View Full Version : Rise of the Pretendians
Just read that census figures indicate an increase of 87% from 2010 to 2020 in the number of people claiming Native American ancestry. Discounting an extraordinary leap in fecundity, there must be an awful lot of Elizabeth Warrens and Ward Churchills out there.
I’m not sure what the cause of this might be. In some cases, it could be for professional reasons. I’ve heard of people claiming to be Native American to help sell their art or advance in Academia. Maybe some want to claim a more interesting heritage or somehow escape the taint of whiteness.
It strikes me as a rather silly sign of our times.
catherine
12-20-21, 2:06pm
There could be many reasons for the undercount in previous years. Here's one explanation. You can't count who you can't find. And I've done healthcare research with native Americans and their distrust of the government is so great that they typically will ignore solicitations from outside the reservations--even those that could benefit them, like enrollment in clinical trials. So it's very possible that they have refused to give any census taker any information at all, until they were approached by other Natives.
https://www.nicoa.org/census-shows-increase-in-native-population/
boss mare
12-20-21, 2:21pm
Just read that census figures indicate an increase of 87% from 2010 to 2020 in the number of people claiming Native American ancestry. Discounting an extraordinary leap in fecundity, there must be an awful lot of Elizabeth Warrens and Ward Churchills out there.
I’m not sure what the cause of this might be. In some cases, it could be for professional reasons. I’ve heard of people claiming to be Native American to help sell their art or advance in Academia. Maybe some want to claim a more interesting heritage or somehow escape the taint of whiteness.
It strikes me as a rather silly sign of our times.
Could it be with the 23 and Me and other DNA type tests, people are finding out more about their ancestry ?
Could it be with the 23 and Me and other DNA type tests, people are finding out more about their ancestry ?
I found all sorts of fascinating stuff in mine.
ApatheticNoMore
12-20-21, 2:29pm
Yea 87% of what is always the question. If it was a small number before than any of the above reasons could be.
I have to say that my DNA ancestry was pretty much as I was always told so kind of a yawn (and that despite the fact I may never know who my dad's dad was).
Could it be with the 23 and Me and other DNA type tests, people are finding out more about their ancestry ?
I suppose it could, but it can also work the other way. I grew up thinking my Great Grandfather was Native American but only recently found out through Ancestry.com as well as some cousins using other services that there is no indication of Native American ancestry in our DNA.
There could be many reasons for the undercount in previous years. Here's one explanation. You can't count who you can't find. And I've done healthcare research with native Americans and their distrust of the government is so great that they typically will ignore solicitations from outside the reservations--even those that could benefit them, like enrollment in clinical trials. So it's very possible that they have refused to give any census taker any information at all, until they were approached by other Natives.
https://www.nicoa.org/census-shows-increase-in-native-population/
According to the Census as quoted in the article, there was a 4.9% undercount in 2010. It’s hard for me to believe the undercount, while probably a factor, explains for the leap in 2020.
catherine
12-20-21, 2:33pm
Could it be with the 23 and Me and other DNA type tests, people are finding out more about their ancestry ?
I think that's another reasonable cause.
ApatheticNoMore
12-20-21, 2:38pm
Ever thought that many hispanics could claim native american ancestry if they wanted to, there is often indigenous ancestry, to the americas ...
"Native American" turned out to be family fiction in my case (Grampy was a kidder)--much to the disappointment of my sibling.
My SO could legitimately claim native American heritage by virtue of being 35% Yaqui, but I'm pretty sure Yaqui isn't an "approved" tribe in the US.
My parents always downplayed their backgrounds so I was surprised to find, in my genealogical travels, that my father was 100% German (my mother only 50%). Odd that the government didn't put him in an internment camp, isn't it? ;)
Elizabeth Warren was found to have native American ancestors, wasn't she? Maybe just not enough of it to satisfy some.
Elizabeth Warren was found to have native American ancestors, wasn't she? Maybe just not enough of it to satisfy some.
Yes. Six to ten generations back. Enough for a Harvard bio if not the real world.
Elizabeth Warren was found to have native American ancestors, wasn't she? Maybe just not enough of it to satisfy some.Yes, maybe 10 generations back, but apparently not enough for her preferred tribe to claim her. Is that what you meant about 'not enough to satisfy'?
I wonder what sort of requirements employers require. My former employer gave some sort of bonus points for minorities, including Native American, for hiring and promotion. I wouldn't think they would just take someone's word for it.
I wonder what sort of requirements employers require. My former employer gave some sort of bonus points for minorities, including Native American, for hiring and promotion. I wouldn't think they would just take someone's word for it.
I'm not sure how they could do otherwise. I've never heard of anyone requiring a DNA analysis before hiring or promoting someone.
iris lilies
12-20-21, 6:13pm
One of my friends while in graduate school created a whole hoax around a faux business enterprise that landed him in
a cover story of Inc. Magazine. He was listed in their Top 25 Small Business Enterprises of the year for his astonishing growth in revenue. Total hoax.It was later revealed for what it was. I think he was kicked out of law school for that, anyway, he left at that time.He did make sure to tell everyone he was attending the same law school that Ted Bundy attended.
While that was his most successful hoax, he spent time chasing others. He styled himself “Spanish” and pronounced his name in a Latin way. He succeeded in getting entries into “Who’s Who Among Black Americans” and “Who’s Who Among American Women.”
The Who’s Who publications, other than the big one, allowed most anyone who paid for their entry to be included.
Edited to add:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1986/02/18/one-mans-lark-is-anothers-high-flyer/5fc7a6fb-95d5-4d6f-bc5e-c422c1903b34/
One of my friends while in graduate school created a whole hoax around a faux business enterprise that landed him in
a cover story of Inc. Magazine. He was listed in their Top 25 Small Business Enterprises of the year for his astonishing growth in revenue. Total hoax.It was later revealed for what it was. I think he was kicked out of law school for that, anyway, he left at that time.He did make sure to tell everyone he was attending the same law school that Ted Bundy attended.
While that was his most successful hoax, he spent time chasing others. He styled himself “Spanish” and pronounced his name in a Latin way. He succeeded in getting entries into “Who’s Who Among Black Americans” and “Who’s Who Among American Women.”
The Who’s Who publications, other than the big one, allowed most anyone who paid for their entry to be included.
I’m always impressed by the brazenness it takes to sustain that kind of fraud over time. Hilaria Baldwin pretending to be from Mallorca instead of Massachusetts. That Catch Me if You Can Guy. Hillary Clinton’s southern accent.
catherine
12-20-21, 8:06pm
I’m always impressed by the brazenness it takes to sustain that kind of fraud over time. Hilaria Baldwin pretending to be from Mallorca instead of Massachusetts. That Catch Me if You Can Guy. Hillary Clinton’s southern accent.
Yeah, it is fascinating to think about what it's like to walk the tightrope of fraud every day. I love the movie about Frank Abignale. As for adopted accents, I don't have a huge problem with that--some people have a very strong ear for them and might just naturally fall into them. My brother was raised in the NE until he married his Wisconsin-raised wife, and they set up house in Minnesota, and now he has an accent that's more Fargo-an than hers. DH was born here but people ask him where he's from all the time because he has a legitimate Scottish accent. So I think some people just naturally mimic the speech patterns of people they surround themselves with.
As for Hillary, I agree that her accents are probably a little more calculated than those of my brother/DH:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCyvyyo6dtQ
Reportedly, research by physicists indicates that generic man is simply energy. All this fuss and bother about DNA and race seems highly over-rated hype to me.
iris lilies
12-20-21, 10:20pm
https://westseattleblog.com/2015/11/man-who-requested-block-watch-captain-night-out-organizers-names-isnt-saying-why-he-wants-them-but-says-hes-requested-and-received-the-list-before/
I see my old friend is still causing trouble for no apparent reason, this one being a Freedom of Information Act with the city of Seattle.
https://westseattleblog.com/2015/11/man-who-requested-block-watch-captain-night-out-organizers-names-isnt-saying-why-he-wants-them-but-says-hes-requested-and-received-the-list-before/
I see my old friend is still causing trouble for no apparent reason, this one being a Freedom of Information Act with the city of Seattle.
Most every state has some form of open records law. We used to get all kinds of requests, some as ridiculous as give us the list of every taxpayer in the property ownership records for parcels including or abutting a cemetery. We got requests every year for employee salaries from a newspaper that maintained a public database. The best defenses against the crazy ones were keeping up with our records retention policy to prune out old stuff and taking advantage of a provision in the law that allowed us to charge for processing and duplication.
I can name a number of great- grandparents at the 7th and 8th generation back, all by name, with information on where they lived, who they married, etc. etc. that are Cherokee, Pahmunkey, Algonquin, Mohawk, and more. None of these tribes consider me eligible for membership in their tribe. Yet these are still my ancestors. So I have mixed feelings about Elizabeth Warren's claim--I'm not sure what to do about this part of my identity. I am not pretending to have this ancestry, I have it. I think she is in the same boat. Does she qualify for Cherokee tribal membership? I don't, because my last named Cherokee ancestors were from pre-Dawes rolls days, and with the Eastern Band, I think they have to be full Cherokee prior to 1800, and mine are more back around 1760, I think. So 40 years, and I am not a member of the tribe. Big deal. It's still who I am, and I think that is true of many people now that Ancestry has made everyone put their records together and we have the benefit of other people's research. I know that I was always told that my mother had Cherokee ancestry, and it turned out to be true. I suspect that is the case with many, many people in Georgia and North Carolina, and it is probably many more people than anyone ever knew.
Frankly, I think it's kind of offensive that people mock people for wanting to know who their ancestors were, as though were is a bad thing. Why would anyone care if someone wanted to embrace a part of who they are? How is this different than me joining the Scott clan and buying my granddaughter a kilt, or me telling her that she is descended from Pocahontas's father? Both of these things are who she is, just like her Italian heritage on her mother's side that I know nothing about, or the fact that on her mother's side, her grandparents came over on the Mayflower. Which we did not know until a month ago when I did some research on her maternal grandfather's ancestors. I think that's cool, and I wish I had known what I know now when I was growing up, as it would have made learning history even more fun than it already was.
iris lilies
12-21-21, 9:55am
We have a Native American buried in our family cemetery in PA. I vaguely remember a colorful story that he kidnapped a great great great etc. aunt, but must have made up with her family because he is in the cemetery.
I have no problem with people looking into their pedigree out of historical interest or even vanity. Just because I don’t see my ancestry as figuring very significantly into “who I am”, it doesn’t mean others can’t feel differently.
I do, as a general principle, object to people playing the race card. Especially when they mark the deck.
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