UC Riverside Professor to Resign Amidst Pretendian Allegations

An ethnic studies professor, who has been charged with wrongfully identifying herself as Cherokee, is resigning from her position at the University of California Riverside. However, she is receiving favorable terms in the process.

Andrea Smith has been granted permission to continue teaching at the university until August 2024, maintain her retirement benefits, and hold the designation of professor emeritus, as stated in the severance contract made public by the institution.

Moreover, Smith has the liberty to assert her Cherokee heritage, but only in response to inquiries.

“Professor Smith agrees to not make any affirmative claims of Native American heritage in connection with her university work for the duration of her university employment,” according to the agreement. “However, if asked about her heritage in connection with her university work, Professor Smith is permitted to disclose her opinion on her Native American heritage.”

Riverside will also cover Smith’s legal expenses up to $5,000 and will not look into the claims that led to the professor’s dismissal.

“The agreement follows a complaint by UC Riverside faculty, alleging that Smith fraudulently claimed Native American identity,” the university said in a statement released Monday by spokesperson John Warren. “The nine-page separation agreement will bring a negotiated end to Professor Smith’s employment with the university.”

Smith has kept her family history a secret, although in a 2015 blog post, she criticized “identity-policing.”

“I have always been, and will always be Cherokee. I have consistently identified myself based on what I knew to be true,” she wrote.

The document titled “Separation Agreement and Release of All Claims,” initially shared on Instagram on August 17 by Native-American activist Jacqueline Keeler, reveals that the university initiated action against Smith after receiving a grievance on August 23, 2022, from 13 faculty members of UC Riverside. The complaint accused Smith of “making fraudulent claims to Native American identity.” A copy of the agreement was acquired by NBC News from the university according to their reporting.

“No formal University investigation of the allegations has occurred, and no findings have been made as to the merit of the allegations,” the agreement states. “Professor Smith denies and disputes the allegations contained in the Complaint.”

The agreement makes it abundantly plain that Smith and the university reached an agreement in order to “avoid the substantial expense and inconvenience of further administrative or legal proceedings.” The agreement was signed on January 11, 2023, as stated by the institution.

Doubts regarding Smith’s Cherokee heritage first emerged in 2008 when her application for tenure was rejected by the University of Michigan, causing a commotion.

Angela Davis, a political activist, referred to Smith then as “one of the greatest Indigenous feminist intellectuals of our time.”

However, Steve Russell, a Cherokee scholar and author, stated in his April 2008 article for Indian Country Today that Smith was not listed as a Cherokee Nation member. The article was headlined “When does ethnic fraud matter?”

Cherokee Indian Center clarified that possessing Cherokee ancestry and being a tribe member are distinct concepts.

“Registration in the national registry known as the Dawes Rolls has come to be critical in issues of Indian citizenship and land claims,” the organization says on its website. “Many people did not sign up on these rolls because they feared government persecution if their ethnicity was formally entered into the system.”

Smith secured a tenured position at Riverside in 2008, yet the skepticism about her Native American heritage continued. The New York Times Magazine revisited the claims concerning Smith in May 2021.

This led the university’s chancellor, Kim Wilcox, to release a statement that, while not directly addressing Smith’s case, emphasized the institution’s dedication to “transparency and integrity in matters of Indigenous affiliation and identity by all members of our intellectual community.”

Smith remained on the faculty at Riverside until her peers lodged a complaint, as per the university.

In 1991, Smith authored an essay where she criticized white New Age feminists for attempting to “become Indian.”

“When white ‘feminists’ see how white people have historically oppressed others and how they are coming to very close to destroying the earth, they often want to dissociate themselves from their whiteness,” Smith wrote, using the byline Andy Smith. “They do this by opting to ‘become Indian.’ In this way, they can escape responsibility and accountability for white racism.”