University of Manitoba aims to clamp down on Indigenous identity fraud

The University of Manitoba (UM) aims to introduce a policy for faculty and students wishing to claim Indigenous identity in the fall, sparking discussion about rooting out fraudsters.

The move comes after cases of cultural identity fraud at Memorial University of Newfoundland, the University of British Columbia and the University of Saskatchewan among other post-secondaries. 

"The challenges that have occurred nationally with Indigenous identity fraud have certainly supported our need to be able to better support our Indigenous colleagues," said Catherine Cook, UM's vice-president (Indigenous).

"When Indigenous identity fraud occurs, it really does remove an opportunity that was specifically there for Indigenous people."

The policy hasn't been finalized and approved yet, but the university hopes to have it in place in the fall. Nine recommendations were formed through an Indigenous-led community engagement process and were described in a report published in March.

Cook said the policy could include a tiered process of formal and alternative methods for applicants of Indigenous-specific admission categories, faculty positions and scholarships to confirm their heritage.

People applying for those opportunities could be asked to submit formal documentation from federal, provincial, or Indigenous governments and organizations, the report said.

Sharing a personal story, genealogy, letters of support from family members or community leadership may also be requested instead of formal documentation.

The university does not want a one-size-fits-all policy approach, according to Cook.

The community engagement sessions stressed that the policy be inclusive to Indigenous people who grew up disconnected from their communities and cultures, are just beginning to connect with their identities at university, or are non-status or don't believe in having formal documentation that verifies their heritage, she said.

Community members also suggested that the policy needs to be given space to progress over time, she said.

"When the self-declaration process was put forward more than 10 years ago, we worked with the best we had at the time … It will be an evolving process. We'll learn as we go and we'll adjust."

Réal Carrière, who is Cree-Métis and a UM assistant professor, turned down a job offer from the University of Saskatchewan last year after declining to provide formal documentation that verified his heritage.

Carrière's family has lived for generations in and around the Cumberland House Cree Nation and adjacent Métis village more than 400 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon. He said he contacted Cook upon learning that the university was developing its own Indigenous identity policy to voice his concerns.