- September 26, 2019
Join us, as Darryl Leroux discusses the major findings from his book Distorted Descent: White Claims to Indigenous Identity.
Afterwards, Darryl will be in conversation with Dr. Jennifer Adese (Métis), professor at the University of Toronto, about some of the topics covered in the book.
Date: Thursday, September 26, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Location: Turtle Lounge, Centre for Indigenous Studies (2nd floor, 563 Spadina Ave), University of Toronto
Cost: FREE but please register at EventBrite.
Lunch provided!
Books will be available for purchase at the event. You can visit http://www.raceshifting.com for examples of some of the data from the book.
About the Book
Distorted Descent examines a social phenomenon that has taken off in the twenty-first century: otherwise white, French descendant settlers in Canada shifting into a self-defined “Indigenous” identity. This study is not about individuals who have been dispossessed by colonial policies, or the multi-generational efforts to reconnect that occur in response. Rather, it is about white, French-descendant people discovering an Indigenous ancestor born 300 to 375 years ago through genealogy and using that ancestor as the sole basis for an eventual shift into an “Indigenous” identity today.
After setting out the most common genealogical practices that facilitate race shifting, Leroux examines two of the most prominent self-identified “Indigenous” organizations currently operating in Quebec. Both organizations have their origins in committed opposition to Indigenous land and territorial negotiations, and both encourage the use of suspect genealogical practices. Distorted Descent brings to light to how these claims to an “Indigenous” identity are then used politically to oppose actual, living Indigenous peoples, exposing along the way the shifting politics of whiteness, white settler colonialism, and white supremacy.
About the Presenters
Jennifer Adese (otipemisiw/Métis) is an Associate Professor of Sociology at University of Toronto Mississauga. Her research sits at the intersection of the broader field of Indigenous Studies, as well as Métis Studies, Cultural Studies, Visual Sociology, and Critical Race Theory.
Darryl Leroux is associate professor in the Department of Social Justice and Community Studies at Saint Mary’s University in Kjipuktuk (Halifax, Nova Scotia). He has been working on the dynamics of racism and colonialism among fellow French descendants for nearly two decades.
