Racial misrepresentation explained

Racial or ethnic misrepresentation occurs when someone deliberately misrepresents their racial or ethnic background. It may occur for a variety of reasons, such as someone attempting to benefit from affirmative action programs for which they are not eligible.^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

Critical race theory examines how people of European descent are, in recent history, more likely to pretend to be people of color. Historically, many people of color passed as white for survival and safety. It is possible for a person of any race or ethnicity to misrepresent themselves or be misrepresented.^{[5] [6]} Racial misrepresentation often occurs when people of one race or ethnicity, unfamiliar with real people of another culture, replicate the racial stereotypes of that racial or ethnic group. Typically, this is seen as offensive when negative racial stereotypes are mimicked, but it can be also be experienced as inappropriate even when the imitation is intended as flattery.^[7] An example of this is people wearing culturally insensitive Halloween costumes that depict these stereotypes.^[8]

Notable cases

• H. G. Carrillo, African-American who falsely presented as Cuban.^{[9] [10]}
• Asa Earl Carter, white American who falsely presented as Cherokee.^[11]
• Ward Churchill, white American who falsely claimed to be of mixed Muscogee, Creek, and Cherokee descent.
• "Iron Eyes" Cody, Sicilian-American who falsely claimed to be a member of numerous Native American tribes.^{[12] [13]}
• Misha Defonseca (Monique de Wael), Belgian gentile who falsely presented as a Jewish Holocaust survivor.^[14]
• Rachel Dolezal, white American of German, Czech, and Swedish descent who falsely presented as Black.^{[15] [16] [17]}
• Jimmie Durham, white American who falsely claimed to be Cherokee.^{[18] [19]}
• Anita Florence Hemmings, mixed race woman of African and European descent who passed as white.^[20]
• Jamake Highwater, white American of Eastern European descent who falsely presented as Cherokee.^{[21] [22] [23]}
• Marie Sophie Hingst, German gentile who falsely presented as descended from Jewish Holocaust survivors.^[24]
• Margaret B. Jones (Margaret Seltzer), white American who falsely claimed to be half-Native American.^[25]
• Jessica Krug, white American who falsely presented as half-Algerian, half-German, and Afro-Puerto Rican on different occasions.^{[26] [10]}
• Nasdijj (Timothy Patrick Barrus), white American of European descent who falsely claimed to be Navajo.
• Merle Oberon, half-Burgher, half-Welsh woman who falsely claimed to be a fully white woman of Australian descent.^[27]
• Grey Owl, white Englishman who falsely presented as a mixed-race man of Scottish and Apache descent.^{[28] [29] [30]}
• Korla Pandit, African-American who falsely presented as Franco-Indian.^{[31] [32]}
• Buffy Sainte-Marie, white American of English and Italian descent who falsely claimed to be Cree Canadian.^[33]
• Sacheen Littlefeather, American of European and Mexican descent who falsely claimed to be Pascua Yaqui.^[34]
• Andrea Smith, white American who falsely claimed to be Cherokee.^{[35] [36] [37] [38] [39]}
• Vianne Timmons, white Canadian who falsely claimed to be of Mi'kmaq descent.^[40]
• Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond, white Canadian who falsely claimed to be of Cree descent.^[41]
• Elizabeth Warren, white American who falsely claimed to be Cherokee.^{[42] [43] [44] [45] [46]}

See also

• Cultural appropriation
• Passing (race)
• Pretendian
• Transracial (identity)
• Stereotypes of Indigenous peoples of Canada and the United States

Notes and References

1. Yang . Tseming . Choice and Fraud in Racial Identification: The Dilemma of Policing Race in Affirmative Action, the Census, and a Color-Blind Society . Mich. J. Race & L. . 2006 . 11 . 367 .
2. News: Brazil . Cleuci de Oliveira in Pelotas . 'Race fraud': how a college quota scandal exposed Brazil's historic racial tensions . 19 September 2020 . The Guardian . 8 June 2017 . en.
3. Book: Weisskopf . Thomas E. . Affirmative Action in the United States and India: A Comparative Perspective . 2004 . Routledge . 978-1-135-99731-1 . en.
4. Book: Higginbotham . F. Michael . Race Law: Cases, Commentary, and Questions . 2010 . Carolina Academic Press . 978-1-59460-599-4 . 90–100 . en.
5. Nishi . Naomi W. . Matias . Cheryl E. . Montoya . Roberto . 2015-09-03 . Exposing the white avatar: projections, justifications, and the ever-evolving American racism . Social Identities . 21 . 5 . 459–473 . 10.1080/13504630.2015.1093470 . 146739065 . 1350-4630.
6. Dixon . Travis L. . 2015-04-02 . Good Guys Are Still Always in White? Positive Change and Continued Misrepresentation of Race and Crime on Local Television News . Communication Research . 44 . 6 . 775–792 . 10.1177/0093650215579223 . 29398572 . 0093-6502.
7. Misrepresenting Race — The Role of Medical Schools in Propagating Physician Bias. Christina. Amutah. Kaliya. Greenidge. Adjoa. Mante. Michelle. Munyikwa. Sanjna L.. Surya. Eve. Higginbotham. David S.. Jones. Risa. Lavizzo-Mourey. Dorothy. Roberts. Jennifer. Tsai. Jaya. Aysola. March 4, 2021. New England Journal of Medicine. 384. 9. 872–878. 10.1056/NEJMms2025768. 33406326. 230820421. free.
8. Ferdman . Bernardo M. . 2017-04-24 . Paradoxes of Inclusion: Understanding and Managing the Tensions of Diversity and Multiculturalism . The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science . 53 . 2 . 235–263 . 10.1177/0021886317702608 . 151677686 . 0021-8863.
9. Web site: Coronavirus death of 'Cuban-American' novelist H.G. Carrillo reveals surprising truth to husband, fans. Nancy. Dillon. nydailynews.com. 25 May 2020 .
10. The Layered Deceptions of Jessica Krug, the Black-Studies Professor Who Hid That She Is White. Lauren. Jackson. September 12, 2020. The New Yorker.
11. News: Carter, Dan T.. The Transformation of a Klansman. The New York Times. October 4, 1991.
12. News: Iron Eyes Cody, 94, an Actor And Tearful Anti-Littering Icon . . Amy . Waldman . January 5, 1999.
13. News: Aleiss . Angela . Native Son: After a Career as Hollywood's Noble Indian Hero, Iron Eyes Cody is Found to Have an Unexpected Heritage . The New Orleans Times-Picayune. May 26, 1996.
14. Web site: Eskin . Blake . 2008-08-18 . The Girl Who Cried Wolf: A Holocaust Fairy Tale . 2023-10-30 . Boston Magazine . en-US.
15. Web site: How Rachel Dolezal's Cover as a Black Woman Was Blown. Diane . Herbst . June 20, 2015 . PEOPLE.com.
16. News: Black or White? Woman's Story Stirs Up a Furor. Richard. Pérez-Peña. The New York Times. June 12, 2015.
17. Web site: What Rachel Dolezal Left Behind. Sarah . Mimms. July 6, 2015. The Atlantic.
18. Web site: Meredith. America. 2017-08-15. Issues & Commentary: Ethnic Fraud and Art. 2021-08-18. ARTnews.com. en-US.
19. Regan, Sheila. “Jimmie Durham Retrospective Reignites Debate Over His Claim of Native Ancestry,” Hyperallergic, June 28, 2017, hyperallergic.com.
20. Web site: Passing as White: Anita Hemmings 1897 . Vassar, the Alumnae/i Quarterly. Mancini . Olivia . Winter 2001.
21. Book: Nagel, Joane . American Indian Ethnic Renewal: Red Power and the Resurgence of Identity and Culture . 1997-09-25 . Oxford University Press . 978-0-19-512063-9.
22. Hoxie, Frederick E. Encyclopedia of North American Indians: Native American History, Culture, and Life From Paleo-Indians to the Present. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2006: 191-2. (retrieved through Google Books, 26 July 2009)
23. Book: Weaver, Jace . Other Words: American Indian Literature, Law, and Culture . 2001-11-01 . University of Oklahoma Press . 978-0-8061-3352-2.
24. Web site: The Historian Who Invented 22 Holocaust Victims. Der Spiegel. Doerry. Martin. 6 June 2019. 27 November 2021.
25. Web site: Why do writers pretend to be Indians?. David. Treuer. March 7, 2008. Slate Magazine.
26. Web site: The Truth, and the Anti-Black Violence of My Lies. Jessica A.. Krug. September 3, 2020. Medium.com.
27. The Fascinating Old Hollywood Story That Inspired The Last Tycoon's Best Plotline. Lisa. Liebman. July 28, 2017. Vanity Fair.
28. News: Irwin, Nigel. Joseph Boyden's Apology and the Strange History of 'Pretendians' – Boyden is hardly the first person to be alleged to have faked Indigenous roots for material or spiritual gain. . January 12, 2017. July 8, 2021.
29. News: Murray . John . APTN Investigates: Cowboys and Pretendians . . Apr 20, 2018. July 8, 2021. Canada's most famous pretendian is a man who called himself Grey Owl..
30. Book: Smith, Donald B. . From the Land of Shadows: the Making of Grey Owl . Saskatoon . Western Prairie Books . 1990.
31. Web site: The Many Faces of Korla Pandit. RJ. Smith. June 21, 2001. Los Angeles Magazine. 73. Google Books.
32. How a Black Man From Missouri Transformed Himself Into the Indian Liberace. Liesl. Bradner. September 12, 2015. The New Republic.
33. News: Leo . Geoff . Woloshyn . Roxanna . Guerriero . Linda . "Who is the real Buffy Sainte-Marie?" . . https://web.archive.org/web/20231027111549/https://www.cbc.ca/newsinteractives/features/buffy-sainte-marie . October 27, 2023.
34. Kreps . Daniel . October 22, 2022 . Sacheen Littlefeather Lied About Native American Ancestry, Sisters Claim . . live . November 18, 2023 . October 23, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20221023002533/https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-news/sacheen-littlefeather-native-american-ancestry-1234616464/ .
35. News: Viren . Sarah . The Native Scholar Who Wasn't . 25 May 2021 . The New York Times Magazine. 25 May 2021 .
36. Web site: Shorter. David. Four Words for Andrea Smith: 'I'm Not an Indian'. Indian Country Today Media Network. July 5, 2015. July 1, 2015.
37. Web site: Tribes Blast 'Wannabe' Native American Professor . Samantha. Allen. July 11, 2015. . 2015-07-11.
38. Web site: Russell. Steve. Rachel Dolezal Outs Andrea Smith Again; Will Anybody Listen This Time?. Indian Country Today Media Network. 5 July 2015. July 1, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150805234048/http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/comment/2155105. August 5, 2015.
39. News: Open Letter from Indigenous Women Scholars Regarding Discussions of Andrea Smith . July 7, 2015. Indian Country Today Media Network. October 9, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150810184329/https://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/07/07/open-letter-indigenous-women-scholars-regarding-discussions-andrea-smith. August 10, 2015.
40. Web site: Indigenous identity is complex . 2023-03-08 . www.gazette.mun.ca. 7 March 2023 .
41. Web site: Indigenous professionals say UBC is mishandling Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond ancestry fallout . 2022-10-26 . . https://web.archive.org/web/20230105003233/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/indigenous-professionals-say-ubc-ducking-role-turpel-lafond-ancestry-fallout-1.6628204 . 2023-01-05 . live .
42. Web site: Warren suggests 'American Indian' might appear on other documents . Matthew . Choi . February 6, 2019 . . September 21, 2019 . September 21, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190921113127/https://www.politico.com/story/2019/02/06/warren-american-indian-1154093 . live .
43. Web site: Cherokee Nation responds to Senator Warren's DNA test . Chuck . Hoskin Jr. . Oct 15, 2018 . . November 7, 2021 . October 16, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181016010653/http://cherokee.org/News/Stories/20181015_Cherokee-Nation-responds-to-Senator-Warrens-DNA-test. dead .
44. Web site: Olmstead . Molly . Report: Elizabeth Warren Identified as American Indian in Texas Bar Registration . Slate Magazine . en . February 6, 2019 . August 22, 2019 . August 22, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190822015158/https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/02/elizabeth-warren-native-american-texas-bar-form-apology.html . live .
45. News: Elizabeth Warren apologizes for calling herself Native American. Linskey. Annie. February 5, 2019. The Washington Post. February 9, 2019. February 8, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190208232241/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/elizabeth-warren-apologizes-for-calling-herself-native-american/2019/02/05/1627df76-2962-11e9-984d-9b8fba003e81_story.html. live.
46. Web site: Shira . Tarlo . Elizabeth Warren apologizes for identifying as Native American on Texas bar registration card . February 6, 2019 . . February 9, 2019 . February 8, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190208201314/https://www.salon.com/2019/02/06/elizabeth-warren-apologizes-for-identifying-as-native-american-on-texas-bar-registration-card/ . live .