Fake It Till You Make It: One Of Hollywood's Leading Native American Figures Accused Of Being A Total Fraud

By Jean Robor | Wednesday, 29 March 2023 09:30 AM
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Fake It Till You Make It: One Of Hollywood's Leading Native American Figures Accused Of Being A Total Fraud

An activist group has accused a Hollywood actress of claiming she has a Cherokee heritage when she does not.

The New York Post reported that Tribal Alliance Against Frauds (TAAF), an activist group, has targeted Heather Rae for saying, “my mom was Indian, and my father was a cowboy.”.

The director of the activist group, Lianna Constantino, said, “Being an American Indian person is not just about who you claim to be it’s about who claims you. And it’s much more than just race. We are citizens of sovereign nations. Being an Indian is a legal, political distinction.”

Rae, an award-winning actress, is a leading Native American in Hollywood and married to producer Russell Friedenberg. She serves on the Indigenous Alliance of the Academy of Motion Pictures and previously was part of the Native American Program at the Sundance Institute.

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Although news reports have said the 56-year-old has a Cherokee mother, TAAF says she is profiting from making false claims regarding her heritage. According to The Post, activists say Rae is just 1/2048th Cherokee at best.

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TAAF asserts that a 1969 divorce certificate lists Rae’s parents as White. Per their research, there is no evidence of her heritage related to the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, or the Eastern Band of Cherokee.

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Fox News reported that the Cherokee Nation partly funded Rae’s most recent film, “Fancy Dance.” It premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival.

Before Rae was accused of falsely claiming a Cherokee heritage, Sacheen Littlefeather was blasted for not having a Cherokee heritage in 2022. She had become famous for rejecting Marlon Brando’s “Best Actor” award for his part in “The Godfather” when she stood in for him to accept the 1973 award. After Littlefeather’s death, her sisters said she had no Cherokee heritage and was born Marie Louise Cruz.

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