pretendians

[DQQ]

Historical Context
In past decades, especially during times of intense cultural and racial oppression, some First Nations individuals would go out of their way to say they weren’t Indigenous. This included:

Claiming to be of another ethnicity: Some might say they were “just tanned” or attribute their appearance to being of Chinese or other non-Indigenous descent, which was sometimes perceived as less stigmatized.

Avoiding systemic racism: This was a survival strategy in a society where being Indigenous could mean facing exclusion, violence, or lack of opportunity.


Why Chinese?
The choice to claim Chinese identity may have stemmed from:

Perceived social positioning: In certain regions, Chinese Canadians were also marginalized but sometimes seen as more economically integrated or less targeted than Indigenous people.

Physical resemblance: Some Indigenous individuals might have been mistaken for East Asian due to certain features, making the claim more plausible in the eyes of others.