Aaron Pete: Pretendians in the cabinet? Stop blaming the people playing the Indigenous identity game—start blaming the broken system that creates the incentives – the hub
Nov 22, 2024
The phenomenon of individuals with fabricated Indigenous ancestry—colloquially referred to as “pretendians” or “wannabindians”—benefiting from claims to Indigenous identity was is in the news again this week, with Employment, Workforce Development and Official Languages Minister Randy Boissonnault stepping down from the Trudeau government’s cabinet for falsely claiming he was Indigenous.
It is time to stop blaming the people chasing incentives and start targeting the broken system that creates the incentives.
All thoughtful Canadians acknowledge that the harsh legacy of colonization, Indian Residential Schools, and the Sixties Scoop has had adverse effects on the Indigenous Peoples of Canada. I know these realities firsthand as an Indigenous person myself. My grandmother attended St. Mary’s Indian Residential School in Ontario, and my mother was a part of the Sixties Scoop. My community Chawathil First Nation (about 10 minutes outside of Hope, B.C.) was forced from the site of our village to another location disconnecting us from our home. These actions have led to poorer health, educational, and employment outcomes for members of my community and Indigenous people across Canada.
