Reader’s Reviews > Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice > Status Update

Source:
Palmer, K. (2023, November 7). Oregon State Professor Accused of Falsely Claiming Native Ancestry. Inside Higher Ed. [Link removed]

“Driskill is far from the first professor accused of fabricating an indigenous ancestry. In the past two years, professors at the University of California’s Berkeley and Riverside campuses and Emily Carr University in Vancouver have also done so — two out of the three accused professors in those cases resigned. In January, an artist and activist accused of faking native ancestries resigned as the University of Wisconsin at Madison’s first-ever community leader in residence at the School of Human Ecology and the Center for Design and Material Culture. The main goal of that role was supposed to be the "development of a toolkit and curriculum around cultural appropriation," according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

In many cases the professors have benefited professionally from their dishonesty and written influential essays and books, taught specialized courses, and even led academic initiatives and research projects based on their supposed expertise and lived experience as Indigenous people steeped in Native American culture and history.

Professors at other institutions have also been outed by colleagues and others for falsely claiming to be Black or LatinX.”

“Kim TallBear, a professor of native studies at the University of Alberta, said she’s been hearing claims about Driskill’s fraudulent identity for close to a decade.

“We have a widespread problem with people self-identifying and checking boxes based on nothing more than a family story—sometimes a complete fabrication,” TallBear said, noting that it’s not uncommon for non-Native families to tell stories about their indigenous ancestry that aren’t rooted in fact.

“Very few universities in the United States require any kind of documentation of tribal community affiliation, self-identification has been an open door to fraud.”

The lack of required verification has allowed some people—many who are white—to take advantage of both white privilege and opportunities intended for marginalized people.

Pretendians “tend to be people who know how to work the system. If you’re a white person with white privilege it’s much easier for you to come into the academic system. You know how to act in a way that is familiar to an educated class of people,” Tallbear said. “Actual native people come with a lot of challenges. …. There is a lot of obligation to community that makes it harder to work your way through the academy which is a very individualistic, success-oriented system."

"The community-based nature of indigenous culture can make achieving individual success in academia take longer than it would for someone without those obligations. Pretendians don’t have that. It’s all about them,” Tallbear said. “They don’t have the same kinds of obligations to tribal community because they’re not part of a tribe.”

But because Native American make up such a small percentage of the population it can be difficult for institutions to recruit them. And with the rise of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, pretendians may use their fabricated identities to get ahead.

"You can apply for indigenous-only fellowships, grants, loans and admissions at universities," TallBear said. "There are financial and prestige incentives to doing this."

Source:
Khan, S. A. [@sashathechurel] 2023, November 16). Timeline of efforts to remove Dr. Driskill from OSU Faculty. [Link Removed]

From Sasha’s website:

I created this timeline because I wanted people to be able to learn about the efforts to remove Dr. Driskill from the Oregon State University faculty--a movement that is taking place on multiple fronts--in one place. Although I and many other former/current WGSS graduate students only became aware of this issue recently, there are Native people in and outside of the academy that have been aware of Dr. Driskill's persistent fraudulent identity claims and have been working to address the harm caused by their pernicious actions for at least a decade. Non-native scholars such as myself have a responsibility to take this issue seriously, to center the work of queer Indigenous scholars in lieu of a "representative one voice" (to use Dr. Jodi Bird's phrase), and to disrupt the academy as a "pretendian factory" (to quote Dr. Liza Black). My hope is that this particular case may offer insights that can be used in other situations.
July 2023

On July 31st, a group of current WGSS graduate students, who would later form a collective called the Graduate Leaders for Equitable Education, sent a letter of Grievances and Demands to the WGSS faculty; Dr. Susan Bernardin, the Director of the School of Language, Culture, and Society (SLCS); and Dr. Larry Rogers, the Dean of Liberal Arts. Among other demands, they called for Dr. Driskill to step down from the position of Director of Graduate Studies.

While I am not a member of the Graduate Leaders for Equitable Education and was not involved in writing this document, I can attest to the fact that 5 out of 6 of the grievances related to supervision of graduate employment and all 10 of the grievances related to curriculum, pedagogy, and the classroom apply to my situation. Moreover, these grievances do not cover the full extent of my experiences.​
August 2023

Dr. Driskill filed reports against each of the signatories to the letter of Grievances and Demands with OSU's office of Equal Opportunity and Access (see Corvallis Gazette Times 12/12/23).
September 2023

On September 5th, faculty members sent a letter to Dr. Rogers in support of the current graduate students' letter and called for Dr. Driskill to replaced on administrative leave (see Willamette Week 11/15/23).

On September 19th, faculty members sent another letter. In addition to pointing to Dr. Driskill's discrimination against certain graduate students, the faculty also highlighted that Dr. Driskill demonstrated "a willingness to harm faculty colleagues in the process of amassing power and control." Furthermore, the letter accused Dr. Driskill of committing "academic fraud by misrepresenting themselves as Indigenous and two-spirit." They explained, "This racial misrepresentation also has repercussions for our graduate students who will be harmed by this fraud, both personally and professionally, and our program whose academic integrity will be damaged." (See Willamette Week 11/15/23).

I became aware that faculty and students were filing formal complaints at the end of September. (At the time, I did not know the details about the faculty's letters of complaint that were described in the Willamette Week article linked above). I contacted Oregon State University's Office of Equal Opportunity and Access (EOA) to indicate that I wanted to contribute to the case. In preparation, I began summarizing and gathering documentation of my experiences. I also reached out to the Graduate Leaders for Equitable Education to see if there were any ways that I could be of assistance.​​
October 2023

On October 3rd, I filed a formal complaint against Dr. Driskill with EOA and copied Dr. Bernardin and Dr. Rogers. You can view some parts of my complaint by clicking on any of the following links:
Complaint, Part I: Summary
Complaint, Part II: 2018-2019
Complaint, Part III: 2019-2020
Complaint, Part IV: 2020-2021

On October 5th, Dr. Driskill filed a complaint with the Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) against OSU in which they stated:
"I have been targeted for retaliatory actions, subjected to multiple and persistent micro aggressions and macro aggressions, excluded from work-related positions and activities, and excluded from relevant and important department communications due to my gender identity, race and racial identity" (see Willamette Week 11/15/23).
There is a culture of "backchannelling and triangulation that created a hostile work environment, particularly toward trans persons" (see Corvallis Gazette Times 12/12/23).

Dr. Driskill’s attorney, Craig Crispin, issued the following statement: “I anticipate a release in the near future identifying Dr. Driskill’s ancestral relationships with Native and Black Americans, rendering allegations to the contrary false and defamatory” (see Willamette Week 11/15/23).

On October 17th, M. Floyd (Dr. Driskill's partner & and an instructor in the WGSS department) also filed a BOLI complaint against the department/school for trans misogyny and sexual harassment (see Corvallis Gazette Times 12/28/23, Albany Democrat-Herald 12/28/23)

On October 20th, Dr. Joseph Pierce (Cherokee Nation) and Dr. Liza Black (Cherokee Nation) were guest speakers on the podcast Speaking Out of Place hosted by Dr. David Palumbo Liu and Azeezah Kanji. Framing the academy as a pretendian factory, they explain the levels of harm that this causes to Indigenous communities and specifically name and discuss Dr. Andrea Smith and Dr. Qwo-Li Driskill as pretendians.

On October 25th, The Tribal Alliance Against Frauds (TAFF) released the results of their independent investigation into Dr. Driskill's claims of Cherokee, Lenape, and Osage identity--which they found to be false. (For more details, see the TAFF report, press release, tribal letters, fan chart, paternal genealogy report, and maternal genealogy report). TAFF called for Dr. Driskill to publicly acknowledge that they are not Native and to apologize for lying about their positionally. They also call for OSU to fire Dr. Driskill on the basis of academic fraud.
November 2023

On November 3rd, a statement was issued by Rob Odom, the Vice President of University Relations and Marketing. He said that the university does not comment on personal matters, but:
"We take allegations of bias and harassment seriously, and we encourage reports of suspected wrongdoing or breaches of ethical conduct" ​(Corvallis Gazette Times 12/12/23).
"We acknowledge the importance of dialogue on Indigenous identity and tribal affiliation. this is a deeply personal topic to many, inside and outside the university" (see Corvallis Gazette Times 11/3/23, Institute of Higher Education 11/07/23).
"While we cannot comment on the particulars of any individual situation, OSU is committed to maintaining a working, learning, and social environment in which the rights and dignity of all the staff, faculty, and students of the university community are respected" (see Willamette Week 11/15/23).

The Graduate Leaders for Equitable Education sent an open letter to OSU President Murthy. They called for Dr. Driskill to be removed from the faculty on the basis on their escalating mistreatment of graduate students and faculty members as well as their fraudulent identity claims. They stated that they have received little support from within the university by following the formal complaint procedures.

On November 9th, faculty members emailed President Murthy and Provost Ed Feser to request an independent investigation into Dr. Driskill's targeting of "queer trans and non-binary students" (see Willamette Week 11/15/23).

On November 10, The Graduate Leaders for Equitable Education created a petition to remove Dr. Driskill from OSU faculty. At the writing of this post, it has reached 229 signatures.
​
On November 16th, the Graduate Leaders for Equitable Education held a face-to-face and virtual town hall meeting that was open to the public.

Source: Egersdorfer, F. (2024, October 14). Oregon State Professor resigns amidst identity fraud scandal : Faking ‘Two-Spirit’ and racial claims exposed. Casting Out Deceptions. [Link Removed].

“In a world increasingly obsessed with identity politics, it’s no surprise that fraudulent claims are emerging. The latest case involves a non-binary professor, Paul Edward “Qwo-Li” Driskill, who recently stepped down from his position at Oregon State University after allegations surfaced about his false claims of Native American and African ancestry. This story exposes not only the personal deceit but also the flaws in a system that celebrates identity over integrity.

Driskill, who claimed a “Two-Spirit” identity and mixed-race heritage, had been a member of the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies department. His supposed background of Cherokee and other indigenous roots afforded him multiple privileges, including speaking engagements, awards, and a prominent voice in academic circles. Yet, upon closer inspection, this identity turned out to be built on lies.

One look at Driskill should have raised eyebrows. A white man claiming to be of Cherokee, African, and other heritages while riding the wave of non-binary “Two-Spirit” narratives—a concept loosely defined and weaponised by modern identity movements—now crumbles under scrutiny. According to the Poetry Foundation, his work focused on these self-proclaimed identities, yet genealogical investigations have proven them to be baseless.

An organisation known as TAAF (Truth and Accountability in Ancestry Fraud), composed of certified genealogists and researchers, launched a probe into Driskill’s background. Their findings? No documented ties to any of the indigenous tribes he claimed. It appears that Driskill’s so-called “Two-Spirit” persona and racial identity were nothing more than a convenient cover to exploit the woke academic world.

“A non-binary associate professor of Women’s Studies at @OregonState has quietly stepped down after being accused of faking his mixed-race Black-Indigenous Two-Spirit identity.

Qwo-Li (Paul) Driskill claimed he was of African and Cherokee descent.”

— ThePublica (@ThePublicaNow) October 10, 2024

So why, for so long, was Driskill allowed to thrive in this space? The answer lies in the modern obsession with identity categories that often blur reality. The left prides itself on championing those with so-called “marginalised” identities, yet fails to verify the truth behind these labels. Driskill’s case is a classic example of how identity politics can be used to game the system.

The unravelling of Driskill’s fabricated background serves as a wake-up call. As more cases like this emerge, it becomes increasingly clear that the emphasis on “identity” over merit is creating a breeding ground for opportunists. It’s time institutions like Oregon State University and others prioritise merit over identity politics and stop pushing for inclusivity at the expense of authenticity. We don’t need these deceptions in academia or society. They reflect a culture distracted by ideological agendas, losing sight of real progress.

Source: Tribal Alliance Against Frauds. (2023, October 25). “Paul Edward” Qwo-Li Driskill. [link removed]

"Paul Edward" Qwo-Li Driskill

Subject: “Paul Edward” Qwo-Li Driskill (born 7-6-75 in Colorado)
(Associate professor of WGSS & Queer Studies at Oregon State University)
Sovereign Nations/identity falsely claimed: Cherokee, Lenape (Delaware), Osage, “Lumbee”
Determination: No American Indian ancestry found: FRAUD
Date: 10-25-23

Paul Edward aka “Qwo-Li” Driskill, hereafter referred to as Professor Driskill, is an associate professor at Oregon State University.

They admit that they are not enrolled as a citizen of any federally recognized tribal nation. Yet they insist that they are Cherokee, Lenape (Delaware) and Osage because they have ancestry from all those tribes. They do not.

The Tribal Alliance Against Frauds has done their genealogy and has proven that they have zero ancestry from any American Indian tribal nation whatsoever. This is supported by hundreds of unimpeachable genealogical documents that trace Driskill in a direct line back several generations on both sides of their family. It is also supported by letters from all the nations they falsely claim ancestry from, who all clearly state that neither they nor their ancestors are citizens of their nations.

The Tribal Alliance Against Frauds is asking Oregon State University to fire Paul Driskill for academic dishonesty and ethnic fraud unless Driskill makes a public statement admitting that they are not American Indian at all and gives a public apology.

The evidence can be seen on our website: [link removed]

Press Release

CASE REPORT
Subject: “Paul Edward” Qwo-Li Driskill (born 7-6-75 in Colorado)
(Associate professor of WGSS & Queer Studies at Oregon State University)
Sovereign Nations / identity falsely claimed: Cherokee, Lenape (Delaware), Osage, “Lumbee”
Determination: No American Indian ancestry found: FRAUD
Date: 10-25-23
To Whom it May Concern at Oregon State University,

The Tribal Alliance Against Frauds, or “TAAF”, is an intertribal task force comprised of over 50 American Indian investigators and genealogists from many federally recognized tribes from across the country, and our allies. We are a watchdog group, as well as an educational and whistleblower organization. We are a 501c3 organization located on the Qualla Boundary of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians in Cherokee, North Carolina on sovereign unceded Cherokee territory. We serve all of the federally recognized American Indian sovereign nations of what is now known as the United States.

“Paul Edward” aka “Qwo-Li” Driskill, hereafter referred to as Professor Driskill, is an associate professor at Oregon State University.

They admit that they are not enrolled as a citizen of any federally recognized tribal nation. Yet they insist that they are Cherokee, Lenape (Delaware) and Osage because they have ancestry from all those tribes. They do not.

The Tribal Alliance Against Frauds has done their genealogy and has proven that they have zero ancestry from any American Indian tribal nation whatsoever. This is supported by hundreds of unimpeachable genealogical documents that trace Professor Driskill in a direct line back several generations on both sides of their family. It is also supported by letters from all the nations they falsely claim ancestry from, who all clearly state that neither they nor their ancestors are citizens of their nations.

American Indian sovereign nations in the United States have the right to self-determination, which the United States recognizes and honors. The United States did not bestow or grant that sovereignty or right to self-determination. It is inherent. Which is why the United States formally and legally recognizes and honors both. That means that only those federally recognized tribal nations can say who is one of them and who is not. Period. That is what self-determination and sovereignty mean. Literally. And it means we are not just talking about “race”. We are talking about a unique historical, legal, political status for American Indian people in this country, based on hundreds of years of federal treaty law founded on thousands of years of tribal civilization before the United States ever existed.

This is why “self-identification” as an American Indian person is both impossible and highly problematic when people presume to do it anyway. Being an American Indian person is not about who you claim to be, it is about who claims you. It is about an ancestral blood kinship, tribal belonging, tribal identity, cultural connection, and the centuries of intergenerational grief, trauma and oppression that our families have inherited and resiliently endured that settler families have not.

All peoples suffer and endure hardship. But there is zero comparison between the hardships endured by settler families in this country and the genocide suffered by American Indian families in this country. And Pretendian frauds like Professor Driskill are fetishizing and monetizing our suffering for their own gain, as if they could even imagine it.
Consider, for example, the fact that American Indians, in living memory, served in the United States military, and were awarded more military honors than most by comparison, yet they were not even allowed to vote until 1924. That included my own relatives. Consider that there were thousands of hippies in the 1960s playing at things like their distorted versions of “sweat lodges” and “vision quests” when it was still ILLEGAL for us to perform those genuine sacred ceremonies until 1978. While our children were kidnapped and sent off to boarding schools where they were stripped of anything Indian, including their languages and clothing, it has always been popular for non-Indian children to play “cowboys and Indians” and to dress up like Indians at Halloween. While Indian children were beaten for being Indian, settler children got candy for dressing up like Indians.

So when people of European ancestry, like Professor Driskill, put on Indian-looking jewelry or clothing, make up Indian-sounding names like “Qwo-Li”, and teach Indian languages that they barely know, like Cherokee, referring to themselves as “Cherokee” or “Osage” descendants, it is beyond offensive. It is anti-American Indian. It is toxic. It is RACIST. It is genocidal.
Why “genocidal”? Because frauds like Professor Driskill are literally erasing us by replacing us. Did you know that between 2010 and 2020 there was supposedly an 86% increase in the American Indian population in the United States according to the United States census? 86%!! That was certainly not due to immigration…. Nor was it the result of a sudden enormous baby boom in Indian country. It was due to non-Indian people falsely self-identifying as “American Indians” on the census. And no one checks. Anyone can claim that their relative was anything on a birth or death certificate too. No one checks. Anyone can claim to be anything when applying for a job at most universities too. No one checks. Very few know how to vet those claims. Most are afraid to ask, because they think it’s “racist”. But remember, we are not talking about “race” here. We are talking about political citizenship within a sovereign nation. And, we are talking about vetted ancestry from those nations, enrolled or not. We are talking about authenticity. Credibility. Integrity.

Non-American Indian people who pretend to be Indians are usurping spaces that should be occupied by legitimately American Indian people. They are usurping our voices. Thus they are contributing to our erasure, and replacing us because they have privilege we do not. So when they use their privilege to get into these spaces, like getting tenure at a university, they often favor fellow pretendians and block the inclusion or advancement of actual American Indians, thus ensuring their protection and contributing to our erasure. We can quote many notable instances of this happening.

Professor Driskill is an academic fraud with regard to anything they have taught or written as if they were teaching or writing from an American Indian perspective. Everything they have done in that vein was done on a foundational lie. And I say “lie” rather than “mistake” because they have been aware for years that we are all aware that they are not Indian. And there remains a standing invitation to them to prove us wrong.

It is not incumbent upon American Indian people to prove a negative, even though we have gone to the trouble to do so. As the Cherokee Scholars wrote in their paper titled “Cherokee Scholars’ Statement on Sovereignty and Identity”: “Any person who publicly identifies as Cherokee has initiated a public discussion about their identity. It is appropriate to ask such persons to explain the verifiable basis upon which they are claiming a Cherokee identity. If they cannot substantiate that they are a Cherokee citizen, they should be clearly and directly asked to cease identifying as Cherokee.”

Read more from that paper on the issue of identity here: [link to Cherokee Scholars’ Statement on Sovereignty and Identity removed]

Professor Driskill wrote “Asegi Stories: Cherokee Queer and Two-Spirit Memory”. How does someone write about Cherokee memories when they can’t possibly have any as a non-Cherokee person?

They also presume to “teach” the Cherokee language (which they do not speak fluently by any stretch of the imagination and have no credentials or authority to teach) and Cherokee basket weaving. They teach all the queer Indigenous courses at OSU as a “Cherokee 2-Spirit” person, which is something they have zero experience of being.

Professor Driskill is defrauding every American Indian student who looked up to them and thought they were learning from an American Indian professor only to discover they were betrayed by a fraud. It adds more lies, betrayal and distrust on top of hundreds of years of lies, betrayal and distrust that result in the intergenerational grief and trauma that most of us have not managed to heal from, and this is very harmful.

You can see further evidence on our website and on the TAAF FB page that exposes his fraud there as well. [link removed]

All of us at TAAF would like to see Professor Driskill either fired from your university for academic fraud, or at the very least, a public acknowledgement by Professor Driskill that they are not American Indian AT ALL, and an apology for falsely claiming to be American Indian.
If you have any questions at all, please do not hesitate to reach out and ask. We will be happy to oblige.
Respectfully submitted,
Lianna Costantino, Director
Tribal Alliance Against Frauds
828-331-8688