Complex Conversations: Exploring Indigenous Identity Policy Development in Post-Secondary Institutions

This blog will be regularly updated with the growing collection of essays, commentary and reports exploring Indigineity and Indigenous identity-verification in Post-Secondary, along with a growing concept of pretendians. I am interested in this line of inquiry and plan to follow the ongoing conversations and policy making underway to further the important and vital work of expanding Indigenous engagement, representation and influence in the academy given the 94 recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Canada. It is interesting to see the critical genealogical work, led by Indigenous Women, and by groups such as NoMoreRedFace, who shared information on social media in late 2020 to provide "detailed and deeply researched threads investigating the claims of individuals who had leveraged their Indigenous identities for prestige and profit (Cyca, 2022 - see article below). It is also of interest given the involvement of a dear colleagues, Dr. Jackie Ottman, president of First Nations University. Finally, I was drawn to this issue given the commitment to such critical and complication conversations at my own campus in response to committee work.

Castanet

• May 2023: Josh Dawson, Thompson Rivers University "...working with Secwepemc leaders to implement Indigenous verification rules". [URL]

CBC

• Nov 2023: Brooklyn Currie, Dalhousie task force recommends verification process for Indigenous staff, students: Self-identification policy can lead to Indigenous identity fraud, says task force chair, Dr. Brent Young. [URL]
• Jun 2023: Ozten Shebahkaget, Promising to release a policy in Fall, University of Manitoba aims to clamp down on Indigenous identity fraud - conflicting views are captured. [URL]
• April 2023: Instead of addressing questions about her ancestry, Turpel-Lafond relinquishes honorary degree from St. Thomas University in Fredericton, says Hannah Rudderham at CBC. [URL]
• Mar-Apr 2023: Turpel-Lafond returns two Honorary Degrees: SFU [URL], Brock [URL]
• February 2023: Two more: McGill, Carleton universities vote to rescind Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond's honorary doctorates. Turpel-Lafond has been granted honorary degrees from 11 Canadian universities. All of them have said they are weighing calls from the Indigenous Women's Collective to revoke those honours. [URL]
• February 2023: Geoff Leo: University of Regina has rescinded Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond's honorary doctorate. "The U of R's decision marks the first time a university has rescinded a degree. The university says it notified Turpel-Lafond of its decision last week". [URL]
• January 2023: Geoff Leo: Turpel-Lafond voluntarily returns honorary doctorate to Vancouver Island University. "More broadly, VIU condemns Indigenous identity fraud and will continue the consultation process that is currently underway to develop and implement an Indigenous Identity Policy," the statement says. "VIU will also be reviewing its policy and procedure for nominating, awarding and rescinding honorary doctorates." [URL].
• January 2023: Geoff Leo: Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond no longer employed by UBC [URL]
• December 2022. Geoff Leo: Rescind Turpel-Lafond's honorary degrees or we'll return ours, say high-profile Indigenous women. Michelle Good, honorary degree recipient at SFU. Indigenous Women's Collective has called on Universities to revoke honorary degrees awarded to pretendians. Senator Mary Jane McCallum speaks in solidarity with IWC.   [URL]
• October 2022. Geoff Leo, Disputed History. This CBC Investigation found that Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond's claims to be Indigenous did not match publicly available records. [URL]
• October 2022: Geoff Leo, CBC News. Disputed History: [URL]. An interesting, multi-faceted inquiry into claims by prominent scholar and former judge Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond to be Indigenous. Questions arise about claims to Indigenous identity and status, and also Turpel-Lafond's claims and references to various academic credentials. 

Global News

• March 2023: Haley Lewis, What are ‘pretendians’ and how are they causing ‘severe harm’ to Indigenous communities? [URL]
• The movement towards greater accountability in calling out Indigenous Identify Fraud is gaining momentum. 
• January 2023: Brenda Owen: More universities review honorary degrees awarded to Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, "...after being asked by a group of Indigenous women to revoke them following a CBC investigation into her claims of Indigenous heritage". [URL]

Kamloops News

• December 2022: Thompson Rivers University (TRU) working on preventing Indigenous identity fraud. President raises issue at Board of Governors meeting and indicates review of 2009 honorary degree recipient, Turpel-Lafond. [URL]

The Conversation

• Dec 2022: Cheryl Simon, Dalhousie University. Disenfranchising Indigenous women: The legacy of coverture in Canada. "Discussions about the source of Indigenous identity must take place with the full involvement of Indigenous women (para 21)". [URL]

Turtle Island News

• Mar 2023: Patrick Quinn. Pretentians, Blackstock condems Indigenous identity fraud in light of Turpel-Lafond's downfall. Murky claims to Indigenous ancestry, distant ancestors, identity shifting.  [URL]

National Post

• Jan 2023: Brenna Owen, Revelations about 'Pretendians' is the ultimate step in colonialism, says Metis legal expert and Vancouver lawyer Jean Teillet. [URL]

University Affairs

• Feb 2022: Matthew Halliday. New national Indigenous leadership association looks to support systemic change Sense of isolation during the pandemic spurred effort to unite senior Indigenous administrators across Canada’s universities. An immediate priority was to prepare for a National Dialogue on Indigenous Identity - held in March 2022 at FNUC. [URL]
• Feb 2022: Ian Coutts: Universities look to combat ‘Indigenous identity fraud’ after string of recent cases. Further, One challenge is how to avoid postsecondary institutions themselves determining the validity of an individual’s claim of Indigeneity. [URL]
• Apr 2020: Catherine Couturiere: Researchers examine the growing phenomenon of “self-Indigenization” - The trend seems to be particularly prevalent in Eastern Canada and among those claiming Métis ancestry. Explores Darryl Leroux's book, In Distorted Descent: White Claims to Indigenous Identity, published September 2019, in which the Saint Mary’s University associate professor explores multiple genealogy forums and describes the process of self-Indigenization, i.e., the decision to suddenly identify as Indigenous without official recognition. Self-indigenization is defined as suddenly claiming an Indigenous identity by invoking tenuous links. [URL]

Emily Carr University

• September 2022, Michelle Cyca: The Curious Case of Gina Adams: A “Pretendian” investigation. A scholar who was hired by Emily Carr University in an effort to expand their Indigenous faculty  [URL]. The author documents the questions that arose about her identity.

Memorial University

• April 2023: Kelland, A. Board of regents chair, Glenn Barnes announces Vianne Timmons removed as president of Memorial University [URL].
• March 2023: Gazette, Memorial president, Vianne Timmons, takes a voluntary 6-week leave of absence following CBC Investigative reporting. Statement from Dr. Timmons [URL]
• March 13, 2023: Kelland, A., & Breen, K. CBC. Mi'kmaw lawyer, academic calls on MUN to investigate president over statements on Indigenous heritage [URL]
• March 13, 2023: Kelland, A. CBC. MUN president Vianne Timmons apologizes, takes temporary leave, as Mi'kmaw claims scrutinized [URL]
• March 11, 2023: Kelland, A. CBC. Memorial University silent over Timmons, as Miawpukek chief and others wait for next step. Chief Mi'sel Joe, "we need to be more vocal in asking the questions that nobody else is asking" [URL]
• March 8, 2023: Kelland, A., & Breen, K. CBC. Walking the line For years, Vianne Timmons claimed on her CV and professional bios that she was a member of an unrecognized Mi’kmaw band. She says it didn’t open any doors for her. [URL]

Royal Roads University

• February 2023: Turpel-Lafond Returns Honorary Doctorate [URL]

Queens University

• July 2022: Queen’s releases report following dialogues on Indigeneity [URL]. This is a report by external consultant, the First Peoples Group, which follows a comprehensive dialogue process on Indigeneity in the academy. 
• July 2022: Queen's University should apologize, create process to validate Indigenous identity: report [URL]. This report is in response to allegations that some university staff falsified identities

University of Saskatchewan

• Nov 2022, announcement: Report offers guidance for post-secondary efforts on Indigenous citizenship/membership verification [URL]. A report by Jean Teillet that was commissioned and released by the University of Saskatchewan; Addresses the broader problem of Indigenous identity fraud in academia. Publication date: October 17, 2022. 
• July 2022: University of Saskatchewan unveils new Indigenous identity-verification policy [URL]. 
• May 2022: U of S will have Indigenous verification policy in place this fall [URL]. The policy is meant to ensure Indigenous programming, funding, and opportunities go to Indigenous people.

YorkU

• May 2023, announcement by the university: Return of honorary doctorate bestowed to Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond / Retour du doctorat honorifique décerné à Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond [URL]

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