Professor Challenged as 'Pretendian' Steps Down at Emily Carr University
An American artist hired as a professor at Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver to bolster its Indigenous faculty has resigned amid controversy over her identity.
The university said in a statement that Gina Adams, hired as part of Indigenous cluster in 2019, resigned Aug. 25.
"Emily Carr University takes very seriously the allegations that a member of our faculty made a false claim to Indigenous identity," says the statement, released Sept. 6, the same day an article in Maclean's magazine challenged Adams's claims of Indigenous heritage.
The Maclean's article says Adams was unable to prove her claim that her grandfather was of Ojibwe-Lakota descent. It says research found that her grandfather was white, and that the White Earth Nation in the United States had rejected her claims of links to the Nation.
The university's statement says it followed "a rigorous process" in hiring Adams, one that was accepted as best practice at the time.
The university says it will undertake an Indigenous-led external review to recommend how to assess identity in a culturally appropriate way when hiring for future positions designated for Indigenous candidates.
Sources: Emily Carr University, Maclean's
