Indigenous identity policies a dangerous case of institutional overreach

The practice of people self-identifying as Indigenous has come into sharp focus after a number of high-profile cases of “pretendians” claiming to be Indigenous without evidence. However, far less attention has been given to Indigenous people being wrongly labelled as pretendians.  In a recent article for Policy Options, Debbie Martin argues that the rush for Indigenous identity policies at universities has led to people with legitimate claims to Indigeneity being swept up in policies that will cause lasting harm.  Debbie Martin is Inuk and a member of Nunatukavut. She is a professor in the school of health and human performance at Dalhousie University and the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Peoples’ health and well-being.