Canadian Inconvenient Indian' author Thomas King says he is not Indigenous

"A prominent Canadian-American author, who has long claimed Indigenous ancestry and whose work exposed the hard truths of the injustices of the Indigenous peoples of North America, has learned from a genealogist that he has no Cherokee ancestry. In an essay titled A most inconvenient Indian published on Monday for Canada's Globe and Mail, Thomas King said he had learned of rumours circulating in recent years within both the arts and Indigenous communities that questioned his Cherokee heritage."

"The genealogist working with Taaf told King she found no evidence of Cherokee ancestry on either side of his family lineage. King says he accepts the findings. It's been a couple of weeks since that video call, and I'm still reeling. At 82, I feel as though I've been ripped in half, a one-legged man in a two-legged story, he wrote. Not the Indian I had in mind. Not an Indian at all."

Thomas King learned from a genealogist working with the Tribal Alliance Against Frauds (Taaf) that there is no evidence of Cherokee ancestry on either side of his family. King met with Taaf members after rumours circulated within arts and Indigenous communities questioning his claimed Cherokee heritage. He accepts the genealogical findings and describes feeling deeply shaken at age 82, saying he feels "ripped in half" and "not an Indian at all." King was born in California, moved to Canada in 1980 to teach Indigenous studies, and built a prominent career as a writer and activist addressing Indigenous injustices, winning major literary awards.

Read at www.theguardian.com