Distorted Descent: White Claims to Indigenous Identity

by Darryl Leroux

Distorted Descent examines a social phenomenon that has taken off in the twenty-first century: otherwise white, French descendant settlers in Canada shifting into a self-defined “Indigenous” identity. This study is not about individuals who have been dispossessed by colonial policies, or the multi-generational efforts to reconnect that occur in response. Rather, it is about white, French-descendant people discovering an Indigenous ancestor born 300 to 375 years ago through genealogy and using that ancestor as the sole basis for an eventual shift into an “Indigenous” identity today.

After setting out the most common genealogical practices that facilitate race shifting, Leroux examines two of the most prominent self-identified “Indigenous” organizations currently operating in Quebec. Both organizations have their origins in committed opposition to Indigenous land and territorial negotiations, and both encourage the use of suspect genealogical practices. Distorted Descent brings to light to how these claims to an “Indigenous” identity are then used politically to oppose actual, living Indigenous peoples, exposing along the way the shifting politics of whiteness, white settler colonialism, and white supremacy.

Genres: Nonfiction, Indigenous, Race, History, Canada, Politics, Book Club

224 pages, Paperback

Published September 6, 2019

Reviews

[Kevin Kindred · Rating 5 out of 5]

This should be mandatory reading for anyone looking to understand the complex dynamics of white resistance to Indigenous rights. Leroux persuasively makes the case that, over the last two decades, self-identification as "Métis" has been an organized strategy of white supremacy among French-speaking settler populations. As an English settler in Eastern Canada, I'm now eager to learn more about how this phenomenon has played out outside the French population as well.

[Gabriel Maracle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid discussion of race shifting and Easter Métis. It's definitely not a casual reading book. It's very dense and densely written.

[Ève Leger · Rating 5 out of 5]

J'ai eu la chance d'étudier cet ouvrage dans le cadre du cours de l'auteur sur les politiques autochtones à l'ère de la réconciliation, et cela m'a beaucoup fascinée. Cette œuvre met en évidence une sorte de pratique secrète, mais malveillante, des Canadiens francophones consistant à se transformer faussement en peuples autochtones. À première vue, cela semble relativement inoffensif, mais ce livre montre comment cette pratique est mobilisée pour discréditer directement la souveraineté et l'identité autochtones. Ce livre devrait être une lecture obligatoire pour les Canadiens français.

[Michael Pilgrim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Distorted Descent: White Claims to Indigenous Identity is far more academic than I had expected. Really well-researched. Around the year 2000, I gained membership to the Labrador Métis Nation (now Nunatukavut). I'm white and I've been to Labrador twice. A few years later, the membership rules changed and I no longer qualified. I'd always been confused about this. This book really helped me understand my own experience and I learned about the dangers of race-shifting.

[Julia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Did this start off as a thesis? I think this started off as someone’s thesis.

A deeply academic treatise on the accelerating phenomenon of “race shifting”. Interesting enough but too focused on the minutiae (as only a thesis could be? Is this a thesis?) to be a gripping read and didn’t really answer any of my large scale cultural questions about why the phenomenon is occurring now in any particularly meaningful way.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Darryl Leroux examines the phenomenon of settler self-Indigenization or race shifting among French-descendant settlers in present-day Quebec and the northeastern United States. This study is particularly well-suited to Quebec as the genealogical records available are extensive. He analyzes discourse on online genealogical forums in order to trace how individuals will self-Indigenize. The first three chapters of the book lay out his framework for how this process takes place: through lineal, aspirational, or lateral descent. “Lineal descent involves identifying direct ancestors in one’s ancestral history” (34); in Leroux’s study, usually an Indigenous woman from the 1600s. Aspirational descent “relies on the creation of an Indigenous (woman) ancestor at a time and in a place where one did not exist previously” (34); Leroux’s study shows how this is often a woman where the historical records may be missing to show when she crossed the Atlantic or where her identity is unclear. Lateral descent “makes a direct ancestor’s relation (great-aunt, fourth cousin, great-great-uncle) who happens to be Indigenous the basis for one’s indigeneity in the present” (34). Leroux uses his own family tree to illustrate and debunk some of these practices. Through the study of the forums, Leroux highlights what may be motivating some individuals to “discover” their Indigenous ancestry—obtaining a status card, claiming Indigenous rights. While Leroux’s study is specific to the phenomenon among French-descendants and he specifically studies two self-proclaimed ‘métis’ organizations in Quebec that are challenging and undermining Indigenous rights and sovereignty, I wonder if Leroux’s framework of lineal, aspirational and lateral descent might shed some light as to why other (not necessarily French-descended) settlers choose to self-indigenize (e.g. Joseph Bryden, Michelle Latimer, etc). The study raises interesting questions for further study that I would love to dig into.

[Amanie Johal · Rating 5 out of 5]

"My focus in this study has primarily been to explain how a large and diverse group of white people is shifting into an Indigenous identity"

Leroux includes this line in the conclusion in response to the most common question he got while conducting this study ("But why are so many white people saying that they're Indigenous today?")

Admittedly, the majority of this book is this explanation; how white people find Indigenous ancestors (real or imagined), how they use DNA science to affirm their ancestry, how they wave off critiques (largely by not engaging with them in good faith), and, most importantly, how they use this information to deny real Indigenous peoples' personhood and activism.

However, Leroux does manage to eke out the beginnings of some explanation for why white people would want to be governmentally-recognized as Indigenous (hint: it always comes back to hunting/fishing licenses), and states that he'd prefer this study to be a jumping-off point for other academics to delve further into how race-shifting relates to white supremacy.

I see other reviews say they were not interested in Leroux's personal genealogy, but I thought it was good for the sake of transparency (Leroux is a white French-Canadian while this Indigenous race-shifting negatively impacts Indigenous peoples) but also it provided some unexpected comedy throughout the study (Leroux has very similar ancestry to some of the race-shifters he talks about, because I guess all French-Canadians are descendents of the same few hundred people). Also, for an academic study, this was incredibly easy to read; I was purposely taking my time with it as I'm trying to pace myself with nonfiction this year, but I was still able to zoom through this because of its readability.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

“…having a choice about how to identify oneself racially involves a form of social power.”

A legally and historically dense analysis but well worth the effort. Outlines the insidious ways in which white supremacy and neoliberal self-actualization co-opt the language of decolonization to perpetuate assimilation and cultural genocide. Should be required reading.

[Madeline Soucie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book that educated me on a topic I didn’t know much about but find both intriguing and troubling. I recommend this to anyone who is interested in genealogy or the idea of how racial identity can be shifted and manipulated by certain groups when confident to them or to gain benefits such as those granted to people of Native American heritage.

[Dalys · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was well researched and gave me lots to think about. I liked how the author used his own family tree as an example and I also appreciated the introductory synopsis and concluding summary for every chapter. It was pretty heavy reading at times that I really had to concentrate on, so I found the built-in review very helpful.

[Patricia L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book very interesting indeed.

[Amanda Tamane]

Valuable and fascinating. As someone learning more about my own Indigenous roots, this really gave me a clear view on what *not* to do.

[Jane Barber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Race-shifting. Appropriation. I loved my Grandpop. Aside from my mother, who adored him, it seemed that all of her family thought he was an exceedingly special person. As an adult I realized how little I knew of his life, his family, and how little my mother could share. He was a very intelligent man, he grew up poor but did well in his studies and music lessons. He had an uncle who believed in him and paid his way to Cornell. His mother was the daughter of German Catholic immigrants, his father was of some sort of French descent.

People who do ancestry, myself included, want to not only find names of people, but in their hearts hope for a heroic past. I have a lot of Quakers in my past, which lead me to see the family as living a "higher calling". * I tied them to abolitionism whether or not they were directly involved in the freeing of enslaved people or in lifting up freed Black people. Just finding Quakers gave me a sense of pride, something I thought I might carry myself.

When a dozen or so years ago I discovered that Grandpop had a half-Abenaki father, well. How cool is that? Don't bother to mention that I had never heard of the Abenaki or knew anything about the First Nations who had lived on land where I had lived. I started to get the itch to know about the people I was descended from, more than names, dates, and places. Complications then started to set in. (You might note here that I focused on the Abenaki side, which is common to amateur genealogists, I have yet to research the German/Catholic history which is a full half of Grandpop's makeup and was the community in which he was raised). I discovered that the family break with the Abenaki community at Odanak came after 1870, the family split between those who returned to Odanak and those who stayed permanently in New York. Previous to that, they were born, baptized, married and buried at Odanak. About 1840 and after, they spent winters in Odanak and summers in New England (historic Abenaki homeland). Then later New York spa towns and the Adirondacks, where they sold the baskets and artifacts made over the winter, along with other Abenaki family or friends in community. Winter was when the traveling Abenaki reconnected in Odanak, registered births and marriages that occurred over the summer and voted in Abenaki elections.

Family history like mine is just one area where race-shifters cause harm. European settlers began the erasure of Indigenous people wherever they moved. If Indigenous people were not physically killed off, they were herded into reserves. They were not allowed to practice their rituals, Indigenous ways of living, livelihoods. Their children were sent to schools where they were stripped of their heritage more than they were educated. Many children died at these schools far away from home. Some were fostered to white families. The fact that any Indigenous communities who went through that, remain, is a miracle and a sign of strength.

And now we have folks, in this book specifically French Canadian descendants, who are assuming the mantle of being Eastern métis and rewriting laws that have protected Indigenous rights in Canada, centered around hunting and property rights only (pretty one-dimensional). In Vermont and New Hampshire, several self-identifying bands are also messing with land claims (just so you know Native peoples do not consider "owning" land - please read up on that) and going even farther by writing their own version of Abenaki myths, accepting teaching positions, professorships, accepting scholarships, accepting Native artist status, receiving ancient artifacts returned to the bands – as if they know what the heck they are and what the artifacts mean to a real Abenaki, or the proper way to care for them. Making new history as they go along. They have stolen my history and that of other Abenaki. Stolen a culture, which is disappearing into fantasies of their own supposed indigeneity. Abenaki are being erased yet again.

This academic book explains the process of self-indigenization and points out the damage being done in detail. It is a very important read, thank you to Darryl Leroux. One hopes it has great impact.

* FYI. I was prodded recently to check those Quakers in more detail. And low and behold if you are looking for something, you can find it. What I found on this second round of intense genealogical research is that several of my Quaker ancestors in the 1600s, in Maryland and Pennsylvania settlements, were slaveholders. My 1600 Huguenot ancestor of New Harlem and Albany, was also. That brought me down to earth. Do I self-identify as a slaveholder? Of course not, unlike some race-shifters who build identity from one 17th century ancestor. Should I?

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so glad that I finally read this book and I am still thinking about it and trying to sort out all of my thoughts. First, a little background.
I come from a community that is what Darryl Leroux (and the Manitoba Métis Federation and Chiefs of Ontario) consider an illegitimate, Eastern "métis" community. I am descended from the Drummond Islanders, a group of voyageurs and what were then termed "half-breeds" who settled in Penetanguishene, Ontario in 1828, after Drummond Island became U.S. territory. After the Powley decision, many of the members of my community sought Métis Nation of Ontario membership and there is a very active "métis" community in the area today, made up of the descendants of the Drummond Island "half-breeds." (They referred to themselves this way in a petition to the government in 1840.) My father persuaded me to apply for MNO citizenship and I did so. I was granted citizenship in the mid-2000s. I always felt conflicted about this, however, and never applied for or accepted any bursaries, scholarships, or any financial benefits or awards meant for Indigenous peoples. Still, I shouldn't have applied in the first place. I am a white person (with some Indigenous ancestry, like many white Canadians), and I benefit from white privilege. However, some Drummond Island descendants (some coming from the same family line that I do) refer to themselves as Indigenous and accept opportunities meant for Indigenous people. This is the phenomenon that Leroux is exploring in this book.
Darryl Leroux's book primarily explores the explosion of French-descendant people in Eastern Canada now claiming Indigeneity. Many of these people use an Indigenous ancestor born in the 17th century as the basis of their claim. Leroux names some of the most common ancestors (and I count all but one of these as ancestors as well - which isn't surprising given that I am a French-descendant Canadian). A few of these root ancestors are most likely not even Indigenous, but French. They have been remade into Indigenous women in the past few years based on mitochondrial DNA "evidence" and wishful thinking.
It seems outrageous to me to use an ancestor from the 1620s as the basis of an Indigenous identity today, but is it really any more outrageous than members of my own community doing the same with an ancestor from the 1820s? Drummond Island "métis" members will argue that the community has been ongoing since the migration to Penetanguishene, and that it has been distinct from both the First Nations and settler communities, but I'm not so sure that is the case. I don't remember anyone referring to themselves as Métis in my community before the Powley Decision.
I should say that I do think that the Drummond Island descendants genuinely believe themselves to be Indigenous. That belief is sincere. They are not assuming an identity in order to harm First Nations peoples, or to block their land rights or hunting rights. They genuinely see First Nations peoples as their kin. But at the same time, they must not be listening to the First Nations Chiefs who are opposing them. Because the Chiefs of Ontario are being very clear. They do not recognize Georgian Bay "métis" as Indigenous. Perhaps my community should stop fighting for government recognition for a moment and just listen. Stop accusing First Nations of lateral violence and LISTEN.
Leroux's book is fascinating and I think it's so important for Canadians of settler descent to read. I will definitely come back to it because it was very dense and I would love the opportunity to explore some of Leroux's ideas in more depth.

[Myfanwy · Rating 2 out of 5]

If I had handed this in when I was in university, the professor would have circled big chunks of it with ‘interesting, tell me more’ in red pen. I refuse to believe that Darryl didn’t hurriedly write this in a few all-nighters after realizing how close the submission deadline was.
As to be expected, the result is hacked-together and sometimes torturously long winded in an attempt to meet word count (one sentence clause was five lines long. Which is too long.). Invariably, there are interesting ideas that get brought up, only to be dismissed in favour of reiterating some point Darryl has already made elsewhere (usually a page earlier), which show hints of what this book could have been if Darryl had taken a little more time and actually had someone read the thing over before he submitted it, making the whole thing even more disappointing. His scope is both too narrow and much too broad to explore what he seems to want to explore.
He is also deeply incurious about the race-shifters he wants to study; aside from describing the connections of some race shifters to racist movements, but otherwise provides little-to-no demographic or biographic information about them, with only tantalising mentions of masculinity, hunting, Quebec nationalism, financial concerns, and disinformation disseminated by unknown parties. Don’t worry; after Darryl first mentions these things he will never bring them up again. Despite what Darryl assures you in his conclusion, you will understand almost as little about the race shifters motivations and psychology at the end of the book as you do at the beginning.
So interesting, Darryl, tell me more.

[Ruby i · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an extremely through study into the emergence of a so called 'eastern metis' identity in Quebecois populations in Canada. Through extensive genealogical research of old stock Quebec and exploring the attitudes of these populations toward Indigenous rights to land and resources, the author examines race shifting among the french descendent from a European background to a metis identity. This shift usually involves finding evidence of at least one long ago Indigenous ancestor (from the 1600s), bolstered by flawed DNA tests and a fundamental misunderstanding of how First Nations communities define their kin. At its most sinister, these claims are then being used to fight for control of hunting and fishing resources and insert a settler agenda in negotiations between Indigenous nations and the federal government.

I have heard about these claims, but have struggled to understand exactly what factors are at play in these re configurations of identity. This book really helped me understand, and I think this is an important issue for Canadians to be literate on, as we cannot allow race shifting settlers to distract and cause even greater confusion.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this because I have a very specific interest in knowing more about how the Acadian Lejeune sisters have been used by their white descendants to claim Indigenous ancestry. Having recently discovered Lejeunes in my family tree, and then subsequently discovering distant cousins asking about or claiming Mi’kmaq origins, I wanted to read more about these problematically shifting identities.

This book is very academic, but it answered many of my questions and helped me understand the origins of the fraudulent claims to Indigenous identity that are currently rampant in French Canadian and Acadian descended communities and individuals. If you’re Canadian with French ancestry you might find this one pretty interesting. If you’re a white settler with a family story of a long ago Indigenous ancestor it’s also worth a read.

[Janice]

Very interesting and relevant research. The bulk part is just him actually doing family genealogy though, which I am less interested in than the political implications of these claims, which are huge.

[alexis berry · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was incredibly interesting research and i would be so interested to read an update to this study given the recent revelations in academia in Canada regarding white settlers fraudulently claiming Indigenous identities

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is difficult to rate - subject matter = 5, writing = 1
It was like reading an academic textbook - quite a slog.

[Laurie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[K B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely eye opening and informative. I think it could flow better but the overall message is loud and clear.