Indigenous identity – News, Research and Analysis – The Conversation

Buffy Sainte-Marie performs at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2022. A CBC investigation has found a record of legendary musician Sainte-Marie’s birth certificate, other documents and details from family members who say she is not Indigenous. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Alex Lupul

October 29, 2023

Revelations about Buffy Sainte-Marie’s ancestry are having a devastating impact on Indigenous communities across Canada

Lori Campbell, University of Regina

The CBC report on iconic singer Buffy Sainte-Marie’s ancestry is having deep impact in multiple ways across Indigenous lands across Canada.

Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen speaks on Taiwan’s national day in early October. Ritchie B. Tongo/EPA

October 21, 2021

Taiwan: what is China’s long-term strategy? Podcast

Gemma Ware, The Conversation; Vinita Srivastava, The Conversation; Justin Bergman, The Conversation, and Daniel Merino, The Conversation

Plus, an extract from the Don’t Call Me Resilient podcast on the damage done when North Americans pretend to have Indigenous identity. Listen to episode 38 of The Conversation Weekly.

Queen’s University professor Celeste Pedri-Spade says a basic first question to determine identity is: ‘Who is your grandmother?“ Here a group of Métis children and two women sitting on a large rock, Fort Chipewyan, Alberta, 1931. H. S. Spence, Canada. Department of Mines and Technical Surveys. Library and Archives Canada, PA-014406 /

October 13, 2021

Stolen identities: What does it mean to be Indigenous? Don’t Call Me Resilient Podcast EP 8 Transcript

Vinita Srivastava, The Conversation; Ibrahim Daair, The Conversation, and Haley Lewis, The Conversation

Transcript for Don’t Call Me Resilient Podcast EP 8: Stolen identities: What does it mean to be Indigenous?

Being Indigenous is more than just genealogy. Here Lorralene Whiteye from the Ojibway Nation checks her hair in a mirror before the start of a healing ceremony, held by Toronto Indigenous Harm Reduction, to commemorate the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Toronto. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Evan Buhler

October 13, 2021

Stolen identities: What does it mean to be Indigenous? Podcast EP 8

Vinita Srivastava, The Conversation and Haley Lewis, The Conversation

In recent years, some prominent people have been called out for falsely claiming Indigenous identity. Why would someone falsely claim an identity? And what does it mean to be Indigenous?

August 4, 2020

Yes, we need to Close the Gap on health. But many patients won’t tell hospitals they’re Indigenous for fear of poorer care

Ray Mahoney, CSIRO

It’s no wonder some Indigenous Australians are concerned about receiving different treatment in hospital.

Many genealogy forums recently claimed their distant ancestor, the French-born Catherine Pillard was Indigenous. Pillard arrived with other women in Quebec in the 17th century as depicted in this painting. Charles William Jefferys / Library and Archives Canada

September 22, 2019

How some North Americans claim a false Indigenous identity

Darryl R. J. Leroux, Saint Mary’s University

Recently in Canada and the United States, a small, but vocal minority of white French-descendants have used an ancestor born between 300 and 400 years ago to claim an “Indigenous” identity.

Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia is a compilation of 52 essays from First Nations authors, some of whom have never been published before. Rounak Amini/AAP

September 5, 2018

Speaking with: Author Anita Heiss on Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia

Jacinta Elston, Monash University

Author Anita Heiss speaks with Professor Jacinta Elston about her new anthology of essays from First Nations writers spanning the breadth of Australian society.

Palmer United Party Senator Jacqui Lambie is willing to take a DNA test to prove her Indigenous heritage – but would that do any good? AAP Image/Lukas Coch

September 18, 2014

Explainer: can a DNA test reveal if you’re an Indigenous Australian?

David Weisbrot, University of Sydney

Palmer United Party Senator Jacqui Lambie recently created controversy by claiming in her first speech to Parliament that going back six generations, she is related to the renowned Tasmanian Aboriginal…

NAIDOC Week celebrates identity on blackfellas’ own terms. AAP/Paul Miller

July 9, 2014

Indigenous identity is settled and must be seen as a positive

Mark McMillan, The University of Melbourne and Peter West, RMIT University

NAIDOC Week is a time to celebrate many things as blackfellas and as the First Peoples of Australia. This is also a week of reflection. It is a week to reflect on our collective resilience; a time to be…

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