Ward Churchill, an author, has long claimed an indigenous identity. Photo: Steve Rhodes
Why do some people claim to be indigenous when they aren't? Poet Tiffany Midge, a citizen of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, takes another look at ethnic fraud:
With the increasing number of non-Indigenous people claiming Indigenous ancestry, in particular authors such as Joseph Boyden, subject of the most recent controversy, and academic Andrea Smith, as well as many others foremost intellectuals and professional Indian experts, it’s critical that we understand the reasons behind these misrepresentations, and find reasonable ways to address and resolve these incidents from happening further. Veronica Faust, Ph.D., and noted ethnologist/entomologist, whose thesis on pretendian behavioral science from the University of Chicanery, offered the following insights on this near-epidemic phenomena: “One way to respond to charlatan controversies and identify instances of ethnic fraud is to look to other species and analyze the ways that they mitigate these kinds of imposter issues. Animals, specifically insect species, have the same instincts for survival as we do. Animals exist alongside predators and prey, must negotiate complex economies ensuring their survival, and the survival of their young, and have developed highly evolved strategies to camouflage themselves by blending in with their environments, just like we do!”Read More on the Story:
Tiffany Midge: Things Psuedo-Indigenous Authors Have Claimed To Be But Actually Are Not (Indian Country Today 1/26)
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