Addressing academia’s pretendian problem – University Affairs

April 07, 2026

Two Indigenous professors create a reference guide to stop scholars who falsely claim Indigenous heritage.

Near the end of a semester, Carleton University political science professor Gabriel Maracle decided to test his students’ understanding by posing an uncomfortable question: “What would you think of your experience in this class if, two weeks after it ended, you found out that I was not Indigenous, but actually Italian-American?”

Dr. Maracle, an expert on Indigenous governance in Canada, raised the question to assess his students’ understanding of Indigenous knowledge production, and to broach the thorny question of “pretendians” — a term coined to designate those who falsely claim Indigenous heritage. His goal is to prepare students to tackle major challenges at the intersection of scientific integrity and Indigenization.

Read More: https://universityaffairs.ca/news/addressing-academias-pretendian-problem/