Pretendians
Title: This is Native America #16: Pretendians Get DNA Tests
Created: 2024
Medium: Graphic Design
Software: Adobe Illustrator CC
Dimensions: 48″x36″
Articles
“The day before Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, released the results of her DNA test last fall, the Los Angeles Times revealed another prominent politician was embroiled in a controversy over false claims of Cherokee heritage. William Wages, the brother-in-law of House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-California, received $7.6 million in no-bid federal contracts by claiming to be Cherokee. But, as the Times reported, Wages has no documented Cherokee ancestry and, other than an uncorroborated tale of a Cherokee great-great-grandma, is white.”
– High Country News, How ‘pretendians’ undermine the rights of Indigenous people
“Taking a DNA test or finding a distant ancestor on a website does not make you Indigenous.
Indigenous cultural identity is not about blood quantum. It is not about long-lost genealogical connections or genetic claims.
It is about belonging — it is about connection to community and culture. It is as much about who claims you — family and community — as what you claim. When Indigenous people gather, we ask each other, “Where you are from and who is your family?”
I can tell you about my family — the Sark (Peju clan) and Francis (Apli’kmuj clan) lineages. I am a member of Abegweit First Nation. My family came from Lennox Island, and before that from many places in P.E.I.
The community knows me, and I know them. This is who I am, who I have always been.”
– CBC News, It’s time for ‘pretendians’ to return the grant funding and honorary degrees
Download
Download the 11″x8.5″ poster (.pdf), This is Native America 16 – Pretendians Get DNA Tests.
Download the 11″x8.5″ poster (.pdf), This is Native America 16 – Pretendians Get DNA Test 2.
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Alternative Version
This is Native America
This is Native America is a series of artworks by Ihanktonwan Dakota artist David Bernie that promotes issues and stories within Native American and First Nations communities.
Creative Commons License
This work by David Bernie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. You may download, share, and post the images under the condition that the works are attributed to the artist.
