The Copernic Affair | Canadaland Investigates

What do some of the most prominent and successful Indigenous artists, leaders and thinkers have in common? They aren’t Indigenous.  

From major universities, to the halls of power, to Hollywood, there are people claiming to be Indigenous in the interest of power, money, and status. There are dozens of outrageous cases of Indigenous identity fraud that we know about, and likely thousands that we do not. 

So why ...

Why do people pretend to be Native? Hosts Robert Jago (Kwantlen First Nation and Nooksack Indian Tribe) Angel Ellis (Muscogee (Creek) Nation) begin their journey by asking someone who has been doing just that. 

He’s not just your average imposter – "Grand Chief" Guillaume Carle is the king of the “pretendians", a French Canadian who made a small fortune creating his own fake First Nation and issuing phony Indian Status Card...

Marvin "Casper" Ouimet was your ordinary terrifying Hells Angel mob boss until he was sent to prison for conspiracy to commit murder. That's where he declared himself to be Indigenous. The prison asked no questions, and granted him access to a special program for Native inmates, in which prisoners get private cells, spiritual guidance, better food and ultimately – reduced sentences. But what about the real Natives in these programs...

Oklahoma's Republican governor Kevin Stitt is a card-carrying member of the Cherokee Nation. So why is he also considered the most "anti-Native governor" in history? A look at his family history reveals some wild surprises, and shows how Indigenous identity can be used as a weapon against Native nations.

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What happens when Pretendian investigations go wrong? Robert talks to Jacqueline Keeler, the person behind the “Alleged Pretendians List". Then, he talks to Kiros Auld, whose name appeared on that controversial list. The problem? Kiros is legitimately Native.

Editors Note - An earlier version of this episode stated that "the Pamunkey Indian Tribe is the only federally recognized tribe in the state of Virginia" S...

There are no shortage of stories about movie stars who played Native and kept the act going even after the cameras stopped rolling. Iron Eyes Cody, Sacheen Littlefeather, and Johnny Depp – being a Pretendian is a Hollywood tradition! A history of how they did it, and how well they were paid for it. 

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What makes people fake being Native? How do they explain it once the truth comes out? And is there any way to be not Native, but….Native adjacent? We talk to three people who lived it.

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Robert and Angel take listeners under the hood of season one of Pretendians. They dig deep into the positive feedback, unexpected outcomes, as well as the criticism of the show so far. They discuss topics for future seasons and reveal what they missed in the first six episodes.

Includes updates on “Grand Chief” Guillaume Carle (episode 1), the definition of a “Karendian” (episode 4), and why AI makes the best songs about Pretend...

Canadaland has launched its first ever celebrity interview podcast and it’s not great. It’s The Worst Podcast.

Celebrities are always talking about their bests. Now hear them at their worst.

Join award-winning filmmaker and noted curmudgeon Alan Zweig for refreshingly honest conversations with “notable people” about the worst things in life.

Alan has no interest in best-selling books or Hollywood triumphs, and doesn’t know...

Today we’re bringing you something a bit different: the season premiere of “Reclaimed: The Lifeblood of Navajo Nation”. 

Currently, the Navajo Nation has no guaranteed right to use the water that flows in and around their reservation. But this year, that may change — and the future of the tribe will be decided. A long-awaited settlement may be reached between the tribe, their neighboring states and the U.S. government — one...

Today we’re bringing you something a bit different, made by our friends at NPR’s long-running, award-winning podcast, Code Switch. 

Many Lakota people agree: It's imperative to revitalize the Lakota language. But how exactly to do that is a matter of broader debate. Should Lakota be codified and standardized to make learning it easier? Or should the language stay as it always has been, defined by many different ways of ...

A sociology professor’s quiet life in Canada gets turned upside down when he is accused of carrying out a 1980 bomb attack on a synagogue in Paris. Hassan Diab says he is innocent — but French investigators are determined to prove otherwise.

The Copernic Affair is coming January 22nd.  Become a Canadaland supporter and listen to the whole series early and ad-free. https://canadaland.com/join/

Just before 6:30 pm on October 3rd, 1980, Oron Shagrir’s mother, Aliza, was walking down Rue Copernic in Paris, looking to buy some figs. Minutes later, she was killed, along with three others, in an explosion that still haunts France today.

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