Falsely Claiming to Have Indigenous Heritage in Utah May Make You a Target

There is a phenomenon of people claiming Native American heritage where there is none. This is as true in Utah as other places and there is a rising movement of people who work to out those making claims that are inauthentic..

The Rise of Inauthentic Heritage Claims

There are so many people claiming to be part Native American that the term "pretendian" is used to describe this behavior. Sometimes it is just a person who wants to feel special and other times it is to claim the benefits offered to Native peoples.

There are now organizations to stop people claiming Native heritage who aren't. This isn't easy to determine as different tribes have different requirements. Some say the amount of blood makes you part of a tribe.

Other organizations like the Cherokee will look at your family tree and if they can connect you to one of the tribe on the first census records allows you to be part of the tribe. This means there are a lot of people claiming Cherokee membership.

Controversies Surrounding Sovereign Claims

What is probably the most offensive to Native people is those like the founders of the True and Living Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints who were a break off of the main church in Salt Lake.

The founders met in Manti and proclaimed themselves Chiefs as a way to gain sovereign status from the U.S. Government. They later gave up their claims of Native status as it wasn't working out legally anyway.

Read More: The Truth About Turquoise and Utah's Native Peoples

Suffice it to say, if you feel a pull to Native American culture, just claiming to be part of it will stir up controversy. The debate of who can be a part of it is still being decided, but there are many tired of "pretendians" and they are doing something about it.