http://dailycaller.com/2015/07/13/fake-indian-prof-insist-shes-a-real-one-gives-no-evidence/
A professor at the University of California, Riverside has fired back at critics who say she’s faking her American Indian ancestry by simply insisting she is one, with absolutely no evidence.
Andrea Smith is recognized as a major figure in Native American studies, and has repeatedly claimed Cherokee heritage and allowed herself to be characterized as a top Cherokee intellectual. But two weeks ago, in the wake of the Rachel Dolezal story, several American Indian journalists pointed out Smith was not a tribal member and apparently had no evidence supporting her supposed heritage. (RELATED: Top American Indian Scholar Outed As Fake Indian)
In a blog post put up late last week, Smith defends herself by simply insisting that her Cherokee identity is real, regardless of the evidence. Her lack of any tribal enrollment, she says, doesn’t matter.
“I have always been, and will always be Cherokee,” she writes in the post. “I have consistently identified myself based on what I knew to be true. My enrollment status does not impact my Cherokee identity or my continued commitment to organizing for justice for Native communities.”
