Racial misrepresentation

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.^{[clarification needed]} 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.^[4]
• "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.^[25]
• 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

References

1. Yang, Tseming (2006). "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. 11: 367.
2. Brazil, Cleuci de Oliveira in Pelotas (8 June 2017). "'Race fraud': how a college quota scandal exposed Brazil's historic racial tensions". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
3. Weisskopf, Thomas E. (2004). Affirmative Action in the United States and India: A Comparative Perspective. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-99731-1.
4. Higginbotham, F. Michael (2010). Race Law: Cases, Commentary, and Questions. Carolina Academic Press. pp. 90–100. ISBN 978-1-59460-599-4.
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. doi:10.1080/13504630.2015.1093470. ISSN 1350-4630. S2CID 146739065.
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. doi:10.1177/0093650215579223. ISSN 0093-6502. S2CID 29398572.
7. Amutah, Christina; Greenidge, Kaliya; Mante, Adjoa; Munyikwa, Michelle; Surya, Sanjna L.; Higginbotham, Eve; Jones, David S.; Lavizzo-Mourey, Risa; Roberts, Dorothy; Tsai, Jennifer; Aysola, Jaya (March 4, 2021). "Misrepresenting Race — The Role of Medical Schools in Propagating Physician Bias". New England Journal of Medicine. 384 (9): 872–878. doi:10.1056/NEJMms2025768. PMID 33406326. S2CID 230820421.
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. doi:10.1177/0021886317702608. ISSN 0021-8863. S2CID 151677686.
9. Dillon, Nancy (25 May 2020). "Coronavirus death of 'Cuban-American' novelist H.G. Carrillo reveals surprising truth to husband, fans". nydailynews.com.
10. Jackson, Lauren (September 12, 2020). "The Layered Deceptions of Jessica Krug, the Black-Studies Professor Who Hid That She Is White". The New Yorker.
11. Carter, Dan T. (October 4, 1991). "The Transformation of a Klansman". The New York Times.
12. Waldman, Amy (January 5, 1999). "Iron Eyes Cody, 94, an Actor And Tearful Anti-Littering Icon". The New York Times.
13. Aleiss, Angela (May 26, 1996). "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.
14. Eskin, Blake (2008-08-18). "The Girl Who Cried Wolf: A Holocaust Fairy Tale". Boston Magazine. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
15. Herbst, Diane (June 20, 2015). "How Rachel Dolezal's Cover as a Black Woman Was Blown". PEOPLE.com.
16. Pérez-Peña, Richard (June 12, 2015). "Black or White? Woman's Story Stirs Up a Furor". The New York Times.
17. Mimms, Sarah (July 6, 2015). "What Rachel Dolezal Left Behind". The Atlantic.
18. Meredith, America (2017-08-15). "Issues & Commentary: Ethnic Fraud and Art". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2021-08-18.
19. Regan, Sheila. “Jimmie Durham Retrospective Reignites Debate Over His Claim of Native Ancestry,” Hyperallergic, June 28, 2017, hyperallergic.com.
20. Mancini, Olivia (Winter 2001). "Passing as White: Anita Hemmings 1897". Vassar, the Alumnae/i Quarterly.
21. Nagel, Joane (1997-09-25). American Indian Ethnic Renewal: Red Power and the Resurgence of Identity and Culture. Oxford University Press. ISBN 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) ISBN 978-0-395-66921-1
23. Weaver, Jace (2001-11-01). Other Words: American Indian Literature, Law, and Culture. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-3352-2.
24. Doerry, Martin (6 June 2019). "The Historian Who Invented 22 Holocaust Victims". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 27 November 2021.
25. Treuer, David (March 7, 2008). "Why do writers pretend to be Indians?". Slate Magazine.
26. Krug, Jessica A. (September 3, 2020). "The Truth, and the Anti-Black Violence of My Lies". Medium.com.
27. Liebman, Lisa (July 28, 2017). "The Fascinating Old Hollywood Story That Inspired The Last Tycoon's Best Plotline". Vanity Fair.
28. Irwin, Nigel (January 12, 2017). "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". Vice Media. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
29. Murray, John (Apr 20, 2018). "APTN Investigates: Cowboys and Pretendians". Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. Retrieved July 8, 2021. Canada's most famous pretendian is a man who called himself Grey Owl.
30. Smith, Donald B. (1990). From the Land of Shadows: the Making of Grey Owl. Saskatoon: Western Prairie Books.
31. Smith, RJ (June 21, 2001). "The Many Faces of Korla Pandit". Los Angeles Magazine. p. 73 – via Google Books.
32. Bradner, Liesl (September 12, 2015). "How a Black Man From Missouri Transformed Himself Into the Indian Liberace". The New Republic.
33. Leo, Geoff; Woloshyn, Roxanna; Guerriero, Linda. . CBC News. Archived from the original on October 27, 2023.
34. Kreps, Daniel (October 22, 2022). "Sacheen Littlefeather Lied About Native American Ancestry, Sisters Claim". Rolling Stone. from the original on October 23, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
35. Viren, Sarah (25 May 2021). "The Native Scholar Who Wasn't". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
36. Shorter, David (July 1, 2015). "Four Words for Andrea Smith: 'I'm Not an Indian'". Indian Country Today Media Network. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
37. Allen, Samantha (July 11, 2015). "Tribes Blast 'Wannabe' Native American Professor". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2015-07-11.
38. Russell, Steve (July 1, 2015). . Indian Country Today Media Network. Archived from the original on August 5, 2015. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
39. . Indian Country Today Media Network. July 7, 2015. Archived from the original on August 10, 2015. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
40. "Indigenous identity is complex". www.gazette.mun.ca. 7 March 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-08.
41. "Indigenous professionals say UBC is mishandling Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond ancestry fallout". CBC News. 2022-10-26. from the original on 2023-01-05.
42. Choi, Matthew (February 6, 2019). "Warren suggests 'American Indian' might appear on other documents". Politico. from the original on September 21, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
43. Hoskin Jr., Chuck (Oct 15, 2018). . Cherokee Nation. Archived from the original on October 16, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
44. Olmstead, Molly (February 6, 2019). "Report: Elizabeth Warren Identified as American Indian in Texas Bar Registration". Slate Magazine. from the original on August 22, 2019. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
45. Linskey, Annie (February 5, 2019). "Elizabeth Warren apologizes for calling herself Native American". The Washington Post. from the original on February 8, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
46. Tarlo, Shira (February 6, 2019). "Elizabeth Warren apologizes for identifying as Native American on Texas bar registration card". Salon. from the original on February 8, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2019.