Famous author known for Indigenous stories distraught to learn he does NOT have Native heritage
An acclaimed author who has identified as part-Cherokee throughout his entire career has publicly revealed he has no Native heritage after he was informed by a genealogist.
Thomas King, 82, has spent the better part of 40 years writing about the experiences of Native Americans as a man with Cherokee lineage.
But on Monday, he publicly admitted he has no Indigenous ancestry, insisting the revelation came as a shock to him after years of swatting away rumors about his heritage
King said his mother had told him that his biological father was part-Cherokee, and that he had never had any reason to doubt that information or challenge its authenticity.
So he was blindsided when he was contacted by a genealogist from the Tribal Alliance Against Frauds earlier this month who works with an organization exposing false claims of Indigenous heritage.
'It's been a couple of weeks since that video call, and I'm still reeling,' King wrote in The Globe and Mail.
'At 82, I feel as though I've been ripped in half, a one-legged man in a two-legged story. Not the Indian I had in mind. Not an Indian at all.'
King said he first heard rumors that he was not in fact Indigenous several years ago, and that he reached out to the Tribal Alliance Against Frauds in October to investigate.
It was during a video call this month with the genealogist on his case and a professor of Indigenous studies that he learned the organization had traced back his father's side of the family.
Thomas King, 82, has spent the better part of 40 years writing about the experiences of Native Americans as a man with Cherokee lineage
On Monday, he publicly admitted he has no Indigenous ancestry, insisting the revelation came as a shock to him after years of swatting away rumors about his heritage
His father left when he was three, and in addition to his mother's assurances about his heritage, King tracked down an aunt on his paternal side decades later who also claimed they had Cherokee ancestry.
The story he was told was that his father's biological father was a man with the surname Hunt, but that he was raised by a stepfather who passed down his last name: King.
He has published more than 20 books, primarily documenting the Native American experience
Armed with this information, the Tribal Alliance Against Frauds tracked both the King and Hunt lines.
'And it didn't lead to the Cherokee,' King wrote. 'No Cherokee on the King side. No Cherokee on the Hunt side. No Indians anywhere to be found.'
'As you might expect, I didn’t want to believe her. I was sure she had made an error in her research, hadn’t gone back far enough, but as she talked about what she had found, as we matched the pieces of family history that I had with the pieces of family history that she uncovered, it became clear that the one piece missing was any connection to the Cherokee,' he wrote.
King is aware of the 'inconvenient truths' he must now face.
He has published more than 20 books, primarily documenting the Native American experience.
The award-winning author found critical acclaim in the space, and in 2020 was named the Companion of the Order of Canada, one of the nation's highest honors.
The award-winning author found critical acclaim in the space, and in 2020 was named the Companion of the Order of Canada, one of the nation's highest honors
He was recognized for his work, which 'exposes the hard truths of the injustices of the Indigenous peoples of North America,' and 'has changed our perception of Canadian history.'
King said he will internally grapple with whether he benefited as a writer due to his claimed Cherokee heritage, and whether he took opportunities from other Indigenous authors.
But King stopped short of apologizing for the saga, despite that being the recommendation from the Tribal Alliance Against Frauds.
He said apologizing would indicate that he was aware of the situation, and that instead he had operated under the true belief that he did have mixed heritage.
Still, he understands why Indigenous causes, organizations and artists may now choose to distance themselves from him.
King's admission comes on the back of heightened interest in the validity of high profile figures' claims about their Native heritage.
Michelle Wu, the mayor of Boston, faced backlash in 2023 for hosting a holiday party exclusively for elected officials 'of color'
The segregated holiday party for 'electeds of color' came under scrutiny after an email invitation was sent to all 13 members of the city council, only for them to be rescinded from the seven white councilors 15 minutes later
Canadian singer Buffy Saint-Marie was publicly accused of faking her heritage, while last year the Metropolitan Museum of Art's first Native American curator, Patricia Marroquin Norby, faced similar allegations.
Tenured University of California Ethnic Studies Professor Andrea Smith in 2023 faced complaints by more than a dozen faculty members, who accused her of violating academic integrity by lying about her Native American lineage.
And in 2023, Boston's Democrat Mayor Michelle Wu sparked outrage when she hosted a holiday party specifically for elected officials 'of color'.
'I can understand someone might be confused or worried if certain people weren’t being invited at all or were being left out of any type of celebration. But I assure you, everyone on the Boston City Council has got an invitation to multiple types of events and holiday parties,' Wu said of the 'no whites' event.
The segregated holiday party for 'electeds of color' came under scrutiny after an email invitation was sent to all 13 members of the city council, only for them to be rescinded from the seven white councilors 15 minutes later.
