UC Native Americans Demand Action Against Scholars Claiming Indigenous Roots without Proof

UC Launches “Fact-Finding Mission” on Issue of “Pretendians” in Academia

For years, Maylei Blackwell has worked to lift up Indigenous and Chicana women’s voices as a UCLA professor who identified as a mixed-race person of Thai and Cherokee heritage. Her research was widely cited, her use of oral histories praised. Her most recent book was poised to receive a prestigious award last year from a Native American and Indigenous studies association.

Then came a bombshell revelation. The scholars association abruptly rescinded the award after allegations surfaced last spring that Blackwell’s claims of Cherokee heritage, based on family stories, were phony. In a public apology, Blackwell confessed that her research triggered by the allegations found her mother was white. She vowed to seek repair for harms caused. The furor reverberated nationally after Charlene Villaseñor Black, chair of Blackwell’s Department of Chicana/o and Central American Studies, posted a public message of gratitude to the Indigenous scholars who brought the issue to light.

Pretendians Harm Indigenous Communities and Undermine Academic Integrity

Now the University of California, following several cases of questioned Native American identity over the last few years, has launched a “fact-finding mission” on the issue, according to UC Academic Senate Chair Steven W. Cheung. UC provided no details on the scope of the effort. But the action comes after UC Native American scholars held their first symposium last year on what they say is a growing problem of what are called “Pretendians” — pretend Indians — in the UC system and across academia nationwide.

“We just decided that people need to start talking about this in the system or it’s going to keep happening,” said Phenocia Bauerle, UC Berkeley director of Native American Student Development, who has helped lead efforts for action. “There are so many people pretending to be Native, so I do think people who are claiming it, who are building their careers on it, should have to prove it.”

Critics Say Pretendians Leverage Indigenous Identity for Personal and Professional Gain

In the last few years, the Pretendian issue has surfaced at UC Riverside, UC Irvine, UC Berkeley, and UCLA; complaints have also been raised against faculty who pursued graduate studies or postdoctoral fellowships at these campuses along with UC Santa Cruz and UC Davis.

Pretendians potentially take grants, jobs, speaking platforms, and other benefits from Native Americans. Their exposure often wreaks personal and professional harm on their students, whose associations with a now-tainted mentor can jeopardize their academic careers. Pretendians may also be committing academic dishonesty if their claims of Indigeneity serve as passports for access to sacred ceremonies or intimate stories offered by trusting community members who believe the researcher shares their Native American experiences and understandings.

UC Scholars Propose Solutions, Including Improved Data Collection and Academic Sanctions

Bauerle and other UC scholars are compiling recommendations for actions — which could include improving data collection on tribal affiliations of faculty — and hope to complete them by May. Others say confirmed Pretendians should be reviewed for possible academic sanctions or be required to return grants or other benefits obtained under false pretenses.

Jim Steintrager, who served as UC Academic Senate chair at the time of the symposium last year, said such cases could raise questions about research integrity, and more systemwide guidance on how to handle them could be helpful.

Blackwell’s Case Highlights the Complexities of Identity and Academic Integrity

Blackwell, for instance, received a two-year $200,000 UC award last spring to train Indigenous women in Mexico as digital archivists. A spokesman for UC Riverside, which administers the systemwide grant, said the campus and program first learned about Blackwell’s heritage issues from The Times last November but was “currently unaware of any sanctions that would impact her eligibility for awards.” Blackwell said she accepted the grant last May, before she learned about her true ancestry. She said she shared the revelation and her apology with the Indigenous women involved in the project and they all said they wanted to continue working with her. But Blackwell said she is meeting with UCLA leaders to “find a way to step away from the grant” without taking away the funding needed by the Indigenous women or the graduate student on the project.

Indigenous Scholars Say Reparations and Healing are Necessary

Blackwell also said the narrative around her — a white woman who assumed a Native American identity to acquire resources or access — does not reflect the motivations behind her work for social justice. Her academic interests are based not on an imagined Cherokee identity but as the child of an unmarried interracial couple who was bullied and stigmatized for her race, gender, and sex. She said she chose to specialize in Indigeneity in the Latina community after being drawn to powerful Chicana activists, whose stories and struggles inspired her first book, ¡Chicana Power!

“I have helped to build a field and fought for a world and an academy where more Indigenous people and people of color fit and can have their voices heard,” Blackwell told The Times. “If I have taken up spaces that were not mine in the process, I deeply apologize and commit to work to repair the harm I have done.”

Conclusion

The UC Native American community is demanding action against scholars who claim Indigenous roots without proof, citing harm to individual and community well-being, academic integrity, and the potential for gatekeeping and erasure. The UC system has launched a “fact-finding mission” and is considering new measures to verify Indigenous identity, including improved data collection and academic sanctions. As the debate continues, Indigenous scholars and leaders are urging universities to prioritize transparency, accountability, and inclusivity.

FAQs

* Who are Pretendians?
Pretendians are individuals who claim Indigenous identity without proof or evidence, often leveraging this identity for personal and professional gain.
* What are the consequences of Pretendian behavior?
Pretendians can harm individual and community well-being, academic integrity, and the potential for gatekeeping and erasure.
* How can universities verify Indigenous identity?
Universities can improve data collection on tribal affiliations of faculty, verify claims of Indigeneity, and consider measures such as improved data collection and academic sanctions.
* What is the impact on Indigenous communities?
Pretendians can undermine the sovereignty of tribal nations, erode trust, and perpetuate colonialism.
* What is the role of universities in addressing Pretendianism?
Universities must prioritize transparency, accountability, and inclusivity, acknowledging the lived experiences of Indigenous peoples and communities.