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Author Tommy Orange on 'pretendians'

Cheyenne author Tommy Orange found out that one of his favorite indigenous writers wasn’t actually indigenous. Then, he interviewed him.

Here & Now‘s Scott Tong speaks to Orange about what he learned and the long history of “pretendians,” non-indigenous people claiming to be indigenous.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2026 WBUR

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