November 11, 2022

Collective statement on Elizabeth Hoover

*If you would like to sign and support this statement, please fill out this form.

Brief Introduction

Elizabeth Hoover (Pretendian) is one of many settlers in academia who claim Indigeneity based on unverified family lore and has marketed this identity for personal gain, acquiring both fellowships and faculty positions (Hilleary 2022, Isai 2022, Viren 2021). The authors of this letter are Indigenous scholars and former students of Hoover with affiliations at Brown University and UC Berkeley. As scholars embedded in the kinship networks of our communities, we find Hoover’s repeated attempts to differentiate herself from settlers with similar stories and her claims of having lived experience as an Indigenous person by dancing at powwows absolutely appalling. Her statement fails to acknowledge the prevalence of settler self-indigenization (Sturm 2011), which we find wholly unacceptable. As students at Cal, we are extremely disappointed by the University’s performative statements and inaction. We demand that Elizabeth Hoover resign and seek out a new position based on her true identity. Although we offer steps of accountability, we defer judgment to the communities she has commodified.

Responding to Elizabeth Hoover’s Statement

This statement is situated amidst the history of deceit and Hoover’s continued performance of her ideas about Indigeneity. There have been numerous critiques of her statement; we will briefly touch on a few here (Agoyo, 2022b; Chen, 2022). First, she ignores the alternative forms of citizenship employed by Indigenous communities. She describes a lack of “official documents” in her personal statement but fails to locate herself within kinship networks of the communities she has claimed, not to mention clarify any supporting documentation. Second, she fails to locate her home community and lineage of belonging, conflating the distinct Mohawk communities of Kahnawake and Akwesasne^[1]. In regards to her claims to a specific land base, she has none. Indigenous descendancy is derived from familial kinship networks that stretch back thousands of years; she has no such ancestor. There is no room for ambiguity or purported confusion in true connection.

So how do we address the years of harm from self-indigenization? Fundamentally, we feel similar to the Collective Indigenous Scholars’ Statement on Identity and Institutional Accountability. We understand that “membership in our communities is not a matter of blood quantum, race, or colonial categories, but in fact is a matter of integrity and reciprocity — a willingness to be in good relation with recognized communities who have long documented histories of existence, and of survivance, resistance, and self-governance” (2021). It is not our intention to further the harms and divisions of colonial identity categorizations (e.g., blood quantum policies) within Native and Indigenous communities. We draw attention to Hoover’s history of not being in good relation to the Indigenous communities with whom she works and issue a call for restorative justice going forward.

Demands for Elizabeth Hoover

1. Acknowledge harm and apologize

Hoover’s statement and her actions since have failed to acknowledge the harm she has caused and enabled. Her statement does not include an apology to current and former students and colleagues on both the issues of identity claims and her ethical conduct in professional spaces, let alone the communities she commodified for her profession. Her personal and professional ethics became widely known in her affiliation with Adam Sings In The Timber, notably with her dismissal of the survivors of domestic and sexual violence (Agoyo, 2022a). As someone proclaiming to support Indigenous women and rights, her evasion, misconduct, and documented suppression of young survivors’ stories demonstrate extreme flaws in her character.

Joanne Barker (Lenape) points out that those who are kinless use cultural performativity and their so-called individualized disenfranchisement to enable their stories of false and fraudulent claims to Indian ancestry (2021). They misuse their claims to absolve themselves of guilt or criticism while they benefit from or are actively complicit in the violent projects of dispossessing and harming Indigenous peoples. Pretendianism is kinless and renders Indigeneity into something other than nationhood. Kinship is not an object of ownership. Nor does it use culture and relationships for profit or for consumption by non-Natives (e.g., seeing people as research informants, objects of fetishization, or a trove of intellectual property). Kinship is interpersonal. It shapes our way of seeing the world while simultaneously providing systems of accountability to our community. Because kinship is sacred, we demand an apology in clear terms. Hoover must take ownership over the harm and long-term impacts of her false claims regardless of her intentions. This is the first and most basic step toward accountability and repair.

2. Stop performing Indigeneity

Settler colonial logics are designed to separate us from our culture, lands, and peoples. We celebrate reconnection within Indigenous communities as we continue to hold and mourn our stories of enduring separation. There is a lot of understanding for stories of disconnection in Indigenous communities; Hoover took advantage of this sympathy and trust. She was never honest or straightforward about her identity and her lack of connection to Kahnawake Mohawk or Mi’kmaq communities. Instead she adorned herself in Indigenous apparel and regalia signifying to everyone the credibility of her Indigeneity. What she lacked in genuine cultural connection, she made up for in earrings, shirts, and dresses with Indigenous designs. She engaged in an essentialized performance of Indigeneity, allowing others to make assumptions rather than ask questions. If Hoover has no Native relatives, how did she learn to be Indigenous? Settler projections are incomplete and do not even approach the richness, beauty, or complexity of Native lifeways, let alone our colonial and racialized trauma. Performative projections cannot generate meaningful Indigenous commentary and scholarship. While we affirm general support of Indigenous artists, we demand that she stop cosplaying with Indigenous jewelry, fashion, regalia, or any other performative mechanisms that seek to confuse her audience and subsequently silence questions of authenticity.

3. Come out as white

While saying she no longer feels she should identify as Mohawk and Mi’kmaq in her statement, Hoover still leaves plenty of room for doubt about her identity. She calls census data “confusing,” references Mohawk people who call her a “chosen daughter,” and states that her mother still maintains the viability of her story. All of these statements generate confusion about her ethnic heritage and place responsibility on Indigenous communities to clarify her obfuscation. We demand that she end this ancestral ambiguity and identify as a white settler.

4. Relinquish paid positions acquired from false Indigeneity

By claiming a false identity on grant and job applications, Hoover robbed Indigenous scholars of these opportunities; moreover, her scholarship and research have been founded on this misrepresentation, rendering them ethically fraudulent. We demand that Elizabeth Hoover resign from her position as Associate Professor of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (ESPM) and leave UC Berkeley. We also demand that she remove herself from all positions on boards and advisory committees and all grants, speaking engagements, and other paid opportunities she obtained with her false identity.

5. Plan and enact a path to repair

We demand that Hoover apologize to the Mohawk of Kahnawake for the damage she has caused them and begin redress with words, actions, and monetary compensation. We demand that she apologize for taking up speaking platforms and institutional space as an academic beneficiary at Williams College, Brown University, and UC Berkeley. We demand that she do more than acknowledge the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohicans, the Narragansett and Wampanoag, and the Chochenyo-speaking Ohlone whose lands these institutions occupy. We demand that she address the pain she has caused with words, changes in behavior, and money as she has profited both academically and financially by cosplaying this persona for years. We do not believe this list to be all-inclusive of the people and places she has harmed and urge her to seek repair with all who she has impacted. Finally, we demand that she repatriate gifted cultural or sacred items given to her previous persona unless explicitly informed otherwise.

Demands for UC Berkeley and the Department of ESPM

In current “post-racial” and seemingly “progressive” academic settings, Indigenous identity has been exploited and decontextualized. At academic institutions in the United States, diversity and inclusion rhetoric premised on individual equality or democratic freedom through civil rights protections reifies anti-Indigenous social structures. Indigenous political issues challenge diversity rhetoric because Indigeneity is a political status connected to distinct tribal nations and polities, not simply another racialized category (Estes, 2022). Thus pretendianism and self-indigenization are direct assaults on Indigenous sovereignty. While UC Berkeley claims to want to change their approach and relationship to Indigenous peoples and issues (Gilles & Sowerwine 2020), the only public statement that the University has released to date describes this as “a deeply personal matter,” ignoring its political implications and demonstrating the University’s ignorance of Indigenous issues (Chen 2022). We urge the University to repair its relationships to Native peoples and uplift Indigenous sovereignty by acknowledging the harm Hoover has caused and taking action to support its students. We make the following demands of UC Berkeley and the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (ESPM):

1. Offer block grant funding for students who were working with Elizabeth Hoover and assist students who had Hoover on their qualifying examination or dissertation committees in finding an alternate member.

2. Provide transparency for incoming Indigenous students and temporarily defer admissions of potential students of Elizabeth Hoover.

3. Organize and fund an Indigenous Environmental Scholars speaker series specifically for students who were involved in Hoover’s lab community that will give students access to Indigenous scholars working in Indigenous food sovereignty movements and in Indigenous environmental justice.

4. Open a targeted search that fills the need for an Indigenous faculty member in ESPM with expertise in food sovereignty and environmental justice.

5. Develop a system or protocols that allow for a deeper understanding of faculty applicants’ ethics in working with Indigenous communities. Work with other departments on campus to understand how the campus can adopt a better hiring and screening process to protect Indigenous communities.

Calls to action for our allies

Hoover’s work has been upheld in both academic and non-academic settings for its purported connection to Indigeneity and to the land; Hoover has clarified she has no ancestral ties or connections to specific lands. If Hoover has no connection to nor an intimate relationship with the land, what animates her theorizations? This unethical methodology stands in direct opposition to the work she claims to do. Her livelihood is premised on and therefore tainted by a harmful lie and therefore cannot exist alone. This is someone who has proven herself to be unworthy of trust, time, or respect. Everyone suffers with misrepresentation, so why should we keep perpetuating it? We urge the academic+ community to refrain from citing or assigning her work constructed under this damaging misrepresentation. We instead urge the academic+ community to engage with work that has been created by Indigenous life and love  which is compelling, strong, and grounded because we know where it comes from and what propels it forward. 

We believe that Hoover has much work to do; until she repairs relations to the satisfaction of the Mohawk and Mi’kmaq communities, which she commodified and otherwise used for the construction of her career, we urge the academic+ community to stop inviting her to speak, awarding her grants, or giving her positions. Further, we urge you to call on Elizabeth Hoover and UC Berkeley to adhere to these demands by signing onto this document and emailing the Dean of the College of Natural Resources, David Ackerly, at dackerly@berkeley.edu to do the same. 

Thank you for standing with us,

Signed,

Ataya Cesspooch, Ute, Assiniboine, and Lakota (ESPM PhD Candidate at UC Berkeley)

Sierra Edd, Diné (Ethnic Studies PhD Candidate at UC Berkeley)

Breylan Martin, Tlingit-T’akdeintaan (Ethnic Studies PhD Student at UC Berkeley)

*If you would like to add your name to the list, please fill out this form.

List of Signatories

Current or previous associates of Hoover 

1. David Smoke McCluskey Mohawk, Akwesasne
2. Kara Roanhorse, Diné (American Studies PhD student at University of New Mexico)
3. Phoebe Young, Saginaw Chippewa descendent (PhD candidate at University of Minnesota)
4. Leke Hutchins, Kānaka ʻŌiwi (ESPM PhD student at UC Berkeley)
5. McKalee Steen, Cherokee Nation (ESPM PhD Candidate at UC Berkeley)
6. Isabella Shey Robbins, Navajo (History of Art/American Studies PhD Candidate, former Brown NAISI Public Humanities Fellow)
7. Jessica Jiang (Ethnic Studies PhD student at UC Berkeley)
8. Pilar Jefferson (Ethnic Studies PhD student at UC Berkeley)
9. Katy Holbrook (née Gorman), Diné (Nursing Student, former Brown University Student)
10. Emma Hall, white settler (Brown University)
11. Rae Keʻala Kuruhara, Kanaka Maoli (PhD Student at UCLA, former Brown University NAISI Fellow)
12. Kate Ferguson, Citizen Potawatomi Nation (Undergrad student at Brown University)
13. Nikki Lee, Black on Ohlone Land (Ethnic Studies Undergrad at Brown, Sociology PhD at UC Berkeley)
14. Annette M. Rodríguez, Chicanx settler (Asst Prof History, UT Austin, prior graduate student Brown University)
15. Jasmine Ben, Diné (Undergraduate student at Brown University)
16. Carmen Wiley, Mvskoke (former Brown undergrad)
17. Debra Yepa-Pappan, Jemez Pueblo/Korean (Native Community Engagement Coordinator at the Field Museum)
18. Nestor Silva, Latinx/Mestizx (Anthro PhD and Teaching Fellow at Stanford University)
19. Doug Kiel, Oneida Nation (Assistant Professor, Northwestern University)
20. Victoria Huynh (Ethnic Studies PhD student at UC Berkeley)
21. Beka Yang (BA Ethnic Studies Brown University)
22. Allyson LaForge, white settler (PhD Candidate at Brown University)
23. Esmeralda Lopez, Mixteca (MD student at Washington State University)
24. Beth Piatote, Nez Perce, associate professor, UC Berkeley
25. charlie amáyá scott, Diné, (PhD Candidate, Higher Education, University of Denver)
26. Phenocia Bauerle, Apsaalooke, UC Berkeley staff
27. Emily Yoshioka (BA in Ethnic Studies at Brown University)
28. Jason Du, Settler and former student (Development Engineering at UC Berkeley)
29. Tia Heywood, white settler (BA Ethnic Studies Brown University)
30. Taylor Rose Payer, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa (PhD student at University of Minnesota, former NAISI fellow at Brown)
31. Hope Gale-Hendry, white settler (Student at UC Berkeley)
32. Abigail De Kosnik, Associate Professor at UC Berkeley
33. Mae Verano, Ilokano settler on Muwekma Ohlone Land (MSW candidate at SJSU, Ethnic Studies BA at Brown University)
34. Angelica Waner, Za1potec descent (PhD Candidate at UCLA)
35. Ellen Hollstein (ESPM PhD student at UC Berkeley)
36. Mar Maravilla, Mexican-American/ Chicanx, Brown Student Labor Alliance (Brown University)
37. Vanessa Komada, white settler, (ESPM Masters of Forestry student at UC Berkeley)
38. Deibi D. Sibrian, Critical Central American Indigenous Scholar (ESPM Ph.D. student at UC Berkeley)
39. Aanchal Saraf (American Studies PhD student at Yale University)
40. Chris Koh, Settler and former student (Masters in Public Policy)
41. Jacob Cousin, Oglala Sioux Tribe (MPH Brown University)
42. Renae Watchman, Diné, Tsalagi (Associate Prof, Indigenous Studies, McMaster U)
43. Jennifer (Edwards) Weston, Hunkpapa Lakota citizen, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
44. Alexii Sigona, Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, ESPM PhD Student
45. Aidee Guzman, (former ESPM PhD Student at UC Berkeley)
46. Rebecca M. Webster, Oneida Nation (Assistant Professor at University of Minnesota Duluth)
47. Andrea Salazar, Mexican-Indigenous Reconnecting (ESPM Undergraduate at UC Berkeley)
48. Nona Claypool,  Cheyenne River Band of The Great Sioux Nation (Native American Studies, Undergrad, University of California Berkeley)
49. Erendina Delgadillo, History Curator (Public Humanities student at Brown University)
50. Tammy C. Ho, settler of color/no tribal affiliations; living on lands stewarded by Tongva, Cahuilla, Serrano, and Luiseño (Associate Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies, UC Riverside)Associate Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies, UC Riverside) (Associate Professor of Gender and Sexuality Studies, UC Riverside)
51. Nick Estes, Lower Brule Sioux Tribe (Assistant Professor of American Indian Studies at University of Minnesota)
52. Desi Small-Rodriguez , Northern Cheyenne Nation Citizen (Assistant Professor at UCLA)
53. Tara Maudrie, Sault Ste Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians (PhD Student at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health)
54. Ariana Kretz, white settler (undergraduate History/ESPM student at UC Berkeley)
55. Melissa Stoner, Diné, Librarian, UC Berkeley
56. Gabriela Ines Diaz (CHamoru and Pohnpeian), American Indian Student Engagement Associate, Circle of Indigenous Nations (COIN), University of Minnesota Twin Cities
57. Maya Sisneros, settler (History Department staff at UC Berkeley)
58. Jorge Palacios, Reconnecting Xicanx (MA Social Sciences student at University of Chicago)
59. Mindy Jewell Price, white settler (ESPM PhD Candidate, UC Berkeley)
60. Jesmane Sanches, Quahadi Comanche, Tuolumne Me-wuk, Mexica and Chamorro (Ethnic Studies student at UC Berkeley)
61. Jesús Nazario, Nahua (Ethnic Studies PhD Student at UC Berkeley)
62. Valarie Jernigan, Choctaw, Professor of Medicine, Director, Center for Indigenous Health, Oklahoma State University
63. Cynthia Wilson, Diné, ESPM PhD student at UC Berkeley
64. Jasmin Munoz, Mexican settler of color (DCRP MCP student at UC Berkeley)

65. Rupa Marya, MD, Punjabi Settler in Ohlone territories, Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
66. Maywa Montenegro, Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies Department, UC Santa Cruz (Berkeley/ESPM PhD)
67. Patrick V. Naranjo (TEWA-SCP)
68. Michelle Katuna, settler (ESPM PhD student at UC Berkeley)
69. Sydney Moss, White Settler (ESPM PhD student at UC Berkeley)

Faculty in support

70. Audra Simpson, Kahnawake Mohawk (Professor of Anthropology, Columbia University)
71. Taiaiake Alfred, Kahnawà:ke Mohawk (Independent Scholar)
72. Zoe Todd, Red River Métis, Associate Professor
73. Amy Lonetree, Ho-Chunk, (Professor, UC Santa Cruz)
74. Olivia Chilcote, San Luis Rey Band of Mission Indians (Assistant Professor of American Indian Studies at San Diego State University)
75. Clare S. Kim (Assistant Professor at University of Illinois Chicago)
76. Sarah Dowling (Assistant Professor, University of Toronto)
77. Kim TallBear (Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate), Professor of Native Studies, University of Alberta (Asst Prof ESPM, UC Berkeley, 2008-13)
78. Hayley Negrin (Assistant Professor of History University of Illinois at Chicago)
79. Valerie Lambert, enrolled citizen, Choctaw Nation (Associate Professor of Anthropology, U of N Carolina - Chapel Hill)
80. Michael Lambert, enrolled citizen of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (Associate Professor, UNC Chapel Hill)
81. Mustafa Aksel Casson, Associate Professor Slippery Rock University Pennsylvania
82. Kyle X. Hill, PhD, MPH, Enrolled citizen in Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, lineal descendant Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate and Cheyenne River Sioux, Assistant professor, Indigenous Health, University of North Dakota, School of Medicine and Health Sciences
83. Flora Lu (Professor, Department of Environmental Studies, UC Santa Cruz)
84. Deondre Smiles, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe (Assistant Professor of Geography, University of Victoria)
85. Hiʻilei Julia Kawehipuaakahaopulani Hobart, Kanaka Maoli (Assistant Professor of Native and Indigenous Studies, Yale University)
86. Stanley Thangaraj, Professor of Race, Ethnicity, and Social Justice
87. Brittani R. Orona, Hupa (Assistant Professor of American Indian Studies at San Diego State University
88. Gerald Clarke, Citizen of the Cahuilla Band of Indians and Professor of Ethnic Studies at the University of California Riverside
89. Wesley Leonard, Miami Tribe of Oklahoma citizen (Associate Professor of Ethnic Studies, UC Riverside)
90. Lori Laiwa Thomas, Enrolled Hopland Pomo Nation, Professor, Santa Rosa Junior College
91. Desiree Valadares, South Asian settler (Geography, Assistant Professor, UBC-Vancouver)
92. Michael Fabris, Blackfoot (affiliated with Piikani Nation); Assistant Professor, UBC Department of Geography
93. Marisa Duarte, Pascua Yaqui Tribe, Associate Professor, School of Social Transformation, Arizona State University
94. Renya Ramirez enrolled Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, Professor UCSC Anthropology
95. Luana Ross, Enrolled Bitterroot Salish, (Prof Emerita UW)
96. Carin Silkaitis, University of Alaska Southeast
97. Mark Muhannad Ayyash, Professor of Sociology, Mount Royal University
98. Keith Miyake, settler of color (Assistant Professor of Ethnic Studies, UC Riverside)
99. Kyle Whyte (Citizen Potawatomi Nation), University of Michigan professor
100. Stevie Ada Klaark , no tribal affiliations; Adjunct Professor, Minneapolis College
101. Heather Davis (white settler, Assistant Professor of Culture and Media, The New School)
102. Michael Truscello, Associate Professor, Mount Royal University
103. Mishuana Goeman, UCLA Professor, Tonawanda Band of Seneca
104. Rodney Beaulieu Lecturer, CSU San Marcos
105. Jill Doerfler, First degree descendant, White Earth Nation (Professor and Department Head of American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota-Duluth)
106. Audra Foggin, Frog Lake Cree Nation (Mount Royal University)
107. Devon Mihesuah, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Cora Lee Beers Price Professor, Hall Center for the Humanities, University of Kansas
108. Kari Chew, Chickasaw Nation (independent scholar)
109. Amanda Lee Keikialoha Savage, Kanaka Maoli and white settler (Assistant Professor of Teaching at University of Memphis)
110. Caitlin Keliiaa, Yerington Paiute and Washoe, Assistant Professor, UC Santa Cruz
111. Joslynn Lee, Laguna Pueblo (Assistant Professor of Biochemistry, Fort Lewis College)
112. Christopher Waldo (Assistant Professor, Department of Classics, University of Washington, Seattle)
113. Kathleen Johnson, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians (Associate Professor, UC Irvine; PhD from UC Berkeley, 2004)
114. Jez Flores-Garcia, Ph.D., chicanx (UC Berkeley alum)
115. Dr. Susan M. (Elli) Elliott, Adjunct Instructor of Religious Studies
116. Sherry B. Ortner, Distinguished Research Professor of Anthropology, UCLA
117. Tim Taylor, Professor, Department of Ethnomusicology, UCLA
118. Kasey Jernigan, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (Assistant Professor at the University of Virginia)

Organizations in support

119. Indigenous and Native Coalition at UC Berkeley
120. Indigenous Community Learning Garden at UC Berkeley
121. Latin American Studies Association of MA Students Cal State LA
122. The Student Kouncil of Intertribal Nations at San Francisco State University
123. Indigenous Graduate Student Association at UC Berkeley
124. Graduate Diversity Council (ESPM at UC Berkeley)

Community members in support 

125. Laura Englehart, Listuguj Mi’gmaq First Nation
126. Lorna Maie Thomas, Akwesasne Kanién’kehaka (Mohawk)
127. Iakowi:he’ne’ Oakes, Mohawk of Akwesasne (Executive Director of NAICNY.org)
128. Cody Conners (St. Regis Mohawk Tribe)
129. Summer Saraf, enrolled member of Kenhtè:ke Kanyen'kehá:ka (Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte)
130. Bree Herne, Akwesasne Mohawk
131. Kate van der Meer, Wahta Mohawk descendant
132. Kimberly Ann Montour, Mohawk
133. Courtney Kaniehtahawi Tarbell, Mohawks of Akwesasne, Concordia University Montreal
134. Noah Ramage, Cherokee Nation (History PhD candidate at UC Berkeley)
135. Yesenia Valverde, Latinx (ESPM PhD student at UC Berkeley, Brown University alum)
136. Felicia Bartley, Pueblo of Isleta (Brown University)
137. Larissa Nez, Navajo (Ethnic Studies Phd Student at UC Berkeley)
138. Alyssa Kewenvoyouma, Navajo and Hopi, (JD & MBA student at UC Berkeley)  
139. Gabriel Trujillo, Reconnecting (IB PhD Candidate, UC Berkeley)
140. Katherine Rose Wolf, white settler (ESPM Society and Environment PhD Student at UC Berkeley)
141. Lucy Andrews, white settler (ESPM PhD candidate, UC Berkeley)
142. Summer Lewis, Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Seminole & Cherokee descendent (Master’s in Public Health student at UC Berkeley)
143. Sara Tenamoeata Kahanamoku, Kanaka ʻŌiwi, Maʻohi (IB PhD Candidate at UC Berkeley)
144. Derek Wu (Ethnic Studies PhD student, UCB)
145. Fernanda Cunha (Ethnic Studies PhD student at UC Berkeley)
146. Valentín Sierra, Yoeme (Social Welfare PhD student at UC Berkeley)
147. Gregoria Olson (Ethnic Studies PhD candidate, UC Berkeley)
148. Annie Taylor (ESPM PhD student at UC Berkeley)
149. Isabella Garcia (PhD student at UC Berkeley)
150. Claudia Iron Hawk, CRST D/Lakota (Linguistics PhD student at UC Berkeley)
151. Gisselle Perez (History PhD candidate at UC Berkeley)
152. Kieren Rudge (ESPM PhD student at UC Berkeley)
153. Robin D. López, Latinx (ESPM PhD Candidate at UC Berkeley)
154. Sage Cesspooch, Northern Ute Tribe/Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate
155. Chamique DuBoise, Navajo (student at UNM)
156. Talia Dixon, Pauma Band of Payómkawichum (Performance Studies PhD student at UC Berkeley)
157. Ezekiel Acosta (graduate student at UNM)
158. Royale Pinassi, Karuk (ESPM Undergraduate student majoring in Conservation and Resource Studies)
159. Levi Norte, Cahuilla & Paiute (Morongo Band of Mission Indians) Undergraduate student at Stanford University
160. Tyler M. Tully, Chickasaw and settler descendant (PhD candidate at Oxford University)
161. Madeleine Hutchins, Mohegan (M.A.R. student at Yale Divinity School and the Institute of Sacred Music, Worship, and the Arts)
162. Kimberly Yu, (Art History PhD student at UC Berkeley)
163. Deon Oliverio, Seneca Nation Descendant
164. Bella Campos Hintzman, Fremont CA (student at Ohio Wesleyan)
165. David Stovall, University of Illinois at Chicago
166. Gus Hong Meuschke (Ethnic Studies PhD student at UCSD)
167. Alex Mabanta, Filipinx/AAPI settler on Ohlone land (Jurisprudence and Social Policy Ph.D. student at UC Berkeley School of Law)
168. Raphaela Floreani Buzbee, white settler (ESPM PhD student at UC Berkeley)
169. Cheron A. Laughing, Diné- Navajo Nation (Ethnic Studies PhD student at UC San Diego)
170. Vernon Shaw, white settler (Comparative Literature PhD student at UC Santa Barbara)
171. S.Y. Kim (Graduate Student, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education)
172. Paul Austin, community member in support
173. Lisa Ng (Ethnic Studies PhD student at UC Berkeley)
174. Jieyi Cai (Counseling psychology PhD candidate at University of Minnesota, Twin Cities)
175. Andrés Caicedo, Latino (ESPM, Society and Environment, Phd Student at UC Berkeley)
176. Leana King, Muscogee (Creek) and Seminole Nation of Oklahoma (HWNI PhD candidate at UC Berkeley)
177. Alicia Duncan, Tlingit-T’aḵdeintaan (Applied Anthropology MA Student at Oregon State University)
178. Katrina Roanhorse, Navajo
179. Madeline Mendoza, Pueblos of Laguna and Ohkay Owingeh (English PhD Student at UNM)
180. Alexandria Yellowhair, Diné, BSW student at California State University of Los Angeles
181. Marissa Weaselboy, Yomba Shoshone Tribe/Chippewa-Cree (Geography PhD student at UVic)
182. Holly Olivarez, PhD Candidate at University of Colorado Boulder
183. Benji Reade Malagueño, Latine (ESPM PhD student at UC Berkeley)
184. Jaye Mejía-Duwan, Latinx settler (ESPM PhD student at UC Berkeley)
185. Sariel Sandoval, Bitterroot Salish, Upper Pend d’Oreille, and Diné (Undergraduate at UC Berkeley)
186. ​​Jae Kirkland Rice, PhD Candidate in Comparative Literature, Yale University
187. Jaysha Alonzo-Estrada, Kanaka ‘ōiwi (Masters of Public Health Candidate at UC Berkeley)
188. Cesar Estien (ESPM PhD Student at UC Berkeley)
189. Nestor Silva, Latinx/Mestizx (Anthro PhD and Teaching Fellow at Stanford University)
190. Kathleen Belin,  Diné, community member
191. Ethan Simmons, Baba Nyonya
192. Charlie Musoff, white settler, (MPH student at UC Berkeley)
193. Corbin Schuster, Ph.D., Yakama Nation
194. Monique campos, Community member in support
195. Celine To, MPH/MSW at UC Berkeley
196. Sofia Ledesema, Masters of Public Health Candidate at UC Berkeley
197. Tia Blais-Billie, Seminole Tribe of Florida (former member of Natives at Brown)
198. Tyus D. Williams (ESPM PhD student at UC Berkeley)
199. Alison Holbrook, Diné, community member
200. Caroline Cunfer (American Studies PhD student at Brown University)
201. Emma Chiaroni, white settler (Rural Sociology & Human Dimensions of Natural Resources and the Environment PhD student at Penn State)
202. Nicole Vandal, Aquinnah Wampanoag (Recent graduate of Amherst College)
203. rhiannon skye tafoya, eastern cherokee & santa clara pueblo (artist)
204. Sebastián Rubiano-Galvis, PhD, ESPM alum, UC Berkeley
205. Alexander Pearl (PhD Student, American Studies, University of New Mexico)
206. kate hao (Brown University)
207. Patricia de Nobrega Gomes (PhD Candidate in Performance Studies at UC Berkeley)
208. Sofia J Chavez (ES PhD student at UC Berkeley)
209. Tara Seely, non-indigenous (ESPM PhD candidate at UC Berkeley)
210. Blaire Frett, white settler (MPH and MCP student at UC Berkeley)
211. Alexandra Gomez Lacayo, Trigueña settler in Tongva Land (BA Reed College)
212. Madelaine van der Ploeg, Waganakising Odawa, (Legal Studies & Global Studies Undergraduate Student at UC Berkeley)
213. Adina Lewis, Mono, Cold Springs Rancheria (Past Indigenous Community Learning Garden steward, UC Berkeley)
214. Samantha Cruz, Yaquis of Southern California (Art Practice undergraduate student at UC Berkeley)
215. Lissett Bastidas, History PhD student UC Berkeley
216. Braeden Jones, Salt River Pima/Washoe/ Kiowa/Apache of Oklahoma (2nd Year Undergraduate student at UC Berkeley)
217. Corinne Kasper, Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians and white (Linguistics PhD student at University of Chicago)
218. Kendrick Manymules, Diné (Geography PhD student at UC Berkeley)
219. Sarah Fine, Cherokee Nation (Brown AMST grad student, UC Berkeley DCRP)
220. Whitney Mgbara (Doctoral Candidate in ESPM at UC Berkeley)
221. Sophia Hussain, settler (Events Coordinator at Berkeley Center for New Media)
222. Sophie Ruehr, white settler (ESPM PhD Student at UC Berkeley)
223. Rebecca Cesspooch, Ute Tribe Uintah & Ouray Agency, and Fort. Peck Assiniboine & Sioux Tribe (Artist)
224. Vanessa Fernandez, Diné, Undergraduate student at UC Berkeley
225. Tyva Avila, Tuolumne Band Miwuk (UC Berkeley Undergraduate Student)
226. Avalon Moore, Diné (Undergraduate student at UC Berkeley)
227. Sierra Yarnes (ESPM PhD Student at UC Berkeley)
228. Summer Rain Helms, Hupa, Yurok & Soboba Luiseño — UCLA grad
229. Alexis Atsilvsgi Zaragoza, Cherokee Nation (UC Berkeley Geography Alumni)
230. Claire Chun (Ethnic Studies, PhD student at UC Berkeley)
231. Natalie Russianoff, community member in support
232. Gilberto Rosa-Duran, (African Diaspora Studies PhD student at UC Berkeley)
233. Chelsi Sparti, Northern Wintu and white settler (ERG Master's Student at UC Berkeley)
234. Anayeli Nuñez Almengor (History PhD student at UC Berkeley)
235. Reine Marie Pavlik, Tlingit
236. Matthew Kateb Goldman (American Studies PhD Candidate, Brown University)
237. Bz Zhang (MArch alum and former ESPM GSI at UC Berkeley)
238. Claudia Haddad, community member
239. Liza Gak, white settler (Information PhD Student at UC Berkeley)
240. Yvonne Socolar, white settler (ESPM PhD candidate, UC Berkeley)
241. Sarina P. Chinese-Vietnamese in solidarity
242. L. Marie Avila, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, MI (Assistant Librarian, University of Kansas Libraries, University of Kansas)
243. Makayla Mather, Tlingit and Tsimshian, community member
244. Seigi Karasaki (Energy and Resources Group PhD student at UC Berkeley)
245. AJ Kurdi, Ethic Studies PhD Student at UC Berkeley
246. Rachael Ryan (ESPM PhD Candidate at UC Berkeley)
247. Juliana Fadil-Luchkiw (TDPS PhD student at UC Berkeley)
248. Cymbre Colón, Tlingit-T’akdeintaan (community member)
249. Juliana Fadil-Luchkiw (TDPS PhD student at UC Berkeley)
250. Joshua G. Acosta (Ethnic Studies PhD Student, UC Berkeley)
251. ​​Daryl Mangosing, Public Health, DrPH Candidate at UC Berkeley
252. Alice Taylor (Education PhD candidate at UC Berkeley)
253. Elizabeth Hunter, Black (non-Indigenous), African American Studies PhD Candidate, UC Berkeley
254. Samantha Jackson, Neuroscience PhD student at UC Berkeley
255. Debbie Reese (Tribally enrolled  Nambé Owingeh), American Indians in Children's Literature
256. Edward Cleofe, settler (Archaeology PhD student at UCLA, Anthropology BA at Brown University)
257. Coryna Ogunseitan (Anthropology PhD student at UC Berkeley)
258. Joselin Castillo, American Studies PhD Student at the University of New Mexico
259. Rosalie Zdzienicka Fanshel, white settler with a refugee parent (ESPM PhD student at UC Berkeley)
260. Auriel Hill-Banks; student at UC Berkeley
261. Adriana Green (African American Studies PhD Candidate at UC Berkeley)
262. C. Darius Gordon, Black non-indigenous (Education PhD Candidate at UC Berkeley)
263. Sarah Lee, PhD student at UC Berkeley
264. Zachary Ferguson, white settler (MPP candidate at UC Berkeley)
265. Luis Anaya (CEE PhD Candidate at UC Berkeley)
266. Jessica Benally, Diné, (SESAME PhD student at UC Berkeley)
267. Abisola, PREP scholar at UC Berkeley
268. Anthony Ortega (MTM Candidate at UC Berkeley)
269. Jeannette Martinez, PhD student at University of New Mexico
270. Carmela Wilkins, Master of Design student at UC Berkeley
271. Kena Hazelwood, community member in support
272. Amy Fingerle, white settler (ESPM PhD candidate, UC Berkeley)
273. David Maldonado, formerly incarcerated Chicano (PhD candidate education)
274. Caleb Dawson (Critical Studies of Race, Class, and Gender PhD Candidate at UC Berkeley)
275. Kat Roger, Raizal, white English, and Ashkenazi Jewish (IRES MSc student at the University of British Columbia)
276. Grey Batie (NE PhD student at UC Berkeley)
277. Maxwell Vanderwarker, Indigenous Adoptee (Chief Administrative Officer, Institute for the Study of Societal Issues, UC Berkeley)
278. Natasha Shannon, white settler (ESPM PhD student at UC Berkeley)
279. Janae (Jp) Piña, detribalized Coahuiltecan (Formerly Incarcerated, DSP, Student-parent at UC Berkeley)
280. Seth Tuthall, white settler (Law JD student at UC Berkeley)
281. Qua Miller (student at UC Berkeley)
282. David Padilla (MPH student at UC Berkeley)
283. Bria Suggs, student at UC Berkeley
284. Mikaela Zamarron MPH Candidate at UC Berkeley
285. Chloe Skewis, settler (Community Member)
286. Rashad Timmons, (African American and African Diaspora Studies PhD candidate at UC Berkeley
287. Julia Hernandez (Director of Research & Evaluation at UC Davis Human Services)
288. Chelsea Strawn, J.D. candidate at UC Berkeley
289. reelaviolette botts-ward (former phd student in Black Studies, UC Berkeley)
290. Jay Zussman, DSCB PhD student at UCSF
291. Morgan P. Vickers (Geography Ph.D. Candidate at UC Berkeley)
292. Angela Castillo (Anthropology, PhD Candidate at UC Berkeley)
293. Jeff Martin, ESPM Postdoc at UC Berkeley
294. Crossley Beth Pinkstaff, non-indigenous (ESPM PhD Candidate at UC Berkeley)
295. Kristen N. Nelson (Sociology PhD student at UC Berkeley)
296. Roxanne Cruz-de Hoyos, Reconnecting Nahua, Zacateco, Nakaai Diné descendant (ESPM Postdoc, UC Berkeley)
297. Matthew Bodo, white settler (RCNR advisor at UC Berkeley)
298. Aree Worawongwasu, Mon, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
299. Kaagwéil Miranda Rose Worl, Tlingit-Yanwaasháa
300. Marlis Boord, Tlingit-Teikweidi (Public Health MA Student at University of Alaska Anchorage)
301. Alycia Ellington (Sociology PhD student, UC Santa Cruz)
302. Vanessa Casillas, Ho-chunk
303. Lorraine Pereira (community member)
304. Megan Lukmak’ Warren, Lingít (J.D. student at UC Berkeley Law)
305. Poppy Gallegos-Zingarelli, Diné, Jicarilla Apache and Pueblo of Taos descendant (Native American Studies and Education Undergraduate at UC Berkeley)
306. Megan Baker, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (Anthropology PhD candidate at UCLA)
307. Leslie Giglio, MPH Student, UC Berkeley
308. Mylanah Yolangco, MPH student at UC Berkeley
309. Makana Kushi, Kanaka Maoli (American Studies PhD Candidate at Brown University)
310. Audra Foggin (Frog Lake Cree Nation) Mount Royal University
311. Jenny Rempel, white settler (ERG PhD student at UC Berkeley)
312. Natalia García,  ESPM-CRS agroecology major 2011
313. Alexis Scalese (Pueblo of Isleta)
314. Aneliza Ruiz (Ethnic Studies PhD Student at UC Berkeley)
315. David Pham, settler (Ethnic Studies PhD student at UC Berkeley)
316. Zein Dahir Geography PhD at UC Berkeley
317. Mariko Whitenack, Asian settler (American Studies PhD student at NYU)
318. Delaney Anderson, Fond Du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (American Indian Student Engagement Specialist in the Circle of Indigenous Nations at the University of Minnesota)
319. Luiza Bastos Lages, Latinx settler, (Ethnic Studies PhD Student at UC Berkeley)
320. Jessica Lambert, Choctaw Nation (Anthropology/Indigenous Studies at Princeton University, 2022 Graduate)
321. Ever Reyes, Rarámuri descent (Ethnomusicology PhD Student UC Berkeley)
322. Anne McClitock, UC Berkeley Alumni
323. Samantha Whitefeather, Red Lake Ojibwe
324. Deanna Alcala, Raramuri Tribe.
325. Corrin LaMere, Crow and Chippewa Cree tribes
326. ​​Amaya Rodriguez, Ohlone and Yoeme descendant
327. Joseph Subido / Seattle Public School Teacher
328. Rachel Hobart (Seminole Nation Of Oklahoma), Masters student in MALS at Dartmouth College.
329. Donelle Williams, community member in support
330. Allison Hicks (enrolled member, Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, also Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma) community member
331. Kadie Zeller, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
332. Emily Burgueno, Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel (Head Seed Keeper)
333. Toni A Brown, community member
334. Evangalin Sayson-Muniz, community member
335. Rose Jandreau, Ihanktonwan/Yankton Sioux
336. Taylor Paatalo, Cherokee Nation
337. Marina McDermott, enrolled Little Shell, undergrad student at SNHU
338. Ricardo Saenz, Comanches Nation
339. Rebecca Rosenblum, Psy.D., specializing in trauma treatment, community member in support
340. Emily Barnett, community member
341. Lauren Moores, Iháŋktȟuŋwaŋ Dakȟóta (BA student at The Evergreen State College)
342. Ash Boydston-Schmidt, Appsáalooke Descendant (Graduate Student at The University of New Mexico)
343. Jeania Ingle, white settler (BA University of South Florida)
344. Sara H Rodriguez, Borikua Taíno (Education Policy and Evaluation PhD Candidate, Arizona State University)
345. Paola Monseratt Mero, Coastal Ecuadorian (Esmeraldeña and Manaba) (BA Swarthmore College)
346. Brittany Woods-Orrison, Koyukon Dené (community member in support)
347. Teresa Anderson, Oneida Nation (community member in support)
348. Cassie Haas, Lummi
349. Danielle Plumage, Assiniboine
350. Cash Grace Martinez, Southern Pomo, lineal descendant of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria (Journalist and Community Organizer)
351. Paul Austin, not affiliated or indigenous,
352. ​​Elyssa Prue-Cartier, Sicangu Lakota (Rosebud)
353. Roella Day, Northern Cheyenne
354. Cassandra Hart, white settler (community member in support)
355. Haliehana Stepetin, Unangax̂, Qigiiĝun Tribe (Native American Studies PhD Candidate at UC Davis)
356. Shannen Keene, white settler and Filipinx, community member
357. Natosha Gobin, Tulalip Tribal Member (BA Native Studies Leadership, Northwest Indian College)
358. Karina Vahitova, community member in support
359. Sonia Little, Mashpee Wampanoag, (RN)
360. Jessica Storozuk (DEIJ-L Master's student, Tufts University)
361. Sarah Medicine Crow, member of the Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold Reservation, (UC Berkeley Alumni)
362. Steph Ban, white settler (independent scholar)
363. Dr. Christina M. Castro, Three Sisters Collective, Taos & Jemez Pueblo
364. Yolanda Owens, supporter of reparative justice
365. Brittney Walley, Nipmuc, current Critical Ethnic & Community Studies graduate student
366. Izaac Limón, Raramuri, community member in support
367. andrew wesner, community member in support
368. Emily W, Wasauksing First Nation
369. Tena Faith Bear Don’t Walk, Apsáalooke Nation
370. Martin Gonzales, Mexica
371. Malynne C, ally/community member in support
372. Zoë Harris, Mashpee Wampanoag (Community Health Sciences PhD Student at UIC)
373. Tsanavi Spoonhunter, Northern Arapaho and Northern Paiute, UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism (‘20)
374. Kira Nemeth (Special Projects Manager with the DREAM Program)
375. Cristina Mendez (Education PhD Candidate at UC Berkeley)
376. William Roddy, white settler (Geography undergraduate at UC Berkeley)
377. Julia Frankenbach, white settler (History PhD student at UC Berkeley)
378. Luis Anaya, settler (CEE PhD Candidate at UC Berkeley)
379. Jade Marum, (Environment Science undergraduate student at UC Berkeley)
380. Avery Wheless, Political Science and History undergraduate student at UC Berkeley
381. Xing Gao (Epidemiology PhD Candidate at UC Berkeley)
382. Shujun Xiong (Undergraduate at Columbia University)
383. Afā 'Aikona, Tonga-Oceania (MFA student at Institute of American Indian Arts)
384. Kelina N Lobo, Acjáchemem, formerly of Linguistics at UC Berkeley
385. Jacquelyn Sparks, Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma (MFA, University of Oklahoma)
386. Tyler M. Tully, Chickasaw lineal descendant with Mvskoke (Creek) and mixed European heritage, Oxford University DPhil candidate
387. Chema Hernández Gil, Francorrinconés (Board Director at Seed the Commons)
388. Kelina Lobo, Acjáchemem (Formerly UC Berkeley Linguistics Dept. Survey)
389. Anthony Kyle Monday, Oglala Lakota, UC Berkeley Alumn
390. Ashley J Thomas (Postdoc, MIT in Cognitive Science)
391. Istifaa Ahmed (American Studies PhD Candidate at Brown University, former UC Berkeley student)
392. Vivian V. Hernandez, History PhD student at UCLA
393. Caroline Reilly (Sociology PhD student at UCLA)
394. Wythenia Cruz, UCLA student, reading research
395. Kendall Todd (BA student at UC Los Angeles)
396. Sydney Carroll, Choctaw tribe (Undergrad Grad at UCLA)
397. Arlene Bowman, Dine' Nation, Independent Filmmaker
398. Emma Chiaroni, Italian-American, RSOC PhD at Penn State
399. Marlena Robbins, Diné (DrPH student at UC Berkeley)
400. Martina Mapatis, Fort Mojave, Hualapai, Yavapai (Undergraduate at UC Berkeley)
401. Virginia Puc, GHE MPH at UC Berkeley
402. Kenzo Esquivel (ESPM PhD candidate)
403. Daniel Oliveira, white settler (ESPM PhD student at UC Berkeley)
404. Marianne Cowherd, white settler, ESPM PhD student UC Berkeley
405. Alexis Flores (ESPM, PhD Student at UC Berkeley)
406. Monica Donegan, ESPM PhD student at UC Berkeley
407. Summer Vance (ESPM PhD student at UC Berkeley)
408. Margot Jeanne Cohen, ESPM PhD student at UC Berkeley
409. Kelly Redfearn Kinder, Yurok Tribe (ESPM Staff, UC Berkeley)
410. Maddie Taylor, ESPM PhD student at UC Berkeley
411. Deionna Vigil, Nanbé Ówîngeh (MPH student at UC Berkeley)

References

Agoyo, Acee. “Young Native Woman Sounds Alarm about Violence in Indian Country.” Indianz.Com (blog). April 22, 2022 (a). https://www.indianz.com/News/2022/04/22/young-native-woman-sounds-alarm-about-violence-in-indian-country/.

Agoyo, Acee. “Native Food Sovereignty Figure Admits No Tribal Connections.” Indianz.Com (blog). October 21, 2022 (b). https://www.indianz.com/News/2022/10/21/native-food-sovereignty-figure-admits-no-tribal-connections/.

Chen, Amber. “Campus Associate Professor Elizabeth Hoover Rescinds Claim to Native American Ancestry.” Daily Californian. November 1, 2022. https://dailycal.org/2022/11/01/campus-associate-professor-elizabeth-hoover-rescinds-claim-to-native-american-ancestry/.

“Collective Indigenous Scholars’ Statement on Identity and Institutional Accountability.” June 14, 2021. Accessed November 8, 2022. https://docs.google.com/document/u/1/d/1bRG8647l4opegxajnGqs4Oiab4QOWJYQ7uiwd-1zppY/mobilebasic.

Barker, Joanne. Red Scare: The State's Indigenous Terrorist. Vol. 14. University of California Press, 2021.

Estes, Nick. “The Rightwing Supreme Court Has Another Target: Native American Rights.” The Guardian, July 21, 2022, sec. Opinion. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jul/21/supreme-court-native-american-rights-target.

Flaherty, Colleen. “Native American Food Scholar Backtracks on Identity.” October 25, 2022. https://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2022/10/25/native-american-food-scholar-backtracks-identity.

Gilless, Kieth, and Sowerwine, Jennifer. “Re: Invitation to applicants for tenure-track position in Native American Studies and the Environment.” January 17, 2020. https://blogs.illinois.edu/files/8565/805862/165802.pdf.

Hilleary, Cecily. “Native, First Nations Scholars: Fake Indians Prevalent in Higher Education.” Accessed November 8, 2022.

https://www.voanews.com/a/native-first-nations-scholars-fake-indians-prevalent-in-high

r-education-/6511681.html.

Isai, Vjosa. “Doubts over Indigenous Identity in Academia Spark 'Pretendian' Claims.” The New York Times. October 15, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/15/world/canada/canada-indigenous-identity-pretendians.html?smid=url-share.

Sturm, Circe. Becoming Indian : the Struggle over Cherokee Identity in the Twenty-First Century. 1st ed. Santa Fe: School for Advanced Research Press, 2011.

Viren, Sarah. “The Native Scholar Who Wasn't.” The New York Times, May 25, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/25/magazine/cherokee-native-american-andrea-smith.html.

Further Reading/Listening

Media Indigena Podcast - February 2021

• Contemplating the Consequences of Colonial Cosplay part 1
• Creating Culpability for Colonial Cosplay part 2

The Red Nation Podcast - October 2022

• (Preview) The Scourge of Pretendianism

Former affiliate statement- October 2022

• Elizabeth Rule Twitter Statement

Kim Tallbear- March 2022

• Native “Identity” Fraud is not Distraction, but the Final Indian Bounty

Audra Simpson -November 2022

• Indigenous identity theft must stop