Indigenous scholars say Thomas King case ’shockingly similar’ to others falsely claiming ancestry – Radio-Canada
November 28, 2025
Some say it’s time to evaluate the institutions that platformed King, Joseph Boyden and others.
After another celebrated figure in Indigenous arts and culture was revealed to not have Indigenous ancestry (new window), some scholars say it’s time to examine the Canadian institutions that have helped these people build their careers.
Ontario-based author Thomas King, whose books include 1993’s Green Grass, Running Water and 2012’s The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America, wrote in a Globe and Mail essay published Monday that he learned he has no Cherokee ancestry, despite having identified as Cherokee for most of his life.
