Pretendians Are Authentic Natives
False Assumption: Individuals claiming Native American or First Nations ancestry based on family stories qualify as indigenous for academic, publishing, and grant benefits.
Written by FARAgent on February 10, 2026
In the late 20th century, a permissive approach to indigenous identity emerged in Canadian and American academia, arts, and funding circles. Institutions accepted family oral histories as sufficient proof of Native American or First Nations ancestry, often without requiring documentation. Thomas King, a prominent writer and academic, claimed Cherokee heritage based on stories from his mother about his father's darker complexion and possible ties to Cherokee freedmen. This allowed King to secure grants, teaching positions in Native Studies, and publishing deals as a perceived indigenous voice. Similarly, folk singer Buffy Sainte-Marie built a celebrated career on claims of Cree ancestry rooted in family lore.
Over time, these claims enabled figures like King and Sainte-Marie to dominate opportunities intended for authentic indigenous creators. King's success, for instance, likely sidelined works by actual Native authors in publishing and academia. Exposures began to mount; Sainte-Marie was revealed in 2023 as having no verifiable indigenous ties, her story fabricated. Columnist Steve Sailer highlighted King's case in 2025, pointing to inconsistencies in his ancestry claims. Broader DEI policies, such as relaxed standards in university admissions, echoed this trend by prioritizing equity over verification, leading to issues like UC San Diego's surge in underprepared students after dropping SAT requirements.
Growing evidence now suggests this assumption is flawed, with critics arguing it undermines genuine indigenous representation. Investigations continue, and some institutions are tightening verification processes, though the practice persists in many sectors.
People Involved
- Thomas King, a prominent writer and academic in Canada, built his career on claims of Cherokee ancestry drawn from family tales. He rose as the nation's leading First Nations author and Native Studies expert, securing grants, jobs, and publishing deals under this identity. At age 82, genealogical research forced him to confront the lack of evidence, though he had promoted the claim in good faith for decades. [1]
- Meanwhile, folk singer Buffy Sainte-Marie faced exposure as a so-called Pretendian, her indigenous status questioned in Canadian circles. [1]
- On another front, Steve Miller, a resident of Orange County, highlighted UC San Diego's pivot toward favoring Hispanic-heavy schools over Asian ones in admissions. [2]
- Columnist Steve Sailer issued warnings in April 2023 that such policies would flood campuses with underprepared students prone to failure. [2]
▶ Supporting Quotes (5)
“Canada’s top Native writer and a long-time Native Studies academic, 82-year-old American-born Thomas King, just announced that it had been proven to him by a genealogist that he had no Cherokee ancestry.”— Another Pretendian
“While I have had my fair share of run-ins with smiling bigots and sympathetic racists, I have also benefitted from being considered Native American”— Another Pretendian
“folk singer Buffy St. Marie was exposed as a Pretendian a few years ago.”— Another Pretendian
“an Orange County man named Steve Miller recently pointed out that UC San Diego ... clearly switched from spring 2020 to spring 2022 to placing a big thumb on the scale to benefit applicants from heavily Hispanic schools”— UC San Diego Shoots Itself in the Foot
“confirming much of what I wrote on April 5, 2023 in my Taki’s Magazine column about UC San Diego’s bizarre new admissions policy”— UC San Diego Shoots Itself in the Foot
Organizations Involved
Canadian universities and publishing houses elevated Thomas King as an authentic Native voice, granting him platforms and resources without demanding proof. [1] In the United States, the University of California regents overrode their faculty senate in November 2021 to eliminate SAT and ACT scores, aiming for racial equity across all ten campuses. [2] UC San Diego, in particular, ramped up admissions from under-resourced, mostly Hispanic high schools between 2020 and 2022 to hit the 25 percent enrollment threshold for Hispanic-Serving Institution status and unlock federal funding. [2] By late 2025, the UC San Diego faculty senate acknowledged that these changes had eroded incoming students' readiness. [2]
▶ Supporting Quotes (4)
“Canada’s top Native writer and a long-time Native Studies academic”— Another Pretendian
“in November 2021, the politically appointed regents of the giant University of California system rejected the advice of the faculty senate’s task force experts [in the STTF report] and banned college entrance exams.”— UC San Diego Shoots Itself in the Foot
“UC San Diego really wanted to qualify for extra federal funds as a “Hispanic-Serving Institution” by making the feds’ racial quota for being 25% Hispanic.”— UC San Diego Shoots Itself in the Foot
“The faculty senate of the University of California at San Diego ... published a report last week, written in conjunction with its reluctant staff, confirming much of what I wrote”— UC San Diego Shoots Itself in the Foot
The Foundation
The assumption took root in family lore, where oral histories stood as sufficient proof of indigenous ties. Thomas King's mother attributed his father's darker complexion to a part-Cherokee grandfather named Elvin Hunt, a story that gained traction amid postwar ambiguities and visual cues. [1] Speculation even arose that Hunt might have had Black ancestry among Cherokee Freedmen, bolstering the Native narrative despite later disproof by genealogy. [1] In parallel, experts dismissed SAT and ACT tests as barriers to equity, ignoring data that showed these scores predicted college performance better than high school GPAs, particularly for nonwhite students. [2] High school grades, inflated during the COVID era and the post-2020 Racial Reckoning, were deemed reliable enough to stand alone. [2] Growing evidence now suggests this foundation was increasingly flawed, though the debate lingers.
▶ Supporting Quotes (4)
“Your father is part Cherokee. That’s what the kids are seeing.”— Another Pretendian
“the detail that most intrigued her... was that he “was very, very dark.””— Another Pretendian
“the use of the SAT or ACT college admission tests was crucial to choosing a qualified freshman class. Remarkably, test scores turned out to be an even more accurate predictor of college grade point average than is high school GPA. And, contrary to conventional wisdom, the accuracy of the SAT at predicting graduation rates and final college grades was even better for nonwhites than for whites.”— UC San Diego Shoots Itself in the Foot
“grade inflation During covid and the racial reckoning, high schools tended to ease grading standards. So high school GPA’s predictive validity predictably worsened.”— UC San Diego Shoots Itself in the Foot
How It Spread
In Canada, media outlets craved articulate, reliable First Nations figures, propelling individuals like Thomas King into the spotlight without scrutiny. [1] Academic and literary communities embraced self-declared Native identities, fostering an environment where verification felt unnecessary. [1] Across the border, the Racial Reckoning after George Floyd's death in 2020 pushed elite institutions toward race-based preferences, sidelining merit in favor of diversity goals. [2] This shift spread through administrative channels, where challenging the equity narrative risked professional isolation.
▶ Supporting Quotes (3)
“there’s a hunger for verbally adept, sober First Nations representatives”— Another Pretendian
“whites, especially academics and writers, frequently claim an American Indian identity.”— Another Pretendian
“Meanwhile, George Floyd’s death had driven elites insane.”— UC San Diego Shoots Itself in the Foot
Resulting Policies
Grants reserved for Native scholars flowed to claimants like Thomas King, alongside affirmative action perks in hiring that rewarded perceived indigeneity. [1] Publishing houses, radio stations, and television networks prioritized such figures, amplifying their reach. [1] In California, the UC regents formalized a ban on SAT and ACT submissions in November 2021, enforcing it systemwide. [2] UC San Diego adjusted its intake from 2020 to 2022, prioritizing students from predominantly Hispanic schools over those from Asian-majority ones to meet federal diversity benchmarks. [2]
▶ Supporting Quotes (4)
“did you benefit from grants earmarked for Native scholars? Did you benefit from being Native in the job market?”— Another Pretendian
“unwarranted access to publishing, radio, television, and other artistic avenues that you would not have had as a non-Native”— Another Pretendian
“In the name of racial equity, the ten UC campuses (including Berkeley, UCLA, and UC San Diego) weren’t just going “test optional” (in which applicants with bad scores can refuse to submit them), they were permanently banning all applicants from sending in test scores.”— UC San Diego Shoots Itself in the Foot
“UC San Diego (traditionally, the third most prestigious UC school) clearly switched from spring 2020 to spring 2022 to placing a big thumb on the scale to benefit applicants from heavily Hispanic schools and discriminating against kids from heavily Asian schools.”— UC San Diego Shoots Itself in the Foot
Harm Caused
Thomas King's prominence as a supposed Native likely crowded out genuine indigenous authors, denying them publishing opportunities. [1] At UC San Diego, the policy's fallout emerged by 2025, with freshmen arriving so unprepared that one in eight tested below middle-school math levels, a nearly thirtyfold increase. [2] Acceptances from affluent Los Angeles County schools fell 24 percent, while those from lower-performing ones jumped 215 percent, setting up waves of potential dropouts. [2]
▶ Supporting Quotes (3)
“Do you think the publication of your work prevented the publication of similar work by a Native author?”— Another Pretendian
“Over the past five years, UC San Diego has experienced a steep decline in the academic preparation of its entering first-year students -- particularly in mathematics, but also in writing and language skills. Between 2020 and 2025, the number of students whose math skills fall below middle-school level increased nearly thirtyfold, reaching roughly one in eight members of the entering cohort.”— UC San Diego Shoots Itself in the Foot
“Overall, in the spring of 2020, 2,878 students from majority Asian and white L.A. County public schools were accepted by UCSD. This dropped to 2,199 in 2022 (down 24 percent). In contrast, 1,601 applicants from majority black and Hispanic schools were accepted in 2020, but that exploded to 5,130 last spring (up 215 percent).”— UC San Diego Shoots Itself in the Foot
Downfall
The cracks appeared when a genealogist traced Thomas King's lineage and found no Cherokee connections, prompting his public admission. [1] He reconnected with his father's sister, who echoed the family stories, but hard evidence dismantled the claim. [1] At UC San Diego, a November 2025 faculty senate report tied plummeting student preparation to the admissions overhaul, with remedial tests revealing freshmen stumped by basics like solving 7 + 2 = ? + 6. [2] Growing evidence suggests these assumptions were flawed, increasingly recognized as such, though full consensus remains elusive.
▶ Supporting Quotes (4)
“it had been proven to him by a genealogist that he had no Cherokee ancestry.”— Another Pretendian
“my brother and I located our father’s oldest sister. … And she told us the same story my mother had told me. Yes, Elvin Hunt was really our father’s father. Yes, he was part Cherokee.”— Another Pretendian
“Why this fiasco? This deterioration coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on education, the elimination of standardized testing, grade inflation and the expansion of admissions from under-resourced high schools.”— UC San Diego Shoots Itself in the Foot
“In the appendix, there are sample questions from a test given to the remedial Math 2 students, along with what percentage got them right. ... “7 + 2 = ? + 6:”— UC San Diego Shoots Itself in the Foot
Sources
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[1]
Another Pretendianreputable_journalism
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[2]
UC San Diego Shoots Itself in the Footreputable_journalism