The audacity of a white woman claiming to be Black. It’s almost as if there aren’t millions of other white people who do it with the Native American community. I have bitten my tongue with the Dolezal story because nothing hits closer to home as an American Indian than identity politics. Admittedly, my opinion specifically on Rachel is irrelevant. What she has done is an offense to the Black community, and as I am not a member of the Black community it isn’t for me to comment on. What I can comment on, however, is that her parents, in my view are just as fraudulent as Rachel.
Her parents have told reporters and news agencies their family is mostly German and Czech with a “trace of Native American” ancestry. This is a problem, and apparently I am one of very few people who see the irony in people who are white, who speak only English, who are culturally white, religiously, and who identify as white, claiming to be a “trace of Native American” while at the same time calling out their daughter for claiming to be Black.
I have yet to find evidence of a tribe the Dolezals affiliate with, but I did notice they’ve stopped saying the Native American bit in their media rounds. Perhaps they realized that calling out their fraud daughter while claiming to be Native American frauds is problematic. Someone must have cued them off to the faux pas it presents. What I do know is that Dolezal’s parents are not enrolled members of a tribe. Even if they weren’t enrolled, they don’t even claim affiliation with a specific tribe. So, then the question is, why CLAIM YOU ARE NATIVE AMERICAN? How is what they are doing any different than what their daughter is doing? Yes, sure, their daughter did utilize race as a way to bolster herself socially, perhaps even to gain employment. That’s despicable, to say the least. However, her parents have interviewed with virtually every news organization, Fox of course being the most sympathetic, and have stated their ethnic background which is just as unfounded as Rachel’s. I would certainly hope the Dolezal’s don’t break out the Cherokee card. As much as I’d like to hope they claim affiliation with another tribe, I’d be willing to bet Cherokee is the trace of Native American they claim. Hopefully, they don’t say they had a great grandmother who was a Cherokee princess. American Indians didn’t live in Disney movies, but these fantasies that tend to be drawn up by folks like the Dolezals who claim to be a trace of Native American- inevitably they’ll chock it up to being a Heinz 57, whatever the hell that means- are problematic because they give the impression that people who are not part of our community should have a say on issues that affect our community.
For instance, on the issue of mascots like the Redskins, I consistently hear individuals say “well, it doesn’t offend me and I’m (insert infinitesimal fraction here) Native American.” That’s exactly the reason that polls about Indian issues are often skewed- and yes, I said Indian, because as a member of the community, most persons of American Indian descent I know prefer to be called Indian. If you don’t affiliate with your tribe, if you are not a member of that community, tied to the history, culture, language, land or anything else that “your” tribe is affiliated with, then why even claim to be a member of that community? Our land was stolen. Our children were stolen. And now white folks want to steal our identity, too? Well, here’s an idea. If you want to steal our identity, try learning our language, ceremonies, religion, rites and traditions. If you want to claim Cherokee, go to a stomp dance (if you’re invited), learn Tsalagi gawonihisd’ (Cherokee Language), make some Kenuche, help your community, learn from an Elder, or donate to the Immersion School. At least then, you’ll have to look at the faces of the people you’re trying to pretend to be like. And maybe, just maybe, after you see how we live our lives you’ll have enough respect for us to stop pretending to be one of us. You’ll stop using us as mascots. You’ll stop making Hollywood movies that perpetuate false stereotypes (WE DON’T LIVE IN TEEPEES). Maybe then, you’ll figure out how to just be proud that you’re white, and find out what the hell happened to the culture your people used to have. And that goes for you, too, Rachel.
**Cue all the stories from others like the Dolezals who will claim they’re Indian but their families were somehow disenfranchised from the tribe**
