Passing for indigenous pays for some...

The following opinion piece written by yours truly and published on October 20, 2022 deals with the problematic but not unexpected phenomenon of indigenous identity theft by white Canadians, a process called pretendianism.

This process has been around for generations but pretending to be aboriginal has skyrocketed in recent years in lock-step with the growing status, power, privilege, and prosperity that faking Indian pedigree now yields. Ironically, but not unexpectedly, pretendianism is simply the other side of the racial-cum-ethnic coin: for most of long period of contact between the first settlers of Canada and the later European settlers, pretending to be white, like passing for white in America among mixed race people, was a common strategy for coping with racism and other forms of oppression.

The best known recent case involves Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, widely regarded as one of Canada's most successful and honoured indigenous scholars and legal professionals, who for decades claimed to be of aboriginal ancestry through her father William Turpel, who she claimed was Cree. According to the CBC, she has said she was the "first Treaty Indian" appointed to the judicial bench in Saskatchewan history.

Outstanding investigative journalism led by the CBC’s Geoff Leo asked Turpel-Lafond how her father, William Turpel, could be Cree when his parents were British. According to Leo, “… she refused to answer, only hinting at family secrets and shame, saying ‘I will never call anyone out.’ However, in a public statement days after the story was published, Turpel-Lafond declared that her father had been adopted.”

Leo then once more called Turpel-Lafond out by releasing an official birth certificate for a William Turpel, registered with BC's Vital Statistics Agency, which shows that he's the child of two British parents:

Not suprisingly, many indigenous activists have become increasingly outraged by this pretendianism. Jean Teillet, the great-grandniece of Louis Riel, an Indigenous rights lawyer, and the writer a new report for the University of Saskatchewan called Indigenous Identity Fraud had this to say in a Globe and Mail editorial:

“In recent years, there have been a series of high-profile media exposés of people who are falsely taking on an Indigenous identity. They are being called “pretendians.” The word blends “pretend” with “Indians.” It’s a cute word, too cute. The use of the word pretend makes it sound like a game, like something fun, like action with no consequences. People don’t cause harm when they pretend, and pretending has an air of innocence about it because that’s what children do.

There is nothing innocent about falsely assuming Indigenous identity. It’s fraud – intentional deception for personal gain. Lies about the person’s lived experience, their family and where and how they grew up are repeated over decades. Most of the lies play to stereotypical beliefs about Indigenous people. Usually by working for and with Indigenous people, the imposter gains access to opportunities, jobs, money, prestige and power. It’s a deft twist on impersonation. It’s identity theft, it causes harm, there’s a lot of it going on, and it’s a serious problem.”

In fact, she has argued that:

“The exposés [of identity fraud] have awakened universities across Canada. Governments, especially the federal government, are still deaf to the ringing bell. But it’s only a matter of time before a high-profile government employee or politician is exposed. And that will happen because thousands of individual Canadians have falsely assumed an Indigenous identity.”

“Thousands” is a big but not unexpected number given that self identification is all that is still required in most cases to take advantage of all benefits of indigenous status.

But this begs the question of why these racial/ethnic group advantages exist all all, a question Jean Teillet avoided possibly because she accepts that differential treatment based on birthright is a natural, normal, and healthy way to organize a society, especially when it is given Canadian constitutional legitimacy in the form of Charter affirmative action and Section 35 indigenous rights.

Such beliefs allow her to opine that:

“Perhaps the greatest harm of all [identity theft] is the sense of suspicion that now prevails and the loss of trust. Fraud is a poison, and it taints everything it touches. Indigenous identity fraudsters make a mockery of truth and ethical standards. We should care deeply about Indigenous identity fraud and every measure should be taken to put a stop to it.”

For me, “the greatest harm of all is the sense of suspicion that now prevails and the lost of trust” when Canadian citizens are granted all manner of scarce benefits and resources based on the colour of their skin or the ethnic affiliation of their parents. “Every measure should be taken to put a stop to it.”

If you want to find out more about pretendianism, please continue reading.