They took the children from the land, now they want those children’s identities
Anonda Canadien (she/her) (Dehcho Dene) // Arts and Culture Editor
Andrei Guecco (he/him) // Illustrator
Over the last few years, it’s come to light that many people have been falsely claiming the heritage of being Indigenous within the colonial state of Canada. This issue—brought to light within the colonial context of the Canadian state—has revealed numerous such cases of identity fraud.
This goes into the ongoing discourse: What is Indigenity? And, who gets to claim this status? Within Canada, Indigenous refers to First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples. Before the term Indigenous, there was Aboriginal, then First Nations, then Indian, then the root of it all, a Savage. For context, when colonization began within the colonial state of ‘Canada,’ the government viewed the Indigenous people as ‘savages.’ The term ‘savage’ is a racist slur; it was applied because colonizers perceived Indigenous cultures as primitive, uneducated and as comprising everything they failed to recognize or understand.”
So, if the government and non-Indigenous peoples saw Indigenous peoples within this light, why have so many non-Indigenous peoples falsely claimed this identity? For starters, the most common line is that they were fostered and taken in by Indigenous communities and families. Furthermore, some people viewed the struggles that Indigenous peoples faced in a sympathetic light so deep that they connected to the struggles and thought to claim it, as they felt so deeply sorry for the Indigenous peoples struggles.
The term referring to these people who falsely claim Indigenous identity is commonly known within mainstream media as ‘pretendian.’ However, within scholarly discourse regarding this issue, it’s far too soft of a term for the amount of harm done. The term sounds like a kids game, like they’re saying ‘let’s play Indian for a while.’ So, the alternative for this is identity fraudsters, the definition of fraud being ‘wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain.’
Who are these people? Some have made national headlines such as Buffy St. Marie, Michelle Latimer, Thomas King, Joseph Boyden and Karima Manji, just to name a few. The amount of people who have claimed this identity then to be outed is far more than you’d think, not only have they done harm to the communities they claim, they have taken funding, prizes, and pushed actual Indigenous people out of the spotlight. They took the spotlight because a part of them truly believed they were Indigenous due to false documents, false links to culture and communities, and turning their sympathy for the struggle into their identity.
The list of pretendians—or identity fraudsters—is endless. The amount of harm done is irreversible. They have taken grants, scholarships and jobs created for Indigenous people; they take the spotlight from Indigenous artists, leaders, speakers or authors; they capitalize on the ongoing trauma from residential schools, the sixties scoop and the ongoing genocide of Indigenous women, girls and two spirit peoples; they groom Elders and vulnerable members of the communities in order to ‘verify’ their connection and heritage under false pretenses and betray community members who looked up to them. Within academia, students feel confused and question if what they learned is real. They speak on behalf of Indigenous peoples; these actions and false stories have downgraded the actual lived experience of an Indigenous person.
Now, imagine you took a class on Indigenous Studies within Canada and later found out the instructor and assistant were not actually Indigenous through basic questioning? Within Indigenous communities, it’s often told to say where and who you come from in order to connect with community, relatives and to find common kin. When these identity fraudsters stutter and change where and who they come from, this is a giveaway that they’re actually not Indigenous. It’s not policing, it’s a practice that is common among Indigenous communities.
So, what should be done? Take into consideration the case of Karima Manji, a woman that pleaded guilty to one count of fraud in 2024. She falsely submitted documents claiming her children were of Inuit descent in order for them to gain access to education funding created specifically for Inuit students. Is this enough? Should her children also be charged? They were, but Manji took the fall when the children claimed they were unaware of the false documents.
As a young First Nations woman myself, this is not enough. Many of these people who were brought to the spotlight have only disappeared into the darkness. They never give the money, the prize or the spotlight back. They never give the stories back. To falsely claim Indigenous identity is rooted in racism and colonial ideology; they never stop taking.