Word of the Day: Pretendian
Who benefits?
via Wikipedia
Pretendian (portmanteau of pretend and Indian) is a pejorative colloquialism describing a person who has falsely claimed Indigenous identity by professing to be a citizen of a Native American or Indigenous Canadian tribal nation, or to be descended from Native American or Indigenous Canadian ancestors. As a practice, being a pretendian is considered an extreme form of cultural appropriation, especially if that individual then asserts that they can represent, and speak for, communities from which they do not originate.
We ... have had to contend with an onslaught of what we call 'Pretendians', that is, non-Indigenous people assuming a Native identity. DNA tests are setting up other problems involving those who discover Native DNA in their bloodline. When individuals assert themselves as Native when they are not culturally Indigenous, and if they do not understand their tribal nation's history or participate in their tribal nation's society, who benefits? Not the people or communities of the identity being claimed. It is hard to see this as anything other than an individual's capitalist claim, just another version of a colonial offense.
| Joy Harjo, When the Light of the World Was Subdued Our Songs Came Through: A Norton Anthology of Native Nations Poetry.
Randy Boissonnault, who was Canada’s employment minister until Wednesday, once sat with his Liberal Party’s Indigenous caucus. In Parliament, he has said that he was adopted into a family with Cree heritage. And in interviews, he described himself as the great-grandson of a “full-blooded Cree woman.”
But following reports about his family’s past in The National Post, a Toronto newspaper, Mr. Boissonnault found himself facing accusations from political opponents of “race shifting” or being a “pretendian” — falsely claiming to be Indigenous.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s office issued a brief statement announcing that Mr. Boissonnault, the sole cabinet minister from Alberta, “will step away from cabinet” and “focus on clearing the allegations made against him.”
The resignation is another blow to an already embattled Mr. Trudeau, who has made reconciliation with Indigenous people and respect for Indigenous cultures top priorities of his government.