Proximity, Pain and Pretendians: Towards A Framework

Monday, Oct. 21, 5:30-6:30 p.m.

QC-4028

This presentation will focus on two key mechanisms that build the social and political infrastructure of pretendianism: genealogy and family lore. The growth in publicly available genealogical data in the age of the internet has created the conditions for a growing number of white Americans and Canadians to re-imagine themselves as “Indigenous.” Combined with the creation and circulation of family stories about long-hidden “Indigenous” ancestors, pretendianism is the extension of the settler colonial logic to eliminate actual Indigenous peoples in favour of settlers.

Speaker: Darryl Leroux is the author of Distorted Descent: White Claims to Indigenous Identity (University of Manitoba Press), published in 2019. He has presented his work on false claims to Indigenous identity widely since then, including to the Chiefs of Ontario, Nunavut Tunngavik, and the Manitoba Métis Federation; to colleagues and students in almost fifty universities; and to the public-at-large at public libraries and professional organizations. His work on the topic has recently turned to a focus on the creation and circulation of family lore about Indigenous ancestry and identity in white Canadian families.

The event is part of the Interdisciplinary Speaker Series. Coffee and light snacks will be provided.

Presented by Departments of Anthropology, Archaeology and Folklore

Event Listing 2024-10-21 17:30:00 2024-10-21 18:30:00 America/St_Johns Proximity, Pain and Pretendians: Towards A Framework This presentation will focus on two key mechanisms that build the social and political infrastructure of pretendianism: genealogy and family lore. The growth in publicly available genealogical data in the age of the internet has created the conditions for a growing number of white Americans and Canadians to re-imagine themselves as “Indigenous.” Combined with the creation and circulation of family stories about long-hidden “Indigenous” ancestors, pretendianism is the extension of the settler colonial logic to eliminate actual Indigenous peoples in favour of settlers. Speaker: Darryl Leroux is the author of Distorted Descent: White Claims to Indigenous Identity (University of Manitoba Press), published in 2019. He has presented his work on false claims to Indigenous identity widely since then, including to the Chiefs of Ontario, Nunavut Tunngavik, and the Manitoba Métis Federation; to colleagues and students in almost fifty universities; and to the public-at-large at public libraries and professional organizations. His work on the topic has recently turned to a focus on the creation and circulation of family lore about Indigenous ancestry and identity in white Canadian families. The event is part of the Interdisciplinary Speaker Series. Coffee and light snacks will be provided. QC-4028 Departments of Anthropology, Archaeology and Folklore