Truth First: Identity Fraud & Cultural Exploitation in the Age of Reconciliation is a symposium dedicated to the topic of ‘pretendians.’
There continue to be “pretendians” among us — faux Indigenous Canadians taking positions, opportunities and money meant for Indigenous people in the halls of learning, says the moderator of a symposium this week drawing attendees from around the country.
Terri Cardinal, associate vice-president of Indigenous Initiatives and Engagement at MacEwan University in Edmonton, is moderating a symposium in the Alberta capital that’s taken straight from the headlines.
Truth First: Identity Fraud and Cultural Exploitation in the Age of Reconciliation is one of the first of its kind to be solely dedicated to the topic.
“Unfortunately, we continue to see the unethical extraction of Indigenous knowledge by ‘pretendians’ and non-Indigenous researchers — and it is harmful,” said Cardinal, a symposium moderator along with Amber Dion, assistant professor of social work at MacEwan.
The two co-host the award-winning podcast 2 Crees in a Pod.
The symposium is taking place in acknowledgement of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, which takes place Sept. 30.
“Some don’t even recognize the harm that is being done, which is why we are engaging in an open dialogue to explore this topic,” she said.
‘FINANCIAL GAIN’
Cardinal recalled media images of Bourassa.
“She very much carried herself in lndigenous attire, and really took on the persona of this,” she said.
The topic of “pretendians” is an ongoing concern for Indigenous organizations, scholars and leaders, Cardinal said.
“We do see a lot of cases of (Indigenous) identity fraud within post-secondary institutions … people who have attached themselves to getting research dollars for specifically Indigenous people.
“There is a financial gain to being Indigenous in the time of reconciliation and that’s one of the conversations that we really want to engage in,” she said.
Additionally, there are individuals who have researched their family trees and may have discovered some great-great-great-grandparent was part Cree, “and then really latched on to that identity, exploiting it and causing real harm in the community, and so not having an understanding, and again, profiting off Indigenous knowledge,” she said.
“It’s that extraction that we’ve seen within Indigenous research and within Indigenous communities, which is just really unethical.
“We have people coming in, wanting the Indigenous professor positions, wanting the Indigenous grants, wanting to be experts in Indigenous research and exploiting it, and they’re not Indigenous,” she said.
Cardinal said she’s had horrible experiences with non-Indigenous individuals “who have extracted knowledge from our communities … essentially of benefiting off Indigenous people’s knowledge and then becoming an ‘expert’ on us, even though they’re not us, and really taking it and exploiting it, like a cult, almost, which I think is the harmful piece,” she said.
“This reminds me very much of Indian residential school, and it’s a different way of really impacting the lives of Indigenous people.”
Among the speakers at the symposium are Dr. Kim TallBear from the University of Alberta, Dr. Darryl Leroux from the University of Ottawa, and Dr. Celeste Pedri-Spade from McGill University.
ADDRESSING THE ISSUE
Once awareness of Indigenous identity fraud is raised, it’s up to organizations and individuals to address the issue and to protect Indigenous people from such fraudsters, she said.
Cardinal envisions a Canada where Indigenous knowledge is just that — authentically Indigenous.
“Let’s bring back the authenticity of the Indigenous knowledge and the teachings from our elders and our communities back to the spaces, and we’ll see a difference,” she said.
“And when that happens, then, you know, you can move mountains.”
The Saskatoon Star Phoenix has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe.
With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark thestarphoenix.com and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.