Move over, Elizabeth Warren. You’re not the only dubiously indigenous progressive in town. This time it’s north of the border.
Canada, proportionally, has an indigenous percentage twice as high as their southern neighbors, so many Canadians use their heritage as a tool for identity politics to get ahead in progressive institutions across the nation.
Vianne Timmons, president of Memorial University in Newfoundland, a sizable campus with 20,000 students, had told many coworkers and students on campus that she was directly a member of a native community called the Mi’kmaq people. After questions about the veracity of her claims, she’s been put on 6 week, indefinite paid leave, with her eventual ouster a strong possibility.
On her resume, she also noted her membership of the community, and even won an Indspire award. Indspire is the most prominent Canada charity promoting notable indigenous people in Canadian culture. Recipients of the award have to be a direct member of a native community. The organizer of the awards has since called for hers to be reneged.
In a response, Timmons could be seen as splitting hairs, or the judgment on her could be seen as hair splitting. She released a public statement in response to the controversy saying, “I am not Mi’kmaq. I am not Indigenous,” but went on to say how her father explained, in adulthood, that she had heritage with an indigenous Canadian tribe. After that, she said, she was encouraged to learn more about her heritage.
Heritage isn’t defined by a membership card. It’s not defined by facing the same obstacles their ancestors did. And Timmons has shown her support of the native community. She helped save an indigenous university, raising a solid amount of money and preventing its closure.
But it becomes a sticky situation when Canada’s university system has a diversity quota when it comes to hires. So, who is more at fault here? Is Timmons backlash unfair for something that isn’t that provable? Or, has she shot herself in the foot by allowing this narrative to spin out of control, and obtain career advancement because of it? Let us know.
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