It's time for 'pretendians' to return the grant funding and honorary degrees

This column is an opinion by Jenene Wooldridge, a Mi'kmaw author and executive director of L'nuey, based in Epekwitk (P.E.I.). For more information about CBC's Opinion section, please see the FAQ.

People falsely claiming Indigenous identity for opportunistic reasons is nothing new but the rise in this behaviour, or perhaps the rise in people being discovered, is disturbing.  

We remember Grey Owl, the British writer, trapper and conservationist who pretended to be Indigenous after landing in Canada — a fabrication that wasn't exposed until after his death in 1938. 

For more recent examples, we have only to look at headlines in Newfoundland or B.C. 

But the truth is there are many more stories spanning the years in between, and stretching from coast to coast to coast.

Stories of people who wish to reap the benefits, but have not the lived experience of being Indigenous. 

This is who I am

Taking a DNA test or finding a distant ancestor on a website does not make you Indigenous. 

Indigenous cultural identity is not about blood quantum.  It is not about long-lost genealogical connections or genetic claims.  

It is time for these people to step away, return the grant funding, return the honorary degrees, and refrain from occupying positions that weren't intended for them.- Jenene Wooldridge

It is about belonging — it is about connection to community and culture. It is as much about who claims you — family and community — as what you claim. When Indigenous people gather, we ask each other, "Where you are from and who is your family?"

I can tell you about my family — the Sark (Peju clan) and Francis (Apli'kmuj clan) lineages. I am a member of Abegweit First Nation. My family came from Lennox Island, and before that from many places in P.E.I.  

The community knows me, and I know them. This is who I am, who I have always been. 

Truth is not enough

Indigenous people have historically shied away from standing up, from speaking out — a direct result of colonization. We have been robbed of personal agency. 

But that's finally changing. We are sitting on boards, leading institutions, taking on leadership roles — spaces of society we weren't invited into before. And now that we are finally taking up that space, people who claim to be Indigenous or who have connected themselves to Indigenous people for their own personal agendas are boldly taking it away.

We have waited a long time to be heard, and instead of being able to enjoy the moment and harness this energy, we are faced with having to protect our culture from those falsely claiming to be one of us.

We have seen many high-profile cases of "pretendians" across Canada. We have watched them accept awards meant for Indigenous people, take funding intended for Indigenous projects, get honorary degrees, and occupy positions of leadership.  

This behaviour is unacceptable. It is insulting and harmful to Indigenous people. It needs to stop.  

Truth is necessary for reconciliation, but it's not enough. 

These  individuals need to do more than admit this opportunistic appropriation of Indigenous identity once they've been discovered. It is time for these people to step away, return the grant funding, return the honorary degrees, and refrain from occupying positions that weren't intended for them. 

Indigenous people have been through enough.

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