The phenomenon of people taking on identities that don’t belong to them fascinates and repels me. My skin crawls at the level of anxiety that must be produced by living so inauthentically. But maybe people who do this are so tweaked in head and heart that they come to believe their own bullshit.
From NY Post:
The co-owner of a queer Indigenous artists’ collective in Wisconsin is facing accusations of being white after claiming to hold Native American heritage, according to a report.
Kay LeClaire, who identifies as non-binary, allegedly faked their indigenous heritage and used the front to make money, according to a local outlet.
LeClaire was accused in an online forum of actually being white after claiming since 2017 they were of Metis, Oneida, Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, Cuban and Jewish heritage, Madison 365 reported on Tuesday.
LeClaire, also a founding member of the collective and emerging leader in the Madison Indigenous arts community, earned artist stipends, a paid residency at the University of Wisconsin, speaking gigs, and art exhibitions with the help of their Native American claim.
But LeClaire, who went by the Native American name nibiiwakamigkwe, was allegedly exposed after a hobbyist genealogist posted evidence of LeClair’s real genealogy on an online forum, Madison 365 reported. The online forum user, AdvancedSmite, told Madison 365 that questions about LeClaire’s claims led to some digging.
LeClaire has apologized and promised to be better. I suspect that she’ll somehow come around to a conclusion that she’s a victim of … something.
“Moving forward, my efforts will be towards reducing harm by following the directions provided by Native community members and community-specified proxies. Currently, this means that I am not using the Ojibwe name given to me and am removing myself from all community spaces, positions, projects, and grants and will not seek new ones.”
The “Pretendian” phenomenon is a real problem, apparently. From Madison365:
AdvancedSmite, the New Age Fraud Forum user who uncovered the deception, said the appropriation of Native identity is a larger issue than any one person.
They noted that the self-identified Native American population grew by 85% between the 2010 and 2020 census, from just over five million to well over nine million.
“That’s not population growth,” they said. “It’s a major issue. The government needs to ask if you are an enrolled member of a federally recognized tribe.
“You can’t assume … that Kay LeClaire is an isolated incident … the pretendian problem is a long term, strategic issue,” they wrote in a later email to Madison365, adding that people who falsely claim Indigenous heritage are then passing that false claim on to their children, who may unwittingly accept it, perpetuating a falsehood through generations. “It’s a fight for our future and identity.”
Again, this is something I struggle to understand. My experience has been that cultures and sub-cultures can be very welcoming to someone who is drawn to them, who has an interest but makes no claims beyond that. I guess maybe I’m fortunate that my psychological makeup doesn’t crave a sense of belonging. I’ve always been completely comfortable being in but not of different groups of folks, and I’ve never put too much stock in “blood” heritage as a mark of status. I guess I’ve always just believed that the best thing go be is the best possible version of who you actually are…
Right Waylon?
Matthew says
It seems weird to me that whoever wrote this article takes for granted that Le Claire is “non-binary” but is offended by the pretendian status. Le Claire is a girl at the chromosome level, whatever Le Claire psychologically.
Identity is admittedly tricky. I mean I think you can make a strong case that Cynthia Anne Parker was Comanche. I mean she was raised in that culture. Le Claire on the other hand my probably was not. That said I’ve known people who had images of themselves. It is possible to believe you are something when you are the complete opposite. I can’t help but wonder if the current crop of teen girls identifying as boys are just tomboys. If that. I knew one girl who was quite adamant that she was a tomboy but was probably girlier than average in junior high. (Tomboy seems to be a dying identity even though it is probably more accurate than “non-binary” or whatever.) I’ve also known men who tend think they were ultra-masculine but were rather not.
Their probably part of identity is self-determined, but not all of it.
Natty Bumpo says
So much mental illness out there these days. I’ve never seen anything like it with so many folks lost and out of focus.
JimC says
It really does seem that way.
lane batot says
As I’ve commented on this subject before on a past post, I’ve had to deal with this phenomenon all my life, being a white, but totally Native American geek since early childhood. Only my Critter Geekness surpasses my interests in American Indians(which over time has expanded to interests in ALL indigenous cultures, and led me to get a B. S. Degree in Anthropology–also mainly because I was SO BORED–and flunking every other subject–it was the ONLY major I would ever graduate with!) I have encountered both types of Native Americans (by blood)–those that were ECSTATIC that I had any interest at all in their culture, and others that were haughty, resentful, and insulting–the term I was labeled by the latter type was that I was one of the “Wannabe” tribe! I always firmly retorted that I and my dogs made up my own tribe, regardless of bloodlines(and I’ve had many different types of dog, including wolf crosses!), but my great interests included Native American cultures, as well as African tribal cultures, Australian, Asian(REAL INDIAN!), Pacific Islanders, Irish, Scottish, Scandinavian(the latter three which I AM descended from genetically)–and they rarely know how to respond to that. I’ve often found the haughty, resentful ones know very little about their own culture, and they git thar panties in a wad when they encounter a white eyes who has more interest and knowledge of their own culture than they do, so they havta be insulting! The old time Native American cultures had many ways of accepting captives from other nations and races into their tribes, and they were usually COMPLETELY accepted, as in the very well documented case appropriately mentioned above regarding Cynthia Anne Parker!
lane batot says
…And I must add that there was RUMOURED to be Native American genetics in my own family tree–Cherokee on me Ma’s side–they were Scots-Irish settlers in the Southern Appalachians, from an area where there was a LOT of intermarriage with the Cherokees, and the tradition in our family was that there was a bit, way back there. Old photos of my maternal ancestors look VERY Indian, too. And on me Pa’s side, there was the RUMOR of a bit of Comanche, my Pa’s side being Texan-to-the-core–but alas, VEHEMENTLY, HATEFULLY prejudiced against “Injuns”, and you didn’t DARE even bring up this RUMOR in their presence, unless you wanted a fight! Which made me think it MUST be true, since they were so damn sensitive about it! All of this was recently dispelled(?) when my more well-to-do older brother sprung for a DNA test, and according to the results of the one he got–no Native American detected(well, even if there WAS, it would be purty well watered down! Why I always liked to facetiously joke that by gawd, I am 1/64th Comanche!)–and although the known French, German, Scots, Irish popped up, what surprised us all was a LARGE chunk of our DNA is Scandinavian! We knew of ONE great, great grandfather who was Swedish, but the rest? Perhaps some ancient dallyings with those far traveling, raiding Vikings! Which a recent European DNA study has rather verified. ALL ancestry is fascinating, I think, and you should darn well indulge in yer interests whatever they may be, bloodlines be damned! I sure as heck would NOT be put out if any modern day Native American was FASCINATED with the Vikings, and indulged their interest in the subject howsome-ever they wished…..
Thanatos says
This is either:
1. self-hatred. Plain old Whiteness is seen as uncool.
2. something the people living in Central and Eastern Europe call ethno-business. People from other ethnic backgrounds trying to secure state funding and positions in minority self-governments.
3. both.
JimC says
I’m gonna go with #3.