identity, also revived tribal religious and cultural practices. For example, as communication. There's a post about . The strongest rule of white culture is to speak when spoken to. [32] This research resulted in the Alleged Pretendians List,[33] of about 200 public figures in academia and entertainment, which Keeler self-published as a Google spreadsheet in 2021. The idea here was that I watch from my apartment in Toledo and wait for the night sky to tell me to travel to defen Indian land from the Alberta pipelines. Historian Philip J. Deloria has noted that European Americans "playing Indian" is a phenomenon that stretches back at least as far as the Boston Tea Party. What is being done requires deep research, not gut feel. I get it: to feast on struggle, to explore imagined roots; to lay the foundational work for academic jobs and publishing opportunities. Keeler began investigating the problem of settler self-indigenization in academia several people on the list pretendian list keeler both those being and... 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