Five white women who lied about their ancestry

Jeremiah Poff

May 06, 06:00 AM May 06, 06:00 AM

A professor of environmental science specializing in Native American issues apologized this week for "incorrectly identifying" as Native American for years, joining a list of white women who have feigned membership in a different racial or ethnic group.

The fringe trend has, in some cases, appeared to be attempts to take advantage of affirmative action, while others have used their adopted ethnicity to achieve certain social statuses.

WHITE UC BERKELEY PROFESSOR ADMITS SHE 'INCORRECTLY IDENTIFIED' AS NATIVE AMERICAN

Here are five white women who have claimed to belong to a different ethnic group:

Rachel Dolezal

In 2015, Rachel Dolezal was forced to resign from her position as the president of the Spokane, Washington, chapter of the NAACP. Her resignation came after media outlets reported that, while she presented herself as a black woman, Dolezal was in fact born to two white parents.

Dolezal, who has since changed her name to Nkechi Amare Diallo, claimed that she identified as black and has defended herself since her high-profile fall from grace. In a 2017 interview with the Guardian, Dolezal said she believed racial identity was more fluid than gender identity.

“I feel that I was born with the essential essence of who I am, whether it matches my anatomy and complexion or not,” Dolezal told the outlet. “I’ve never questioned being a girl or woman, for example, but whiteness has always felt foreign to me for as long as I can remember. I didn’t choose to feel this way or be this way; I just am. What other choice is there than to be exactly who we are?”

Elizabeth Warren

Massachusetts's Democratic senior senator, Elizabeth Warren, was dogged by accusations that her claims of Cherokee ancestry were fraudulent. For nearly 10 years, Warren was identified as Native American in a directory for the Association of American Law Schools while a professor at Harvard Law School.

Warren repeatedly defended her claims of Native American ancestry but eventually apologized in 2019 after a DNA test revealed she had little, if any, Native American blood. The controversy prompted then-President Donald Trump to tab her with the nickname "Pocahontas" as Warren sought the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

Hillary 'Hilaria' Baldwin

The wife of actor Alec Baldwin employed a Spanish accent for years, claiming that the Iberian nation was her native home before it was revealed that she was actually from Boston and that she had been faking the accent.

Hilaria Baldwin defended herself, saying she would not apologize and that she "grew up with two cultures" and spoke two languages.

"I care because my thing is about being authentic — and then if people say I’m not being authentic, it hurts my feelings. … I don’t really understand why it’s turning into such a big thing," she said in 2020 when her true background was revealed. “I’m getting attacked for being who I am … people wanting to label me Spanish or American. Can’t it be both?"

Carrie Bourassa

A professor of community health and epidemiology at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, Carrie Bourassa resigned from her position last year after a 2021 report from CBC revealed that she was likely 100% European despite claiming indigenous ancestry.

Bourassa had claimed to be a member of the Metis, Anishinaabe, and Tlingit peoples, three indigenous groups from Canada. She used the name “Morning Star Bear” when introducing herself at a 2019 TEDx talk.

Elizabeth Hoover

The newest member of the misrepresented ethnicity club, University of California, Berkeley environmental science professor Elizabeth Hoover issued a lengthy apology this week for "incorrectly identifying" as Native American. Hoover's research at the California university centered on "Native American environmental health."

Hoover said she "uncritically" accepted as fact stories she was told by her family that she had Native American ancestry and that she should have properly researched her ancestors and confirmed the stories she had been told.

"I have brought hurt, harm, and broken trust to the Native community at large, and to specific Native communities I have worked with and lived alongside, and for that, I am deeply sorry," Hoover wrote in a lengthy apology statement posted on her website.

Fall of the 'Warriors:' New York bans schools from having Native American mascots

Jeremiah Poff

April 20, 11:05 AM April 20, 11:05 AM

The New York Board of Regents banned public schools in the Empire State from using Native American mascots, as schools across the country have eschewed indigenous imagery for their school spirit.

On a unanimous vote, the board enacted the new policy that will require any public schools that have a Native American mascot to change it by the end of the 2024-2025 school year. Schools that wish to keep their mascot must receive approval from a Native American group.

DESANTIS ADMINISTRATION BANS ANY CLASSROOM DISCUSSION ON GENDER IDENTITY AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION

Mascots that must be changed include "warriors" or "raiders" unless they do not contain any Native American imagery. "Chiefs," "Indians," or "Tomahawks" must be changed, or state funds could be withheld from the school.

In a series of tweets, the New York-based Oneida Indian Nation said it supported the board of regent's decision and said the tribe would not approve any requests from schools that wished to keep their Native American-themed mascot.

“Native American organizations, civil rights groups, and public health organizations have made clear the damage that the mascotization of Native people has on our youth," the tribe said. "Promoting inclusivity and mutual respect is the best way to unify our communities moving forward.”

The New York Department of Education said it expects legal challenges from school districts. At least one school district that has a "Warrior" nickname said it will consult with an attorney about the changes.

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"The Board of Education is receiving this news today along with the rest of our community," Mohonasen School District Superintendent Shannon Shine said Wednesday. "Time is needed to digest the information, to seek legal counsel, to see what additional information is put forward from the NYS Education Department and the NYSBOR, and to plan to further engage with our community stakeholders (parents, alumni, students, faculty/staff, and residents) regarding the new regulations."

The Department of Education said it will provide details on the new rules to school boards in the coming weeks, the Times Union reported.

Oklahoma official's GOP major decline shows political efficiency of indigenous land difficulty

Kaelan Deese

July 05, 06:00 AM July 05, 06:00 AM

Oklahoma Legal professional Typical John O'Connor is familiar with how considerations in excess of who has jurisdiction of indigenous lands can swing an election.

O'Connor lost his bid for a comprehensive phrase as Oklahoma's prime regulation enforcement officer on June 28 to Republican challenger Gentner Drummond, an lawyer in personal observe, a rancher, and an Air Drive veteran. O'Connor's reduction arrived about 11 months following staying appointed state legal professional common by Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt to change an incumbent who resigned the office environment.

The lawyer normal GOP key was a single of the starkest assessments but about the political potency of an situation that the Supreme Court has wrestled with repeatedly in recent yrs. But it won't be the previous. The issue is likely to arrive up repeatedly in advance of Aug. 28 GOP runoffs for an open up Senate seat and an jap Oklahoma Residence seat most right impacted by the Supreme Court's jurisprudence about tribal lands.

Significant Court docket Enables OKLAHOMA TO PROSECUTE NON-Native Criminal OFFENDERS ON TRIBAL LANDS

The Supreme Court's 2020 determination in McGirt v. Oklahoma reinforced that much of Oklahoma was, lawfully, Indian place. The 5-4 ruling intended quite a few crimes were over and above the arrive at of the condition and its guidelines. Then, last 7 days, the Supreme Courtroom, in a 5-4 ruling in Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta, reinstated a piece of Oklahoma’s pre-McGirt electricity more than this territory by upending the regulation on Indigenous American reservations all through the country.

The rulings have roiled Oklahoma politics. And O'Connor misplaced his bid to keep the legal professional general's business office from a GOP major rival touting himself as a lot more professional-tribe. Drummond, who avoided a runoff by capturing just over 50% of the Republican key vote, argued that he would fortify the state’s connection with tribes in the wake of the McGirt decision.

Oklahoma's inhabitants has about 523,360 Native Us residents, about 13.36% of the statewide inhabitants, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Drummond, in his lawyer basic bid, argued that Oklahomans have earned an attorney standard "who will sit down with our Native brothers and sisters and operate toward a remedy on McGirt."

And in his victory speech on June 28, Drummond touted restoring Oklahoma's romance "with our native pals," which drew praise from tribal leaders.

"We are pleased to see so numerous Oklahoma voters show they have an understanding of the significance of obtaining an legal professional basic who respects tribal sovereignty," explained Choctaw Country of Oklahoma Chief Gary Batton. “We be expecting the subsequent attorney general will be somebody prepared to engage in constructive dialogue with the Tribes as our governments operate with each other to safeguard community basic safety and enforce the law."

Drummond, who lost a 2018 principal runoff race for the similar write-up by just 271 votes, is expected to get his lawyer normal bid in November in this deep pink condition, as is the Republican nominee in the open-seat race to substitute Sen. Jim Inhofe, who, at age 87, is leaving place of work in January 2023 with four a long time still left in his six-calendar year Senate phrase. The same is legitimate for the Republican nominee in the 2nd Congressional District race to swap Rep. Markwayne Mullin, who is seeking the Senate seat. In the race for the jap Oklahoma seat, former state Sen. Josh Brecheen faces condition Rep. Avery Frix for the GOP nomination.

In the Senate contest, Mullin, a member of the Cherokee Country, faces former state Residence Speaker T.W. Shannon, a member of the Chickasaw Country.

Mullin, in a May job interview with the Washington Examiner, explained that as a Property member because 2013, he has spoken with tribal officials "hundreds of periods" about their worries.

"And what they are going to explain to you is that 'Well, we have an open up-door coverage,' but no one's walking by means of the door. So someone's going to have to increase that olive department," Mullin reported in an job interview on May possibly 12.

Shannon, much too, advised the Washington Examiner in May possibly that Indigenous American issues would be a major aspect of his position as a federal legislator.

"Oklahoma has a good heritage that consists of Native Us citizens, and we have a fantastic historical past of doing the job and compacting and locating methods," Shannon stated.

OKLAHOMA SENATE REPUBLICAN Fight HEADS TO RUNOFF Amongst MULLIN AND SHANNON

In both the Senate and Dwelling Republican runoffs, candidates know the Native American vote can be important to winning. It is a political lesson O'Connor observed out the tricky way in his bid for a full time period as Oklahoma attorney general. Drummond's victory could be attributed to his assistance in rural counties, significantly in jap Oklahoma, irrespective of O'Connor's help from voters in two of the state's greatest counties.

"Vote against politicians who think about tribal sovereignty a 'threat,'" Cherokee Nation Principal Main Chuck Hoskin Jr. argued in a late May perhaps op-ed.