Message to Native Canada:
- White people can identify as Indian until Native people tell them to stop
- If they’ve repeated the lie long enough and made millions doing it … don’t worry about it, we’ll let you get away with it.
- BTW … if you are an actual Indigenous person, we still don’t give a shit about you.
Do you want indigenous people to be carded any time they claim they have indigenous heritage?
If it means anyone gets special treatment, grants, rights, gifts, awards, funds or significant recognition … and especially if it will mean millions of dollars in profits, income or wealth … by all means yes card any individual that claims indigenous heritage.
It would put a stop to professionals, academics, writers, performers, artists and politicians from taking advantage of false native heritage to gain an unfair and illegitimate advantage in their field … and at the worst become and act as a representative of the people they have a hand in oppressing
That sounds totally reasonable.
Many of us have indigenous ancestry but don’t identify as indigenous. It seems to me that the Indian Act made it black and white for a lot of people - you’re either Status Indian or not indigenous at all. This story is so damaging to people who might want to reconnect and learn about their ancestry. If I had a real choice to embrace indigenous culture as my own growing up, I would have in a heartbeat.
But she never had any heritage to begin with, according to the investigation. It’s good to connect with your roots, but hers were European.
Exactly. She apparently does not have native heritage nor did she grow up as part of a native community. Her adoption did not happen until she was an adult and her various stories about her birth can not all be true. In fact it seems none of them are.
I find the whole saga sad on several levels.
Yeah but stories like this tend to make people ask the question “What is required to be ‘native’?” and then you start to get into the various systems required to determine band membership.
It’s one thing to search into your Native ancestry … I’m full blooded Indigenous and I would support anyone that would want to look at their family connections … personally, I know a variety of Indigenous people - full blooded brown skinned Native people that were born and raised on the land … all the way to half bloods with blonde hair and blue eyes with full status
It becomes something else when someone claims ancestry with the goal of using that connection to make money, find financial support, further their career or take a financial / business / academic / professional shortcut.
People should look into the ancestry … but they shouldn’t use it under false pretenses, especially if it means gaining money.
Her family have spoken out and the point is now moot. She is who she is and the people who have a right to care agree with her. Everyone else can go fuck off. This is nothing but pierre poilivre’s base stirring up racism.
Speak for yourself … I’m full blooded Indigenous and I categorically don’t agree with any of this
It smacks of colonialism 2.0 … take an identify under false pretenses … get called a liar … look for an excuse and it doesn’t matter any more.
If nothing is done about this … then more false actors are bound to appear now and in the future who can think that its acceptable to carry out this stupid charade.
Don’t base all of Indigenous acceptance to this stupidity based on one family in one region in one situation. This affects millions and the number of people it affects is related to the number of reactions out there.
This video is Pierre Poilivre stirring up racism? The Fifth Estate? Admittedly, I’ve been away from Canada for some time, so I might be missing out on certain political cues. I’ll leave the sharing up to others from here on.