Ethnic Fraud?
Tribal scholars say some faculty are falsely claiming American Indian heritage to boost their job prospects.
By Mary Annette Pember
For American Indian scholars, securing a job in higher education can sometimes be as simple as checking a box. Most of the country’s colleges and universities do not require proof of tribal enrollment from faculty or staff who identify themselves as American Indians. Students looking to receive financial aid, however, must submit proof that they are members of federally recognized tribes. The question of American Indian identity can be an incendiary one. What does it mean to be an American Indian? Who are the “real” Indians? How are they identified? A recent surge of interest in personal genealogy has made the already complicated question even more troublesome. Many families hand down tales of American Indian ancestry, and the Internet is making it easier for average Americans to discover the truth for themselves. In the 2005 New York Times column, “The Newest Indians,” Jack Hitt suggests that the sudden spike in citizens claiming tribal heritage is a symptom of “ethnic shopping.” The term refers to individuals who wish to change identities and simply don new ethnicities that are more personally comfortable or interesting. But why are American Indians so often the ethnicity of choice among ethnic shoppers?
Dr. Venida S. Chenault, a member of the Prairie Band Pottawatomie and vice provost of Haskell Indian College, speculates that American Indian culture may be so attractive because it has been romanticized by mainstream American culture. “We are pretty cool people,” she adds with a laugh.
Despite claiming American Indian heritage, some people refuse to formally enroll in a tribe, arguing that the process is the federal government’s method of nforcing control over Native peoples. Enrollment requirements can differ widely among tribes. Some require would-be members to trace their lineage to the 19thcentury land allotment lists, for example. The various enrollment requirements are often a hurdle that ethnic shoppers are unable to clear. Says Dr. Grayson Noley, (Choctaw), department chair of the College of Education at the University of Oklahoma, “If you have to search for proof of your heritage, it probably isn’t there.”
Adding even more confusion to the debate is an emerging generation of American Indians who may possess nearly 100 percent Native ancestry, but the ancestry may be so fractionalized that they are not eligible for enrollment in a single tribe. The subjects of genuine American Indian blood, cultural connection and recognition by the community are extremely contentious issues, hotly debated throughout Indian country and beyond. The whole situation, some say, is ripe for misinterpretation, confusion and, ultimately, exploitation.
