M ore careful consideration must be made in eligibility and review processes for Indigenous-specific funding programs to prevent false claims of Indigeneity, according to a new report.

Titled Building Trust and Accountability: Report on Eligibility in the Indigenous Screen Sector, the report was created by Indigenous-owned organization Archipel Research and Consulting, and was created in collaboration with the Indigenous Screen Office (ISO) and broadcaster APTN.

The report released Thursday (Feb. 24) took an intersectional approach, speaking with five focus groups: First Nation, Métis, Inuit, Black-Indigenous and francophone Indigenous. The consultation process included 24 interviews, 173 survey responses and open engagement sessions with 32 participants.

“At the heart of this report is that telling Indigenous stories comes with a responsibility,” said Sabre Pictou Lee, CEO of Archipel Research and Consulting, in a virtual press conference. “Participants expressed that being able to tell their stories and the stories of their communities on film or television was an honour and a privilege that should not be made light of.”

The report outlines how false claims of Indigeneity by film and TV creators causes “immeasurable harm” to the community, both through taking funding allocated specifically for First Nations, Inuit and Métis members and by using those funds to potentially create stories that perpetrate false depictions of Indigenous communities.

The recommendations cover three key areas: requirements and eligibility, the review process and the remedy process if a false claim is discovered.

For requirements and eligibility, participants stated that Indigenous community membership cards, including expired cards, are to be treated as a valid form of identification, but not the only form, specifying that the only documents that should be accepted are ones acknowledged by First Nations, Métis or Inuit communities. Alternatively, participants said applicants should be able to provide a letter explaining their Indigenous ancestry, why they don’t have a membership card, along with a letter of support from a key figure within the community. Participants specified that letters should not be required from Elders, due to the possibility of exploitation.

Recommendations for the review process included the creation of a panel of First Nation, Inuit, and Métis members, both youth representatives and Elders, to evaluate applicants’ Indigeneity. The panel should be “demographically and geographically diverse,” with panellists serving a limited term and avoiding conflicts of interest, said participants.

In the event of a discovery of a potentially false claim from a funding recipient, participants stated that a third party should investigate the claim. If it is confirmed to be false, the participants called for three modes of remedies: Create Indigenous practices of harm reduction, including a written or oral apology to the affected community and undergoing education to learn about the harm done; the return of Indigenous intellectual property rights; and restitution and redistribution of the funding back to the community.

Jesse Wente, executive director of the ISO, said the report is a first step in re-evaluating eligibility for First Nation, Inuit, and Métis within arts programs. He encouraged all funders to carefully read the report, which includes a literature review with resources on the topic, and hold consultations with their Indigenous stuff.

“Now is a moment for all art funding bodies that have Indigenous-specific programs to be re-assessing and re-examining their eligibility criteria to make sure that they are aligned with what the community is seeking,” said Wente.

The ISO and APTN underwent a community engagement process in early 2021 shortly after APTN and CBC reports alleged that filmmaker Michelle Latimer was dishonest about her claims of Indigenous ancestry. Latimer filed a defamation lawsuit against CBC after the fallout, which included the cancellation of CBC drama Trickster, which Latimer directed and served as co-showrunner. Her documentary Inconvenient Indian was also pulled from the Sundance Film Festival. The suit was dropped in late 2021 after Latimer failed to serve CBC a statement of claim.

“More than a year ago we heard from our community of storytellers that we needed to show leadership in response to the ongoing concerns around false claims of Indigenous identity,” said Wente. “This is not a new issue. Indeed it’s an issue whose roots grow from the very core of colonialism.”

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