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I've been thinking about this pretendian list and why it bothers me. I support the work of Leroux and others in addressing race shifting, so it's not that I'm oblivious to it and don't see the harms. I've been noisy about it for years now.
Lists are dangerous.
Lists are dangerous.
And IMHO they solve the wrong problem. The problem is lack of relationship and having a list that people can consult adds to that. No need for relationship, check the list.
And lists are dangerous. They make designations real in a way that lacks context and enacts harms.
And lists are dangerous. They make designations real in a way that lacks context and enacts harms.
Much of the work that I've seen by Leroux and Gaudry, by Lawford and Cobourn in this protocol published by the Yellowhead Institute .. by Circe Sturm, their work addresses the phenomenon of race shifting. https://yellowheadinstitute.org/2019/08/20/research-ethnic-fraud-and-the-academy-a-protocol-for-working-with-indigenous-communities-and-peoples/
At times it does point fingers, that is going to be inevitable. But the pointing of fingers isn't the focus. The focus is on the phenomenon and teaching you how to recognize it which is something a list cannot do.
And lists are dangerous. We know that in our bones.
And lists are dangerous. We know that in our bones.
Lists are easy though. They're an easy way for people to point fingers and say that they are real and others aren't.
And maybe it's landing in a particular way because I'm reading about the Choctaw and Cherokee Freedpeople and how damaging other lists were and remain.
And maybe it's landing in a particular way because I'm reading about the Choctaw and Cherokee Freedpeople and how damaging other lists were and remain.
It's just really ugly. This pretendian list. And so is the fact that so many Native Americans are supporting it.
Lists are dangerous.
Lists are dangerous.
