Faking ancestry hurts First Nations causes
The issue of pretendians, or people who claim Indigenous heritage, is one of ongoing concern in Indian Country.
It all started with Grey Owl, who held a romantic 19th century image of Canada's Indigenous people. He was also able to cash in as a lecturer and entertain European audiences. Unfortunately, he was also a drunk, so he also reinforced the stereotype.
Later novelist Joseph Boyden, film director Michelle Latimer and former University of Saskatchewan professor Carrie Bourassa would all have their identity called into question and be labelled pretendians. They cashed in on their dubious claim to fame to gain prominence and wealth.
This has infuriated Indigenous academics, film producers and intellectuals who had worked hard to succeed in their discipline against overwhelming odds. They also could easily prove their Indigenous ancestry by simply revealing their First Nations band membership.
The latest individual to find herself in hot water is Mary Ellen Turpel-lafond, an accomplished academic, former judge and British Columbia's first Representative for Children and Youth, a position she held for 10 years.
She is now a tenured full professor of law at the University of British Columbia's Peter Allard Hall Law School and is also the director of UBC'S Indian Residential School Centre for History and Dialogue.
In the past, she was an adviser to Assembly of First Nations chief Ovide Mercredi during the negotiations at the Charlottetown accord.
She also advised Chief Blaine Favel during his tenure as chief of what is now the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations FSIN. Following that, she was appointed as what was thought to be the first Indigenous provincial court judge in Saskatchewan.
Her resume and accomplishments are impressive; therefore, it was with considerable dismay that we found out her Indigenous roots were suspect.
A piece of investigative journalism done by CBC revealed that Turpel-lafond's grandfather was
Dr. Turpel, who served in Norway House, Manitoba. The family left for southern Ontario in 1939 and never returned. Turpel-lafond was born in 1963 and allegedly grew up in southern Ontario.
She claimed membership in the Norway House First Nation, but no paper trail exists of her being a member.
When she married George Lafond, she became a member of the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation in Saskatchewan, so technically she is an Indigenous person through citizenship.
Up to now, universities and government institutions have allowed First Nations status to be self-defining, allowing some to slip through the cracks. Now the practice is under review and more comprehensive methods are being discussed.
The thing that I find hard to grasp is that most of these pretendians are very talented people and would probably be successful if they didn't pose as Indigenous.
Turpel-lafond has the smarts and education to back it up. She could most likely be appointed to the bench or a senior civil service position, regardless of her ethnicity.
Her case is different in that she is a member of a First Nation. She has membership in the Muskeg Lake First Nation through marriage. Under the First Nations membership codes, she was accepted as a member.
Under the changes to the Indian Act, First Nations citizenship is now determined by the First Nation. We see the concept of citizenship rather than blood quantum, as in the United States.
Previously, the Department of Indian Affairs administered First Nations membership under the draconian Indian Act. This undemocratic and colonial control was dropped about 40 years ago.
Speaking for the rest of us, I find it strange that with all the racism and cards stacked against us, why would anyone want to take on the identity of an Indigenous person in Canada, and especially in Saskatchewan? It's the new definition for a glutton for punishment.
Claiming Indigenous status works in some cases. In the upper echelons, such as universities and government agencies, they are searching for a brown face to represent their sense of fairness and inclusion. If you're an educated person and Indigenous you can use your status for affirmative action and it's good PR for the institution.
However, nobody ever got a job as a waitress, a welder or a mechanic because they were Indigenous; if anything, they had to try harder.
The pretendians thrive among the white liberal elites where they fit in as artists, academics and comfortable intellectuals. The rest of us continue to plod along with our Indigenous lives.