Pretendianism is a growing issue. So who should confirm Indigenous identity? – TVO Today
Jul 11, 2023
A few months ago, I attended an Indigenous literary gathering just north of Winnipeg. There were about 10 of us: some poets, some journalists, etc. During one of the publicity shoots, after a spirited discussion about the constantly recurring “pretendian” issue, we all whipped out our status cards and held them out in front of us. It made for an interesting picture and savvy political statement.
Pretendianism — I think it actually is considered an “ism” now — has rapidly become an issue frequently discussed among both Indigenous people and settlers. Some form of it is in the news every month or two. Who is First Nations, and who isn’t? As it’s been said, “You can’t claim the benefits if you haven’t been there for the struggle.”
I’m reminded of a Simpsons episode. The oddly prescient cartoon, which forecasted the presidency of Donald Trump, had an episode in which Lisa claimed some Indigenous ancestry for a school project. As happens frequently in the show, Lisa’s story gets blown completely out of proportion, resulting in her giving a presentation at a conference of Indigenous people. As it turns out, nobody at the conference is actually Indigenous. They all have just been saying they were.
“Hmmm…” I thought at the time.
