{"id":307326,"date":"2025-11-26T04:01:13","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T04:01:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/307326\/"},"modified":"2025-11-26T04:01:13","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T04:01:13","slug":"indigenous-writers-academics-say-they-arent-shocked-to-hear-thomas-kings-not-cherokee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/307326\/","title":{"rendered":"Indigenous writers, academics say they aren\u2019t shocked to hear Thomas King\u2019s not Cherokee"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

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Estimated 4 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n

After author Thomas King’s revelation Monday that he is not part Cherokee<\/a>, some Indigenous writers and academics say the statement was a good first step, while others believe it lacks accountability.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Author of books like The Inconvenient Indian and Indians on Vacation, King said in an essay Monday for The Globe and Mail he learned he has no Cherokee ancestry after meeting with the Tribal Alliance Against Frauds (TAAF) a U.S.-based organization.<\/p>\n

Daniel Heath Justice, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and a professor in the Institute of Critical Indigenous Studies and the Department of English Languages and Literatures at the University of British Columbia, was on the Zoom call between TAAF and King.<\/p>\n

Heath Justice said King seemed genuinely shocked to learn of his genealogy. But he said this wasn’t a surprise to many Cherokee citizens, who were aware King was not Cherokee for a long time. <\/p>\n

He said while King is absorbing things, his \u201cstatement is a first step but it can’t be the only step\u201d toward accountability.<\/p>\n

Heath Justice added it’s an opportunity to learn “from different voices and voices who’ve been doing a lot of work.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ADaniel Heath Justice said he\u2019s less concerned about thinking about the impact of King\u2019s legacy and more focused on the legacies of Indigenous writers. (Submitted by Daniel Heath Justice)<\/p>\n

\u201cThis doesn’t have to be a time of despair; it can actually be a time of reaffirming our commitment,\u201d Heath Justice said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are so many really amazing Cherokee citizens. We are not bereft of Cherokee writers who are writing from Cherokee perspectives, who have Cherokee relations, who have Cherokee connections.”<\/p>\n

He encourages people to read writers like Twila Barnes, Andrea L. Rogers, Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, Gladys Cardiff, Mary Leauna Christensen, and Wilma Mankiller.<\/p>\n

Burden is with King, says writer<\/p>\n

Anishnaabe writer Jesse Wente said it was King\u2019s students who first came to mind when he heard the news.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think of all the people that have been in relationship with him, what they’re feeling today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Wente said he was aware of rumours surrounding King\u2019s heritage and distanced himself from him after his experience working with director Michelle Latimer on a film adaptation of The Inconvenient Indian.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis should have been taken care of long ago,\u201d Wente said.<\/p>\n

“I can’t speak to why people don’t resolve their own issues if they’re going to represent themselves in ways publicly.”<\/p>\n

He said his experience working with Latimer felt like a deep betrayal but prepared him for this moment. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe last time that happened, it nearly cost me my life, you know, because depression and anxiety and all those things are gonna kill you,\u201d Wente said.<\/p>\n

\"Headshot\"Jesse Wente says the burden is with King to repair relationships, not his community. (Submitted by Jesse Wente)<\/p>\n

\u201cThis time, in large part because of that, I’ve gone on a real big healing journey and that has changed my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wente said he doesn’t understand how King could be shocked because this is not new to many in his circle and that the burden is with King to repair those relationships, not his community.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t feel like I’m taking on any of the weight that Tom should be carrying himself, and that’s a relief this time around,” he said.<\/p>\n

“So my message to all those students, the folks hurt, is know that you can emerge in a better place.”<\/p>\n

Wente said empathy for the colonial disconnect many Indigenous people have endured prevents many from asking about peoples\u2019 identities.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe stop questioning because we understand that it’s painful,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI refuse in all of this time to lose the generosity of being Anishinaabe, which is that I want to believe you when you present yourself to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Support Indigenous students, says professor<\/p>\n

Celeste Pedri-Spade, an Anishinaabe associate professor in anthropology at McGill University in Montreal, said King\u2019s revelation felt \u201clike Groundhog Day.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said King\u2019s statement feels \u201cdisingenuous\u201d because \u201cpeople have been asking him to clarify his claims for many years now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ACeleste Pedri-Spade calls on King to donate his royalties to support Indigenous artists. (Submitted by Celeste Pedri-Spade)<\/p>\n

Pedri-Spade called on King to act upon the part of his statement about continuing to support Indigenous causes and Indigenous artists.<\/p>\n

\u201cYour book royalties, the money that you make off of these Indigenous stories, donate them to some initiative to support Indigenous students, to support the future of brilliant Indigenous writers,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":307327,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-307326","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=307326"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307326\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/307327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=307326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=307326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=307326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}