Native Peoples Identity Theft is Genocidal Practice
Identity Fraud Co-opts and Misdirect Efforts Away from Indigenous Liberation
There is a long history of “pretendianism” in the United States and Canada, where opportunists present themselves as “Native” when they are in fact, not that. Recent high profile examples include Buffy Saint-Marie and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren. This is not simply a question of individual “nationality identity,” but too frequently a decision made by unscrupulous self-serving interests to tap into what has become a multi-million dollar industry. These people are taking advantage of increased public sentiment supporting the demand for “diversity” in funding and representation, but position themselves in relationship to the establishment’s neoliberal power structure to misdirect financing to themselves rather than assist efforts to win actual indigenous self-determination.
A growing number of state and regional governmental bodies, liberal Democratic Party elected officials, academic institution operatives, corporate archeological companies, non-profit administrators and artists are in cahoots with this insidious money grab, often unknowingly, to help derail the cause of true indigenous liberation and uphold white supremacist power structure culture and the status quo. Note, that one need not be of European decent to engage in this practice.
In short, “pretendianism,” “race-shifting” and identity theft is an extension of settler colonialism and a symptom of late-stage capitalism to extend violence upon actual native peoples.
Note that in places like Southern CA, there are more than several dozens of Fake Gabrieleno Mexican Americans working diligently to opportunistically secure public funding for self-interests. It’s not just white people that engage in this practice. It is a practice which seeks to co-opt public sentiment in support of indigenous interests for private personal gain.
Read about the case of Maylei Blackwell: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-03-01/uc-native-americans-take-on-scholars-claiming-indigenous-roots-without-proof
The truth about many more frauds will be coming to light in due time.
It is difficult to suppress the truth forever. The public doesn’t like the appreciate its tax monies being stolen by grifters. The CA Native American Heritage Commission is tired of having to deal with grifter frauds also, and they appear to be moving to better standards of scrutiny of claims to Native lineage.
The grifters, of course, are united in playing the role of the “persecuted” ones: https://nationalquestion.org/2025/11/26/an-example-of-gaslighting-and-emottsional-manipulation-by-an-identity-thieving-mexican-american-genocider-of-la-basin-native-people/
OpenAI/Chat GPT and it’s support of genocidal culture
Pretendian Problems Explained (animation)
Identity fraud and Indigenous self-determination event at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues:
The harmful, ‘cynical and self-serving’ nature of Indigenous identity fraud | Nation to Nation
Unsettling Genealogies Conference 2022: UNMASKING PSEUDO INDIANS
Kim Tallbear on “Race Shifter Red Flags” (audio)
https://kimtallbear.substack.com/p/indigenous-race-shifting-red-flags