UWinnipeg professor’s claims of Indigeneity contested by MMF, researchers

Maggie Macintosh of the Winnipeg Free Press reports that University of Winnipeg professor Dr Julie Nagam is being accused of falsely representing herself as Indigenous by the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF). MMF Minister Will Goodon told the Winnipeg Free Press that Nagam did not meet the criteria for citizenship with MMF; researchers Sherry Farrell Racette (University of Regina) and Cathy Mattes (UWinnipeg) also reportedly did not find evidence of Métis status when researching Nagam’s family tree. UWinnipeg Communications Director Caleb Zimmerman said that the university is taking the allegations “very seriously” and is “working to gain a better understanding of the situation.”