B.C. judge warns of 'tsunami' of Indigenous identity fraud cases

After he was charged with possessing child pornography, Nathan Allen Joseph Legault discovered a figure from his past he hoped might help with his future.

The Prince Rupert, B.C., man — a former Baptist associate pastor — learned that a great-great-grandmother had been Métis, and based on that distant connection he asked for the special consideration Canada’s highest court mandates for sentencing Indigenous offenders.

The judge who heard the case ultimately found that Legault had nothing in his life experience as a newly self-identified Indigenous person to lessen the “moral blameworthiness” he bore for sending graphic images of himself to teenage girls.

Judge David Patterson didn’t rule on whether Legault is or is not actually Métis — that’s not his job. But in reluctantly ordering a sentence that will see the 30-year-old avoid hard jail time, he warned that courts need to deal with non-Indigenous offenders trying to game the system.

ininewcrow,
@ininewcrow@lemmy.ca avatar

There is something really messed up with the culture and mentality of some non-indigenous Canadians.

I’m full blooded Ojibwe Cree, I fluently speak my language and I know my background. I lived with a lot of overt, covert, direct, indirect, passive and passive aggressive and even reverse racism all my life and I still feel today (although a lot less than a decade ago). Things are getting better and society in general is changing for the better.

But there is always going to be a core group of idiots that will only ever see native people and native identity as some kind of discount and free pass club that will allow them to do whatever they want.

The only way to stop this behaviour is monetary … charge and penalize them to pay back indigenous communities every time they attempt these stupid claims. They will never understand reason or decency but they will understand having to pay money.

voluble,

In the case at-hand, Legault certainly looks like a guy who was grasping at straws for a lighter hand from the justice system. Not sure who would need to be ‘paid’ in this circumstance.

As a sidebar, I believe Gladue explicitly addresses loss of language and connection with background as an impact of colonialism that must be considered in sentencing, i.e., it’s not necessary to have a deep connection with Indigenous heritage / culture to be considered via Gladue. But yeah, not a factor in this case, which the judge went to great lengths to point out.

Anyway, the sentencing referenced some material that pointed me to the case of writer Joseph Boyden, who falsely claimed Indigenous ancestry. Led me to an article by Wab Kinew about the issue titled There is room in our circle for Joseph Boyden. If you don’t mind sharing, what’s your take on Kinew’s stance?

I ask because it strikes me as antipodal from your view, and I’m just not sure what to think about the issue of identity here.

ininewcrow,
@ininewcrow@lemmy.ca avatar

I know lots of different types of “Indigenous” people of all shapes, types, colours and identities. I know full blooded Indigenous people who have no status for one reason or another. I know blonde, blue eyed obviously European blooded people will full status and fully recognized and integrated into their communities. I know people with mostly, partial or some Indigenous ancestry that constantly have to fight for recognition from government, the public and from their own communities and their own peers because they can’t, won’t or have a hard time getting any recognition.

So I know what it means to ‘have room in our circle’ for those who want to identify or are having a hard time one way or another.

I also know people who exploit Indigenous identity for their own personal gain … Joseph Boyden is one of them and there is no room for him the circle … at all.

He went up to James Bay coastal communities and basically collected unique stories from the area and rehashed them all into easy pulp fiction that he could make money on. He took the stories of families and made them his own and now he is benefiting from the life stories of people that were brutalized by war, racism and bigotry. To top it off … he continually pushed his Native heritage to the point of purchasing high priced real estate in southern Ontario under the guise of being Indigenous. He basically bought a no-name status card from a fly by night pseudo Native organization who were all pushing white people to get Native status. This little legal loophole and arguing for Native recognition allowed him to purchase land that he otherwise couldn’t without Native status.

The writing he produced basically jump started his career as a well paid writer and academic … all under the merits of identifying as Indigenous. If he had hadn’t, he would have ended up as just another half assed writer that wouldn’t have made as much. As a half assed writer with Native ancestry … he gets to become world renowned.

The reason why he should not be included in the circle is that he took advantage of the identity, made it his own, benefited off the grief and trauma of other people and made himself a fortune. He made money off the terrible lives of other people.

Then after his fame, he disappeared from Canada and now works in Louisiana where no one knows his background and people there are happy to keep calling him a great Canadian Native writer.

All this fortune is for himself and spends nothing in return to any Native groups back home. He supported a few things in the past but ever since the controversy, any activity he has in Canada has evaporated because it would just draw attention to the Pretendian that he is.

To me he is worse that the racists and bigots I had to deal with in my life … he stole pieces of the spirit of people’s lives and made money off them. That is way more despicable to me than anyone just being blatantly racist to my face.

voluble,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Yaztromo,

“Criminals with no shame trying to game the system for their own benefit” is rather why we have courts in the first place. Courts have been dealing with things like this forever, and know how to slap down defendants who pull this kind of crap.

girlfreddy,
@girlfreddy@lemmy.ca avatar

Pretendian paedophile gets off easy.

I hope the procinces and feds pay attention to this crap and enact some laws.

phx,

Also, if the person has NO indigenous upbringing and nobody knows they’re indigenous (including themselves) them where exactly is the “generational trauma” that’s supposed to inform special consideration when sentencing, because without that it sounds like good ol’ fashion racism (in favor of the offender) to me.

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