Just last week, we covered a similar story at U.C. Berkeley. Why does this keep happening?
Campus Reform reports:
Woman who faked Native American heritage was awarded university residencyThe University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW Madison) awarded a $5,000 residency to Kay LeClaire, a woman recently exposed for faking her Native American ancestry.LeClaire is the latest “pretendian” who profits by providing art or expertise to universities, museums, or other institutions, all of which are pushing for inclusivity in curriculum, faculty makeup, and exhibitions.The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that LeClaire served as “community leader in residence for the Center for Design and Material Culture,” a residency dedicated to “the development of a toolkit and curriculum around cultural appropriation.”John Lucas with UW-Madison Communications told Campus Reform that “LeClaire is a prominent figure in the community,” and the university learned about her faked ancestry “through reports on social media and local media.””LeClaire’s campus residency was ending at the end of 2022,” he continued. “She resigned before the formal end date. It will not be renewed.”LeClaire, who allegedly identifies as “two spirit,” an indigenous term for identifying as both male and female, previously criticized UW-Madison for raising a tribal flag, calling the gesture “performative,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.The Center for Design is a program of UW-Madison’s School of Human Ecology, which operates an Indigenous EcoWell Initiative. The initiative belongs to a larger collaboration between UW-Madison’s other academic departments and Wisconsin First Nations to promote their scholarship and artwork.Academics, journalists, and artists who fake their heritage, as the New York Post and Campus Reform have reported, often build professional reputations based on their identities.A writer and activist developed a list to call out these accused “pretendians.” One is the Dartmouth administrator “forced out as director of the school’s Native American Program over allegedly faking membership in the Eastern Delaware Nations,” according to the New York Post. The administrator, Susan Taffe Reed, still works at Dartmouth as an assistant dean of undergraduates.
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