University of California Professor Exposed as Claiming Fake Indian Heritage

Andrea Smith

[From article]
another professor stands accused of falsely claiming a different racial identity to advance her career.
[. . .]
Andrea Smith, a professor of media and cultural studies at the University of California at Riverside, has started to draw attention in the wake of the Dolezal incident from those who say she has for years falsely claimed to have Cherokee blood. The case is arguably much more significant, though, because while Dolezal was a relatively undistinguished academic at Eastern Washington University, Smith is recognized as a significant scholar in her field. She routinely appears as a featured scholar at major events and has written books that were well-received by her colleagues
[. . .]
David Cornsilk, a Cherokee genealogist, who says he actually researched Smith’s heritage back in 1993 (while she was still an undergraduate) at her request and found absolutely no evidence of Cherokee heritage. Cornsilk says Smith actually approached him a second time in 1997 to look again, allegedly telling him “her employment depended on finding proof of Indian heritage.” Once again, Cornsilk found nothing.
But that apparently didn’t deter Smith, who simply continued to claim Cherokee heritage directly or allow others to attribute that heritage to her. In 2008, her failed tenure bid at the University of Michigan caused a significant backlash, with activists claiming the school was marginalizing minority women.

[. . .]
but apparently even Smith’s siblings may be getting in on the fraud. An article published by Russell on July 1 accuses Justine Smith, Andrea’s sister, of not only falsely claiming Cherokee heritage but also getting a fake tribal ID card.

http://dailycaller.com/2015/07/06/top-american-indian-scholar-outed-as-fake-indian/

Top American Indian Scholar Outed As Fake Indian

BLAKE NEFF, Reporter

3:35 PM 07/06/2015