Sisters investigated for identity fraud after receiving scholarship money for Indigenous students

Two sisters who received scholarship money after claiming Inuit identity recently were investigated by Nunavut Tunngavik Inc (NTI), where they were enrolled as members, for possible fraud. Nunatsiaq News reports that a woman named Karima Manji claimed that her two daughters, Nadya and Amira Gill, were adopted from an Inuk woman. The two sisters had NTI enrolment cards and studied at Queen’s University, where they both received Indspire awards. Amira also reportedly won HydroOne and RBC scholarships reserved for Indigenous students. APTN News reports that the two sisters have now been removed from the Inuit Enrolment List, and the Kingstonist adds that the woman’s oldest son plans to file a report with the RCMP to investigate the situation further. University of Saskatchewan professor Karla Jessen Williamson, who is an Inuk from Greenland, has called for postsecondary institutions to develop strategies to handle allegations related to individuals claiming Indigenous heritage for financial gain.