"This incendiary j'accuse isn't afraid to name names."
–
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
"With clarity and conviction, Dina Gilio-Whitaker exposes what's at stake for Native people when Indianness becomes a commodity. A sharp, personal, and urgent look at the high cost for actual Native people in a system built to exploit them at every turn."
–Kim TallBear, author of
Native American DNA: Tribal Belonging and the False Promise of Genetic Science "Dina Gilio-Whitaker's
Who Gets to Be Indian? tackles the problem of the commodification of Native identity at a crucial moment in American history. With incisive analysis, Gilio-Whitaker reveals how settler capitalism has distorted and exploited Indigenous identities and exposes the roots of folks pretending to be Native and its harms to Native communities. This book is a call to action and a vital tool for understanding how we can protect Indigenous people. A must-read for anyone seeking to confront the complexities of Native identity, sovereignty, and power in America."
–Liza Black, author of
Picturing Indians: Native Americans in Film, 1941-1960 "A fresh and unflinching look into the rise of pretendianism–when it became normalized for Hollywood to grant Native American identities to various grifters. Dina Gilio-Whitaker's courageous and original analysis will challenge readers, Indigenous or not, to think deeply about the nature of settler colonialism today."
–Darryl Leroux, author of
Distorted Descent: White Claims to Indigenous Identity "Indigeneity is caught between truth tellers and tricksters. With abiding concern for tribal nationhood, Dina Gilio-Whitaker boldly espouses our truths while confronting the tricksters among us. Indigenous America needs more truth tellers like her and books like this."
–Gabe Galanda, Indigenous rights attorney
