Instinctively, I knew it was only a matter of time. I almost started a betting pool on the exact date.
Knowing human nature, the controversy surrounding Joseph Boyden and the furor over his questionable ancestry was bound to expand beyond the one man and spread across what was once called Indian country. Who can and cannot call themselves Native/First Nations/Aboriginal/Indigenous? Followed by who can and cannot call out these same people? A poet/playwright might say ‘an Indian by any other name would smell as sweet’
Yes I am using the “I” word. You’ll understand why in a moment.
I fear people are now casting their critical gaze further afield then Mr. Boyden, beating the bushes for potentially fake Native people, demanding authentication. Granted Indigenous identity is indeed an important issue in our community and should not be taken lightly, but it is not something that should be embraced with a fervent Trump-like enthusiasm.
This past Saturday morning I checked my email, like many other people, Native and non-Native, do on a daily basis. I found a curious one, addressed to me, from the Peterborough area. A woman named Ms Harper had taken an unusual interest in me, my work, and my ancestry. Her correspondence was as follows:
“Wikipedia says you were born in the U.S.
Other places say you were born at Curve Lake and still live on the Rez.
Yet again, D & M’s site says you live in Toronto.
You went to Lakefield S.S.
Sounds to me like you and Joseph Boyden have a lot in common. Parlayed tenuous Indian background into a successful career.
What’s the truth? Or does it matter?”
The irony of that is I was reading it in my community of Curve Lake First Nation, specifically in the house I grew up in. Drinking from a coffee cup that my mother, whose first language was Anishnawbe, had originally drank from. I sighed loudly.
First things first, we all know Wikipedia is never wrong but in this case, I double checked and my Canadianess is evident all through my entry, though possibly Wikipedia could be in on the conspiracy. I suggested to Ms Harper, that if further not convinced, to phone the Curve Lake band office and ask around. I am related to half the people there and grew up with the other half.
Needless to say I was somewhat puzzled by the accusation but not surprised. There is a tendency amongst human beings in general- and contrary to what some alt-right people may think, that does include Canada’s Indigenous people -to over react. I know this from experience. Twenty five years ago I built my early writing career exploring and defending my decided lack of cheek bones sharp enough to cut a moose steak with. A four volume series of books I wrote called FUNNY, YOU DON’T LOOK LIKE ONE dealt with the world of not being or looking Native enough to satisfy people.
The continued irony was I had more so called qualifications of what is thought of as Native life then those questioning me. I grew up on my Reserve. Have one of those cards. I had a single mother. Lived right across from my grandparents. I’m pre diabetic (and if I am faking my heritage, that one must have been done on sheer will power), and I’m angry at the government for 500 years of interference. Short of building a birch bark canoe in a sweat lodge, I am at a loss on how to further put this issue to rest.
But seriously, the more dangerous aspect of this kind of allegation and its anticipated appearance has implications far larger than anything to do with me. When the hammer came down on Joseph, it would only be a matter of time before the microscope broadened its investigation and the lateral violence of suspicion began. Yes, people like Joseph have a larger public profile but eventually the trickle down theory will kick into place. And everybody will be suspect.
So this is a warning to all the Native people out there who might not fit into another person’s perception of a Native existence. Get your papers and authentications together. You could be next. If your Native, in the public eye (or not), and don’t have hair long enough to hang somebody, the AAA (Aboriginal Ancestry Assessors) might come knocking. The theatre buff in me wants to quote Arthur Miller’s THE CRUCIBLE, about the Salem witch trials, where a simple circumstantial accusation could result in a human rotisserie. Or the historian in me might recall McCarthyism- if you hang out with White people, you must be White. You might be required to spill the beans on every Native person you know who is vegan and has voted Conservative.
There has been a lot of talk recently about decolonizing ourselves. Part of that would be disassociating ourselves from the divide and conquer mentality forced upon us by the last hundred and fifty years of government policy. Fighting over status/non-status, Metis, skin colour etc, only increases the sense of dysfunction in our community. Control of who is allowed in and out of our circle doesn’t mean we have to interrogate each other. Frankly, I don’t have the time. I am too busy celebrating our community.
Still, the timing is perfect. This is the era of alternative facts and fake news after all. Ask not for whom the drum beats, it beats for you.
On retrospect, I actually do have a “tenuous Indian background” as Ms Harper phrased it. I’ve been to India twice. They had trouble believing I was an Indian too.