Andrea lee smith biography

American academic, women's petition and anti-violence activist

Andrea Lee Smith is an American academic, meliorist, and activist. Smith's work has primarily focused on issues depose violence against women of tint and their communities, specifically Savage American women.

Formerly an lesser professor of American Culture title Women's Studies at the Creation of Michigan in Ann Frame, Michigan, she is also elegant co-founder of INCITE! Women boss Color Against Violence, the Embarkment School Healing Project, and depiction Chicago chapter of Women pointer All Red Nations.

Smith recap currently employed as a university lecturer in the Department of Folk Studies at University of Calif., Riverside.

In August 2023, righteousness university announced that she would resign from the university lessening August 2024 to become strong emerita professor, due to tariff that she "made fraudulent claims to Native American identity hold violation of the Faculty Law of Conduct provisions concerning scholarly integrity."^[1][2]

Since at least 1991, Adventurer has claimed to be Iroquois.

However, she has never antique enrolled in a recognized Iroquoian tribe, and genealogist David Cornsilk, who has said Smith leased him twice to research eliminate claims of heritage, found negation evidence of Cherokee ancestry meditate Smith. The controversy over Smith's claim to be Cherokee agreed relatively little attention outside erudite circles until 2015, when repudiate claim was more widely exposed in more mainstream media outlets.^[3] A number of Native Earth scholars, including a group make stronger Cherokee women in academia,^[4] be born with rejected Smith's self-identification as Iroquois, and The Daily Beast has dubbed Smith "the Native Denizen Rachel Dolezal".^[5][6][7]

Early life and education

Smith was born to Helen Dungaree Wilkinson and Donald R.

Smith^[3] in San Francisco, and grew up in Southern California.^[8] She has one sister, Justine Smith.^[3] Although her family is descended primarily from British and Northman immigrants to the US, all but some white Americans, she unthinkable her sister grew up earreach stories about the possibility thoroughgoing a distant Native American ancestor.^[3]

Smith earned her bachelor's degree disapproval Harvard University in Comparative Bone up on of Religion, and her Poet of Divinity at the Singleness Theological Seminary in 1997.^[9][10] Comport yourself 2002, she received her Ph.D.

in History of Consciousness implant UC Santa Cruz; her lecture was on the Bible, going to bed, and nationalism in both interpretation American Indian communities and in the midst activists of the Christian Right.^[11]

Activism and professional work

Smith has plug away been active in anti-violence activism, serving as a rape emergency counselor and starting the City chapter of Women of Indicate Red Nations.^[12] Along with Nadine Naber, Smith co-founded INCITE!

Corps of Color Against Violence close in 2000, and she plays capital prominent role in its Ethnological Planning Committee.^[13][14] INCITE! is fine national grassroots organization that engages in direct action and ponderous consequential dialogue to end violence contradict women of color and their communities.^[15]

Smith was also a formation member of the Boarding Primary Healing Project (BSHP).^[16] According assail its website, the BSHP "seeks to document Native boarding high school abuses so that Native communities can begin healing ...

instruction demand justice."^[17] Smith has influenced with Amnesty International as precise Bunche Fellow, coordinating the probation project on sexual violence final American Indian women.^[18] She soi-disant the Indigenous Women's Network enjoin the American Indian Law Confederation at the United Nations Imitation Conference Against Racism in 1991.^[8] In 2005, Smith, in cognizance of her research and preventable regarding violence against women be beneficial to color in the US, was among 1000 women nominated type a group for the Chemist Peace Prize by Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold, a Swiss parliament member.^[19] Importation of March 2013, Smith serves as the U.S.

Coordinator keep an eye on the Ecumenical Association of Gear World Theologians.^[20]

Smith and her keep alive Justine were faculty members put off the North American Institute mind Indigenous Theological Studies.^[21]

Critical work

Smith's depreciating work centers on genocide coupled with acts of violence against Array women.

She discusses patriarchy chimp a tool of settler grandiose violence used to subdue careful eradicate Native women. In multiple text Conquest: Sexual Violence Beam American Indian Genocide, Smith gives a genealogical study of state-sanctioned violence against Native women skull against their reproductive health evacuate early America to the Nineteenth century.

Smith's work makes unblended critical intervention in Native Indweller Studies which she argues has a tendency to dismiss structure as outside the purview shambles analysis of Native scholarship. Maximum Native scholars dismiss patriarchy now they identify it as a-okay uniquely Western manifestation forced treat Native populations through assimilation.

Sculpturer argues that despite the naked truth that patriarchy is not essential to Native society, its main importance in the domination present-day extermination of Native peoples turf Native women in particular obligation not be discounted.^[22]

Awards

Controversies

Tenure denial

On Feb 22, 2008, Smith was denied tenure from the College exert a pull on Literature, Science and the Veranda at the University of Michigan.^[25] This decision attracted "an uncommon degree of attention from scholars, both at Ann Arbor present-day nationally." Some 30 faculty near students concluded "the University's tenancy evaluation process discriminates against column of color and interdisciplinary professors."^[27]

Smith's misrepresentations about her identity likewise played a role in righteousness tenure dispute.

Cherokee genealogist Painter Cornsilk stated that Smith "told [him] her employment depended depress finding proof of Indian heritage." When she was denied occupation by the University of Stops, she suggested discrimination on rectitude basis of her "Native Dweller descent".^[28]

Cherokee ancestry claim

Since at slightest 1991, Smith has publicly supposed to be Cherokee although she has never been enrolled obligate any federally recognized Cherokee ethnic group, and no Cherokee ancestry has ever been found for her.^[29][6][30]

At a conference in 2007, Sculpturer was said to admit unite uncertainty regarding possible Cherokee cover to Cherokee citizens and scholars Patti Jo King and Richard Allen, apologizing and agreeing throw up set the record straight.^[6][4][31] Pick lawyer Steve Russell (Cherokee Nation) publicly accused Smith of heathen fraud in a 2008 paragraph published by Indian Country Today, but it was not at large read.^[32] Smith failed to on standby the record straight, and deduct lack of documented Cherokee lunge became "something of an spout secret" until 2015.

She protracted to be identified at outdated events as Cherokee or Savage American, and claimed it was part of the reason quota her denial of tenure scorn the University of Michigan (see above). Following the media publicity surrounding activist Rachel Dolezal discern 2015, who falsely claimed African-American identity, an anonymous Tumblr diary entitled Andrea Smith is battle-cry Cherokee, was published, listing boss chronology of book and conversation biographies of Smith that concern to her purported Cherokee ancestry.^[33][34]

The Daily Beast picked up Smith's story, and it attracted steady attention.^[6][35] The Daily Beast labelled Smith "the Native American Wife Dolezal".^[5][6][7]

Cherokee Nation-United Keetoowah Band genealogist David Cornsilk has claimed go Smith hired him twice comport yourself the 1990s to research multifaceted genealogy and that he line no proof of Cherokee ancestry.^[6][30] In an open letter publicised in Indian Country Today buy July 2015, Cornsilk stated avoid the Cherokee are a snatch well-documented people, and he asserts that Cherokee citizenship is homespun on recognition by the Iroquoian people and participation in rectitude community, not by an idiosyncratic such as Smith asserting neat belief in a self-derived, self-governing identity.^[30] Cornsilk has written lose one\'s train of thought "fact speaks loud and clearcut that not only is Andrea Smith not enrolled, SHE Evenhanded NOT A CHEROKEE".^[30]

In the subsequent controversy, some supporters of Sculptor started a group blog indulged Against a Politics of Disposability.^[35]Incite!, the collective that Smith helped to found, told The Ordinary Beast, "We support Andy Explorer and the self-determination of screen First Nations People.

Incite would rather place our collective arrange a deal into abolishing settler colonialism amaze in perpetuating this ideology hunk policing her racial and racial identity."^[6]

However, Native American scholars submit activists have largely spoken play a role opposition to Smith.^[30][35][36] An getaway letter, signed by twelve Fierce American women scholars, reads importance part, "Asking for accountability enrol our communities and collectivities practical not limited to Andrea Explorer.

Asking for transparency, self-reflexivity, with the addition of honesty about our complex histories and scholarly investments is forced by the desire to grow ethical Indigenous scholarship by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars."^[37] They also noted the names past it numerous Indigenous scholars who fake made contributions in the equal field as Smith, saying think about it they had sometimes been overlooked.^[37] They continued, "Andrea Smith has a decades-long history of contradictory stories of identity and alliance testified to by numerous scholars and activists, including her acceptance to four separate parties become absent-minded she has no claim cause somebody to Cherokee ancestry at all."^[37] Representation scholars have claimed that Smith's actions damaged trust between Original and non-Indigenous scholars and were used to advance her violate professional career.^[37]

Five Cherokee women scholars, including Dr.

Patti Jo Social event, published an open letter, proverb that Smith's false claims say tribal integrity and kinship, instruct that she had tried pore over build her career on neat as a pin false base. King said, "since Andrea Smith has never archaic affiliated with any of in the nick of time communities, she is a folk outsider."^[4] King added that "it is Smith’s deception—not her enrolment status and not her advocacy—that constitutes the central issue.'^[35]

Native Dweller studies ethnographer David Shorter wrote, "Andrea Smith surely thinks she is Cherokee; or she frank at some point.

She has been asked repeatedly to either stop claiming Cherokee identity look after to either authenticate her claims through a reliable kinship, twirl ties to a specific coat, or through the Cherokee Nation’s official process for enrollment."^[38]

Smith's look after, Justine, has also claimed Iroquois ancestry and is likewise malefactor of ethnic fraud.

She ostensibly falsified a tribal card accuse the Cherokee Nation. Justine, who has the same parents considerably Andrea, also claims Ojibwe heritage.^[21][36] She was announced as Unbroken American when hired by description Saint Paul School of Field in Oklahoma, but left abaft three months after being confronted about her identity when justness Cherokee Nation disputed her claim.^[35] Justine Smith is a churchwoman at the First American Leagued Methodist Church in Norman, Oklahoma.^[39]

Andrea Smith responded to the protests and accusations in July 2015 with a statement on pretty up blog asserting that her "enrollment status does not impact [her] Cherokee identity," and that she always has been and everywhere will be Cherokee.^[40][7]

In May 2021, an article by Sarah Viren for The New York Ancient Magazine detailed how Smith has continued to be published gorilla an academic despite overwhelming seek that she is not Iroquoian as she claims.^[3]

In August 2023, Smith's employer, the University accomplish California, Riverside, announced in top-notch press release that Smith would resign from the university come to mind effect in August 2024 vertical become an emerita professor.

Xiii faculty members at Riverside reputed that Smith had "made false claims to Native American manipulate in violation of the Flair Code of Conduct provisions in the vicinity of academic integrity."^[1] While Smith denied the charges, the "separation compromise and release of all claims", with the resignation/retirement date, was mutually agreed to by Adventurer and the University.^[1]

Selected publications

Smith problem the author of the pursuing books:

• Sacred Sites, Sacred Rites (1998) ISBN B0006R030E
• Conquest: Sexual Destructiveness and American Indian Genocide (2005) ISBN 978-0-89608-743-9
• Native Americans and the Religionist Right: The Gendered Politics be worthwhile for Unlikely Alliances (2008) ISBN 978-0-8223-4163-5
• Unreconciled: Put on the back burner Racial Reconciliation to Racial Impartiality in Christian Evangelicalism, Duke Tradition Press (2019) ISBN 978-1-4780-0640-4

Smith edited and/or co-edited the following anthologies:

See also

References

External links