Current Problems: Education (6-12)
Exploring Theme: "Indigenous Identity"
Updates on this page: 42
(Filtered by Indigenous Group "First Nations")
December 5, 2024
Former cabinet minister Randy Boissonnault tells committee: ‘I am not Indigenous’
Edmonton MP resigned from cabinet last month CBC News: The Canadian Press– Randy Boissonnault, whose shifting claims to Indigenous identity cost him his job as employment minister, told a House of Commons committee today that he is not Indigenous. Boissonnault was called to testify at the Indigenous and northern affairs committee after a series of...
November 21, 2024
Liberal MP accuses opposition MPs of wasting time on another Boissonnault probe
Jaime Battiste, seen here outside the House of Commons in October, says a proposed investigation into his colleague is an ‘attack.’ Photo: Mark Blackburn/APTN. APTN News: The Canadian Press- A Liberal MP says his committee colleagues are wasting time by launching a third inquiry into the former employment minister instead of focusing on important legislation...
November 20, 2024
Liberal minister Randy Boissonnault stepping away from cabinet to clear his name over false claims of Indigenous background
Boissonnault allegedly wrongly claimed to be Indigenous. A company in which he was a co-owner also wrongly claimed it was Indigenous-owned. The Toronto Star: OTTAWA—Embattled Edmonton Centre MP Randy Boissonnault is out of cabinet in order to try to clear his name. In a brief statement issued by his office Wednesday before question period, Prime...
November 15, 2024
Boissonnault apologizes for shifting statements about family’s Indigeneity
Employment minister told reporters he is ‘learning about his family in real time’ Employment minister apologizes for shifting claims on family’s Cree heritageL 4 days ago, Duration 1:52 Federal Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault has apologized for misleading statements about his family’s Indigenous heritage after a newspaper report found Boissonnault’s former company, that claimed to be Indigenous-owned...
November 15, 2024
Boissonnault faces new scrutiny over his statements on family’s Indigeneity
Employment minister says he’s not Indigenous — experts say past statements appear contradictory CBC Indigenous: Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault is set to face a new round of questions over his business dealings and family history at a parliamentary committee in the wake of a report that his former company claimed to be “Indigenous owned” when...
November 14, 2024
Chair of Liberal Indigenous caucus says identity ‘complicated’ as members questioned
Mi’kmaq MP Jaime Battiste outside the House of Commons at the treaty commissioner legislation launch on October 10, 2024. Photo: Mark Blackburn/APTN. APTN News: The Canada Press – The chair of the Liberal party’s Indigenous caucus says Indigenous identity is “complicated” after questions have been raised about the claims of two Liberal MPs who currently...
October 30, 2024
60s Scoop survivors say cases of ‘pretendians’ make reconnecting with community even harder
Impact of Indigenous identity fraud goes beyond headlines Savannah Ridley is one of three recipients of the 2024 CJF-CBC Indigenous Journalism Fellowships, established to encourage Indigenous voices and better understanding of Indigenous issues in Canada’s major media and community outlets. CBC Indigenous: As a kid, Raven Reid knew all the tiny places she could squeeze into surrounding her...
October 7, 2024
Self-identifying Indigenous group got $74-million in federal cash, Inuit leader wants change
Globe and Mail: As millions in federal funding flow into a Labrador group whose claims of Inuit identity have been rejected by Indigenous organizations across Canada, a national Inuit leader worries the Liberal government is putting the rights of Indigenous Peoples at risk. Natan Obed, president of an organization representing about 70,000 Inuit across Canada,...
July 31, 2024
Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond says a DNA test backs her ancestry claims. CBC asked experts to weigh in
DNA test was referenced in Law Society of B.C.’s reprimand for false claims about history and accomplishments CBC News: In an agreed-upon statement issued late last week, the Law Society of B.C. reprimanded Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond and fined her $10,000, after she admitted she had made a series of false public claims about her accomplishments...
July 25, 2024
Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond likely has Indigenous DNA: law society
By The Canadian Press Lawyer Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafonde most “likely” has Indigenous ancesty, according to a DNA test. Photo: APTN News APTN News: The Law Society of British Columbia says a DNA test shows a former judge and Order of Canada recipient accused of falsely claiming to be Cree “most likely” has Indigenous heritage. Mary Ellen...
July 8, 2024
‘Growing tension’ inside the public service over Indigenous self-identification
Indigenous Services Canada’s top bureaucrat addresses topic in leaked blog to staff CBC Indigenous: Indigenous Services Canada’s top official addressed the “contentious issue” of Indigenous identity in the public service by urging greater honesty in self-identification, in a recent internal blog leaked to CBC Indigenous. “The key is to honestly tell your truth,” wrote deputy minister...
June 18, 2024
Canada must act to end the pretendian problem
NationTalk: Policy Options – Britain and Canada shaped the definition of Indigenous identity and now some people use shifting definitions to assume it, to great benefit. When the French and the British started staking their land claims on Turtle Island, they also began what became a centuries-long, surreptitious and destructive practice of interfering with Indigenous...
May 23, 2024
MUN has to weed out false Indigenous claims, report says — but the path forward is unclear
First Peoples Group report on Indigenous verification draws ire of NunatuKavut community council CBC News: An independent consultant has given Memorial University its final report on Indigenous verification. Now it’s up to the university to decide who is Indigenous and who is not, and in Newfoundland and Labrador, that’s no easy question. The university hired First Peoples...
May 15, 2024
Indigenous leaders adopt declaration condemning identity theft
Delegates also adopt resolution denouncing disputed Inuit identity claims of NunatuKavut in Labrador CBC Indigenous: First Nations, Inuit and Red River Métis leaders unanimously adopted what they’re calling a historic declaration condemning Indigenous identity theft Wednesday afternoon in Winnipeg. Delegates from Ontario First Nations, northern Labrador Inuit and Manitoba Métis carried the resolution by consensus, capping the two-day Indigenous...
May 14, 2024
‘Where did you suffer?’ Conference kicks off in Winnipeg on Pretendians
APTN New: A video highlighting infamous “pretendians” plays just as delegates enter the Indigenous Identity Fraud Summit in Winnipeg hosted by the Manitoba Métis Federation, or MMF and the Chiefs of Ontario. “Because these people are after our rights, they’re after our resources and they’re after an opportunity to take from us what we have...
April 24, 2024
Abenaki in Quebec take identity fraud concerns to the United Nations
Odanak, Wôlinak leadership and youth oppose groups recognized in Vermont CBC Indigenous: A digital billboard lit up New York City’s Times Square last week with a message from two Abenaki communities in Quebec: that they are the “sole guardians of Abenaki identity.” A delegation of the Abenaki Council of Odanak, Wôlinak and the Assembly of First...
April 21, 2024
I may have to stop writing plays with Native characters
Special to The Globe and Mail: Opinion – Drew Hayden Taylor – In today’s educational system, Indigenous theatre and literature are frequently part of the curriculum. The stories of the Indigenous people of Canada are being studied by students from the dominant culture, and by students from other cultures from around the world. This is...
April 11, 2024
Identity summit brings leaders together to discuss rampant Indigenous identity theft
NationTalk: Toronto, ON – The Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF), the National Government of the Red River Métis, and the Chiefs of Ontario (COO), are pleased to announce an Identity Summit aimed at tackling rampant identity theft faced by many Indigenous Nations in Canada today. Co-hosted by both MMF and COO, the summit will take place...
March 11, 2024
Cree sisters accuse childhood abuser of Indigenous identity fraud in court
Algonquins of Ontario ex-representative Katherine Cannon appeals; judge declines to rule on identity WARNING: This story contains details some readers may find distressing. CBC Indigenous: In a Peterborough, Ont., courtroom last year, three Cree sisters unfolded the difficult stories of their childhoods. They recalled the beatings their aunt by marriage routinely meted out. They alleged Katherine...
January 7, 2024
Indigenous faculty raise concerns about Dalhousie University’s proposed identification process
CBC News: Two law professors at Dalhousie University say the school’s proposed process of verifying Indigenous heritage risks retraumatizing staff, students and faculty subjected to it, and could exclude those with legitimate claims. Last year, the Halifax university created a task force to address how it should handle false claims of Indigenous identity. It issued its...
November 30, 2023
Buffy Sainte-Marie’s claims of Cree ancestry and birth on Sask. First Nation removed from her website
Singer says material was removed to protect those who defended her in wake of CBC investigation CBC Indigenous: The biography of Buffy Sainte-Marie on her official website no longer claims she is a Cree woman “likely” born on the Piapot First Nation in Saskatchewan. The changes were made on Buffysainte-marie.com days after CBC released its Oct. 27...
November 23, 2023
Buffy Sainte-Marie pushes back against CBC investigation contradicting claims to Indigenous ancestry
‘Being “Indian” has little do with sperm tracking and colonial record keeping,’ singer says CBC News: Buffy Sainte-Marie is pushing back on a recent CBC News investigation that questions her Indigenous heritage, maintaining she has never lied about her identity. The iconic singer, songwriter and activist says the story by CBC’s The Fifth Estate was full of mistakes and...
November 8, 2023
What’s the Point of “Pretendian” Investigations?
The latest revelation, about Buffy Sainte-Marie, is convincing, damning, and strikingly incomplete A 2015 photo of Buffy Sainte-Marie performing at the Interstellar Rodeo in Edmonton, AB.(Levi Manchak / Flickr) The Tyee: The Walrus – ON OCTOBER 27, the CBC’s investigative documentary program, The Fifth Estate, released an episode probing the background of singer, activist, and Canadian icon Buffy Sainte-Marie....
October 28, 2023
Acting Piapot chief, other Sask. Indigenous people react to CBC investigation into Buffy Sainte-Marie
Acting chief of Piapot First Nation says his community will not turn their back on Sainte-Marie Alexander Quon · CBC News · Posted: Oct 27, 2023 9:11 PM EDT | Last Updated: October 28 CBC News: Posted: Oct 27, 2023, Last Updated: October 28 – The acting chief of Piapot First Nation says his community will not turn its...
October 27, 2023
First Nations professors say Sainte-Marie story raises valid questions about artist’s Indigeneity
APTN News: Two First Nations academics say they believe a new documentary that questions iconic artist Buffy Sainte-Marie’s Indigeneity raises some serious issues that need to be explored. “Was she Indigenous at birth,” Toronto Metropolitan University professor Pam Palmater asked. “Yes or no? What does the evidence say? If she wasn’t, was she adopted as...
October 27, 2023
Who is the real Buffy Sainte-Marie?
Buffy Sainte-Marie’s claims to Indigenous ancestry are being contradicted by members of the iconic singer-songwriter’s own family and an extensive CBC investigation. CBC News: When Buffy Sainte-Marie strolled onto Sesame Street in 1975, she was making history. The Dec. 9 episode was the launch of the program’s efforts to present Indigenous culture to millions of viewers. Sainte-Marie opened...
October 26, 2023
Buffy Sainte-Marie speaks out regarding questions of Cree ancestry
Buffy Sainte-Marie has issued a video and written statement ahead of a documentary that is expected to question her Cree ancestry. APTN News: World-renowned singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie is releasing information about her past ahead of a scheduled CBC documentary that is expected to question her Cree ancestry. Sainte-Marie’s publicist reached out to APTN News offering...
October 2, 2023
Bill C-53 Rewards Indigenous Identity Theft – Statement by Minister Will Goodon
NationTalk: Winnipeg, Manitoba, in the National Homeland of the Red River Métis – In recent years, the Canadian public has become increasingly aware of the problem of Indigenous identity theft. At the individual level, this occurs when individuals falsely claim Indigenous identity to advance their careers and benefits. Indigenous identity theft can also occur at...
August 16, 2023
Toronto school board should vet claims of staff who self-identify as Indigenous, say former student, parent
Toronto District School Board says it’s creating a procedure informed by Indigenous communities · CBC News: A former student and parent of Kâpapâmahchakwêw – Wandering Spirit School in Toronto are calling on Canada’s largest school board to create a policy that vets applicants who claim to be Indigenous when they’re applying for positions at Indigenous-focused schools...
August 10, 2023
‘Pretendian’ conference delves into how to deal with false claims of Indigenous identity
APTN News: More than 30 people attended a conference in Tsuut’ina, just outside of Calgary, to talk about the issues of people falsely claiming Indigenous identity. They have come to colloquially be called “Pretendians. ”Participants came from as far as Halifax to hear about how to deal with increasing false claims of Indigenous identity.“ You...
August 1, 2023
Manitoba’s political parties not doing enough to verify Indigenous identity: Métis lawyer
Jean Teillet says vetting processes not detailed, or no verification exists for 3 main political parties CBC News: Manitoba’s political parties are not doing enough to make sure candidates’ claims to Indigeneity are legitimate, says Jean Teillet, a lawyer and great-grandniece of Métis leader Louis Riel. CBC News asked all three of Manitoba’s provincial parties with a seat...
July 31, 2023
Environment Minister Kevin Klein’s claim to be Métis denounced by brother, Manitoba Métis Federation
Premier Heather Stefanson said Klein is 1 of 2 Indigenous members of her caucus NationTalk: The Manitoba government’s website continues to identify Environment Minister Kevin Klein as Métis, even though the president of the Manitoba Métis Federation, a prominent Métis lawyer and Klein’s own brother all dispute the claim. “The basis for stating Mr. Klein...
June 21, 2023
What fake Indigenous ‘Pretendians’ say about the endurance of colonialism
Novelist and essayist Michelle Good examines how what she calls ‘playing Indian’ allows settlers to “create us in their own image and to expect our collaboration in their effort to do so.” Book Excerpt Good is of Cree ancestry and is a member of the Red Pheasant Cree Nation in Saskatchewan. Her novel Five Little Indians...
April 7, 2023
Vianne Timmons removed as president of Memorial University
Board of regents made announcement Thursday afternoon in MUN’s Gazette CBC News: Memorial University of Newfoundland’s governing body has removed president and vice-chancellor Vianne Timmons from her position. The move comes after Timmons announced on March 13 she was taking a voluntary, six-week paid leave of absence from the president’s office amid public scrutiny following a CBC News investigation into her...
March 13, 2023
MUN president Vianne Timmons apologizes, takes temporary leave, as Mi’kmaw claims scrutinized
Board of regents striking Indigenous roundtable to discuss issue CBC News: Memorial University president Vianne Timmons is taking a voluntary, six-week paid leave of absence and is apologizing as the university gathers Indigenous leaders to discuss the issue of her statements of Mi’kmaw heritage. “While I have shared that I am not Mi’kmaw and I do not...
March 9, 2023
Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond speaks out after award revoked over heritage
The Globe and Mail – Canadian Press: Former judge Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond says she’s satisfied in her “past work, identity and self-worth,” after the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association revoked an award because its board members believed she falsified her claims of Indigenous identity. In her most expansive recent remarks since a CBC investigation last...
March 3, 2023
University of Saskatchewan launches website aimed at rooting out Indigenous identity fraud
Indigenous communities will determine what constitutes proof of Indigenous identity CBC News: The University of Saskatchewan has launched a website it hopes will help ensure that only genuine Indigenous people will benefit from jobs and funding set aside for them. The site is a portal, enabling First Nations, Métis, Inuit and international Indigenous peoples applying for Indigenous-specific...
February 16, 2023
Senator says more awareness needed of ‘invisible crime’ of Indigenous identity theft
The Globe and Mail (Canadian Press) – Sen. Mary Jane McCallum says Indigenous identity fraud is a damaging but often unseen crime that inflicts serious harm on Indigenous women. The Cree woman from Manitoba is calling for a Senate committee to study the phenomenon and the damage it causes. “People don’t really look at identity...
January 18, 2023
UBC regrets its handling of Turpel-Lafond ancestry concerns
Gitxaała professor says UBC’s initial response left Indigenous people ‘feeling left out to dry’ CBC News: The University of British Columbia says it regrets its handling of the case of high-profile former professor Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, who was the subject of a CBC investigation about her claims of Indigenous heritage. Turpel-Lafond was a professor at UBC and academic...
January 3, 2023
Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond no longer employed by UBC
University won’t say why she is gone CBC News: High-profile professor and former judge Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond is no longer employed at the University of British Columbia (UBC), according to an official with the institution. The university says that as of Dec.16, Turpel-Lafond is no longer a professor in the Peter A. Allard School of Law. When...
December 14, 2022
Rescind Turpel-Lafond’s honorary degrees or we’ll return ours, say high-profile Indigenous women
Academic integrity expert says Turpel-Lafond story is a ‘watershed moment for Canadian higher education’ CBC Investigates: Michelle Good chokes up a little when she talks about the honorary doctorate she received from Simon Fraser University (SFU) in October. The retired Cree lawyer and author of the bestselling book Five Little Indians received the honour for her advocacy...
November 3, 2022
Report offers guidance for post-secondary efforts on Indigenous citizenship/membership verification
Saskatchewan (USask) is sharing a new independent report that will contribute to the national conversation and inform the university’s continued implementation of policies and practices around this issue. NationTalk: USask commissioned Jean Teillet, a leading Canadian expert on Indigenous rights, Métis identity, and history, to look into the root causes of the problem, advise on the...
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