NAFPS Forum
General => Frauds => Topic started by: WINative on August 06, 2016, 02:17:40 am
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I just ran across one of her books "Franklin Listens when I speak" at a reservation library. This book claims she was related to Ben Franklin and Skenandoa of the Oneida Nation circa Revolutionary War. She lays out her genealogy for both families.
She claims her great-great grandmother was adopted by the fictional granddaughter of chief Skenandoa who was living in Vermilion, Illinois around 1825. Claiming she was the daughter of someone called Lame Deer, sounds Like a Lakota family to me, and were living in a fictional Oneida village in Pennsylvania called Caskaskia, which sound only similar to Illinois village called Kaskaskia.
I don't see any topics on her here or online, but she seems like an obvious fake or fraud to me. She wrote several books as a Native American author but doesn't have any blood ties to any real Natives?
Here's her Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paula_Underwood
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Paula Underwood (married surname Spencer) was a white woman of white settler heritage. Many generations of her people were Quakers, including her father.
Paula's two adult children now own the copyrights and sell her books.
In her book The Great Hoop of Life, Paula claims that her paternal grandfather's grandmother Drusilla (Morgan) Underwood, was "adopted as a sister" by a mysterious woman. This mysterious woman gave Paula's family "Ancient Learning" to be carried down through the generations.
Paula claimed that she and her father were a "Tribe of Two" as he supposedly passed on this multigenerational responsibility.
Drusilla (Morgan) Underwood was indeed Paula's ancestor. As are all the other white settler ancestors she named.
Most everything else looks to be Paula Underwood's racist white woman fictional fantasy.
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Paula Lora Underwood born 01 March 1932 originally was named Priscilla Loramarie Underwood https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V2RD-5R5
Here she is in the 1940 federal census https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K9WC-3VN living with her divorced mother, maternal grandmother, aunt, and brother.
In 1940 her divorced father was living elsewhere
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K9ZJ-9RX
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Paula Underwood Spencer personal papers collection was given to the Library of Virginia http://ead.lib.virginia.edu/vivaxtf/view?docId=lva/vi00036.xml
Paula's daughter Laurie Spencer Roberts contracts with B.I.A.
http://government-contracts.insidegov.com/l/2784282/INA11PX91959
https://govtribe.com/project/u-u-psych-educ-psych-evl-for-red-rock-day-school
http://government-contracts.insidegov.com/l/2784955/INA12PC00478
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Here is an example of Paula Underwood's books used as primary and secondary education curriculum: http://nwindian.evergreen.edu/curriculum/learningstories.html
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Thanks Piff, When I read her book "Franklin Listens to Me," it was obvious she was not Oneida, or any Native American but being listed as a Native author and using it as a front to sell her books. I'm surprised no one ever called her out before? Her book was in a reservation library.
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She is extensively listed here, on a website about Native American Authors, prepared by academic librarians:
http://www.ipl.org/div/natam/bin/browse.pl/A347
(For website background, see http://www.ipl.org/div/natam/ and http://www.ipl.org/ (http://www.ipl.org/).)
An extensive overview of her works is also available here (another library website):
https://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n93058282/
Has no one ever questioned her credentials and credibility before?
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So far I've not found any other questioning of her.
I think Paula Underwood's books should be shelved in the literary hoax section along with The Education of Little Tree.
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http://www.schreiner.edu/academics/academic-support/cil/pip/about.aspx A K - 8 curriculum she developed
Her bio states that she herself was "not the member of any Iroquois nation". But it also says that her paternal grandfather's grandmother was the last "Keeper of the Old Things" for an Oneida community.
http://www.ecoculturenow.org/program.html identified as an Elder, Iroquois
http://www.learningpeople.org/historical_aboutpaula.html "Turtle Woman Singing"
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Here is a basic family tree someone has up of the relevant families: http://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Underwood-2473
The names to walk back in generations are Perry Leonard Underwood, Oliver Perry Underwood, Silas Dinsmore Underwood, Druscilla (Morgan) Underwood.
Druscilla (Morgan) Underwood is the main ancestor that Paula claimed was given special Oneida teaching stories.
In all census, all generations, everyone is listed as white.
Paula knew her actual genealogy, she used it in her books, her family history research was donated to a library, and I found a copy of her genealogy application to join the Daughters of the American Revolution for another branch of her family tree. She knew her people were white settler colonials.
Yet she claimed that she was Iroquois, or that her family for generations was entrusted with Iroquois teaching stories.
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To get a sense of Paula Underwood, watch the video on Youtube 'The Wisdom of Paula Underwood (turtle woman singing) Section 1", posted by A Tribe of Two Press. This includes clips of Paula at various ages.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-anDbq0rNOQ&app=desktop
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Paula's self-published volumes are available on http://www.tribeoftwopress.com (http://www.tribeoftwopress.com).
more information about Paula can be found at http://www.learningpeople.org (http://www.learningpeople.org).
information about Paula's educational program, including lesson plans, is available at http://www.pastisprologue.com (http://www.pastisprologue.com).
There are many versions of her bios and self-presentations around. They seem a little incoherent?
Paula, herself, was not a member of any Iroquois Nation; she was, however, brought up by her father in the “strong spirit path,” and taught to revere and respect Iroquoian traditions. She and her father considered themselves a Tribe of Two.
From that to this?:
If You Really Pay Attention
--by Paula Underwood (Sep 21, 2009)
When I was a little bitty kiddy, about five, my Dad began a process …
--Paula Underwood, clan mother of the Turtle clan, Iroquois nation
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Paula Underwood, in her book The Great Hoop of Life, a Traditional Medicine Wheel, claimed that her paternal grandfather' grandmother Drusilla (Morgan) Underwood was given special "Ancient Learning".
Paula Underwood stated that she herself was Iroquois. Sometimes she demurred a bit, saying she was not actually raised in an Iroquois nation culture, or that her people were adopted and then tasked with the responsibility of carrying teaching stories, stories that otherwise would be lost. But usually Paula said she was Iroquois.
Drusilla (Morgan) Underwood's father was Achilles Morgan (1772 - 1869) . http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=19329427 He and his family were known as "great Indian fighters".
"He was a captain in the Vermillion County Rangers, that unit defended against Indian attacks." http://jamesdavidwalker.com/morgan-list.htm
"a hundred men under the command of Achilles Morgan, an old Indian fighter' https://books.google.com/books?id=P2tHAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA90&lpg=PA90&dq=%22achilles+morgan%22+indian+fighter&source=bl&ots=DF83JF1WV6&sig=hEPQ6SFchMT9hAWsQEFCLvPqlr4&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwin7a24srXOAhUB42MKHWAcAZQQ6AEIJDAD#v=onepage&q=%22achilles%20morgan%22%20indian%20fighter&f=false
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A few of her articles are lumped together here. I notice that "her shamanic training" is referred to more than once:
A NATIVE AMERICAN WORLDVIEW
by Paula Underwood Spencer
Based on a Presentation to the Board of Directors of The Institute of Noetic Sciences.
Paula Underwood Spencer is responsible for one traditional way of knowing. Passed down with what she calls "meticulous care" from her grandfather's Oneida grandmother, this tradition contains vast oral histories, some related to the first settling of North America; an extensive educational structure, part of which has been declared "an Exemplary Educational Program" by the US Department of Education; and a specific shamanic tradition called The Strong Spirit Path. In this article she relates her Native American educational and shamanic trainings to Western science.
My emphasis. I certainly missed that "shamanic" piece of the puzzle to better clarify what her endeavors consist of.
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Sparks, I very much agree with your observation that Paula Underwood was incoherent.
In Noetic Sciences Review, Summer 1990, she wrote that when you talk to Native American people, you need to understand that their languages are much more focused on verbs than English is. She wrote that Hopi have no nouns. She claimed that it is agonizing for Native people to speak in English. Paula also writes of a "shamanic tradition" that includes "Particle is Specificity".
She tried to prove distant Cherokee ancestry also. She wrote up a report of her efforts, it is very difficult to read, convoluted and in my opinion, nuts.
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Quaker.
Paula's father Perry Leonard Underwood was a Quaker, he and his parents and all grandparents are listed in the US, Hinshaw Index to Selected Quaker Records via Ancestry.com. I've worked back six generations or so from there, most everyone is Quaker, often in Quaker meeting house records.
Other researchers who have traced back further say these people came from England to Virginia. Lots of Quakers.
Paula's father divorced her mother by the time she was 8 or so. He died when she was 26. He was listed white in all 5 of the federal census he was documented in. And at least according to Quaker records, he was Quaker.
Yet Paula turned him into supposed Iroquois and one half of her "Tribe of Two" .
Paula Underwood Spencer also wrote a manuscript "Cherokee Ancestry - Crews, Ellyson, Elmore, Saunders and related lines". This contains garbled stories from many people who insist they are Cherokee. The stories include a Cherokee Indian Princess, many orphaned children taken in by kindly Quakers, straight black hair, etc.
I've figured out which ancestors Paula tried to attach this to, her people in the late 1700s. Quaker.
Paula says those ancestors were by 1790 already "well integrated into an English/Cherokee - often Quaker society".
Her manuscript does not contain anything to point towards even distant actual Cherokee heritage.She does mention in passing her supposed Oneida ancestors.
I think Paula's books and curriculum and stories are Quaker inspired. It would be interesting to compare her work with Quaker literature and theology.
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I should add to the above that Paula could have distant NDN heritage, I just haven't found any sign of it, even in other people's family tree work and historical accounts.
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Paula Lora Underwood born 01 March 1932 originally was named Priscilla Loramarie Underwood https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V2RD-5R5
Here she is in the 1940 federal census https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K9WC-3VN living with her divorced mother, maternal grandmother, aunt, and brother.
In 1940 her divorced father Perry Leonard Underwood was living elsewhere
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K9ZJ-9RX
In 1920 her father Perry Leonard Underwood living with his parents
Name P Leonard Underwood
Event Type Census
Event Date 1920
Event Place Des Moines Ward 3, Polk, Iowa, United States
Gender Male
Age 19
Marital Status Single
Race White
Race (Original) White
Relationship to Head of Household Son
Relationship to Head of Household (Original) Son
Birth Year (Estimated) 1901
Birthplace Nebraska
Father's Birthplace Illinois
Mother's Birthplace Iowa
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDM7-9V2
His father (Paula's paternal grandfather) Oliver Perry Underwood in that 1920 census
Name Oliver P Underwood
Event Type Census
Event Date 1920
Event Place Des Moines Ward 3, Polk, Iowa, United States
Gender Male
Age 47
Marital Status Married
Race White
Race (Original) White
Relationship to Head of Household Head
Relationship to Head of Household (Original) Head
Birth Year (Estimated) 1873
Birthplace Illinois
Father's Birthplace Illinois
Mother's Birthplace Illinois
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MDM7-9VV
Oliver Perry Underwood 1870 census with his parents
Name Oliver Underwood
Event Type Census
Event Year 1870
Event Place Illinois, United States
Gender Male
Age 7
Race White
Race (Original) W
Birth Year (Estimated) 1862-1863
Birthplace Illinois, United States
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M6W9-QNL
His father Silas Dinsmore Underwood in that census
Name Silas Underwood
Event Type Census
Event Year 1870
Event Place Illinois, United States
Gender Male
Age 38
Race White
Race (Original) W
Birth Year (Estimated) 1831-1832
Birthplace Illinois, United States
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M6W9-QNV
Silas Dinsmore Underwood 1880 census
Name Silas J Underwood
Event Type Census
Event Date 1880
Event Place Georgetown, Vermilion, Illinois, United States
Gender Male
Age 50
Marital Status Married
Race White
Race (Original) W
Occupation Farmer
Relationship to Head of Household Self
Relationship to Head of Household (Original) Self
Birth Year (Estimated) 1830
Birthplace Illinois, United States
Father's Birthplace Virginia, United States
Mother's Birthplace Virginia, United States
https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXKP-LWQ
Silas Underwood's parents were John Underwood and Drusilla Morgan http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=59848866&ref=acom
Perry Leonard Underwood is listed white in 5 federal census
His father Oliver Perry Underwood is listed white in 5 federal census
Oliver's father Silas Underwood is listed white in 2 federal census
Silas's father John Underwood listed white in 3 federal census and in 1 Illinois state census. He was a private in the War of 1812, Green's Regiment Mounted Infantry, Virginia Militia
John Underwood's wife, Silas's mother Drusilla Morgan listed as white in at least 3 federal census
Drusilla (Morgan) Underwood's father was Achilles Morgan: "They came from Virginia where they as a family were great Indian fighters." http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=19329427
These names all match Paula Underwood Spencer's stated genealogy. Drusilla (Morgan) Underwood is a main ancestor that Paula claimed was Iroquois, or was gifted with special Iroquois stories.
Paula at times referred to herself as "clan mother of the Turtle clan, Iroquois nation".
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Paula Underwood is very good at double talk. In her book, "Franklin Listens when I speak," on page 9 and 100 she explain her geneaology and Native American connection.
She states "Many Oral Keepings have been handed down in my family from my Grandmother's Iroquois grandmother."
"I was told my grandfather Oliver Perry Underwood learned all this from his grandmother Tsi li Komeh."
"Tsi li Komeh learned from her mother Lame Deer, before 1810 in their Oneida community Caskaskia on the Shenango River."
"Lame Deer heard this from her father Skenandoah."
"Drucilla Morgan Underwood called Tsi li Komeh "My Indian Sister". Born 1778 and died 1891 at 113 years old.
"Tsi li Komeh was in Vermilion Co. Illinois when the Underwood's arrived from West Virginia (around 1825)"
"She healed their daughter from an apparently fatal fever."
And was rewarded by being allowed to live behind the main house and teach generations of her family "Old Things" and was rewarded by being adopted by the family and buried in an unmarked grave.
Skenandoah or Skenando means Deer Oneida, and was an adopted Oneida.
He had many children but none listed as "Lame Deer." Only time I heard that name was a Lakota medicine man.
There was no Oneida community in Caskaskia on the Shenango River. No such place.
Skenando lived in Oneida Castle NY, located in upstate NY. His family left New York beginning in middle to late 1820's for Wisconsin, so not likely a granddaughter wandered alone to Illinois at the same time they just began arriving near Green Bay, Wisconsin. .
All this information seems to be made up and romanticized about this Oneida connection.
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Paula Underwood's daughter Laurie Spencer Roberts (birth surname Spencer, current married surname Roberts, prior married name Wallace) is a school psychologist "who has worked for 21 years on Native American reservations".
http://www.schreiner.edu/news/2015/news15-oct08-past-is-prologue.aspx
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Did anyone find a copy of Paula Underwood's Obituary anywhere? I could not
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I've not found her obit either.
She divorced in 1989, she is mentioned in former husband's obit https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/robert-m-spencer-library-of-congress-analyst-dies-at-83/2013/07/17/75a9ce1a-ef15-11e2-9008-61e94a7ea20d_story.html
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No obituary? I guess she was trying to keep her parts of fraudulent life a secret until the very end.
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"I profoundly resist the whole concept of 'authentic' - in part because anything that can be identified as a human tradition needs some flexibility of change so that it may learn and grow."
"The essence of being Indian, I would say, is to understand the Universe as a totality."
Paula Underwood (Turtle Woman Singing) in her book Three Strands in the Braid: A Guide for Enablers of Learning
In this book Paula identifies as a Native American author. She writes that her grandfather's grandmother was "a healer among her People, the Oneida of western Pennsylvania".
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Thank you WINative for posting about this woman. I think we here are the only place online with necessary critical review of Underwood.
Paula Underwood received grants, attention, and acclaim. She gave speeches at DAR meetings, at Unity and Unitarian church events. She went on book tours. In 1996 her Past is Prologue business had 57 "certified trainers".
In 1987 she headlined, along with Jake Swamp, the Friendsville Festival to "spotlight contributions of the Iroquois Confederacy" (Cumberland Sunday Times, July 26, 1987)
Here she is at a 1988 event
http://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/12/us/washington-talk-briefing-the-first-constitution.html
Her tales of her father's supposed lessons are so contrived. She alternates between her father talking homespun "honeychild" talk with outright Tonto speak.
A librarian friend paged through "Franklin Speaks" and deemed it "hideous". I agree.
Paula Underwood's main patron was Jeanne Lamar Slobad. Paula refers to Jeanne in the acknowlegements in "Franklin Speaks" as "Enabler in Chief".
Part of Paula Underwood's poem "Spirit Identity":
"I am what I am
As all things are.
My right to be what I am
Unquestionable
Though questioned."
Paula Underwood claimed she taught "an ancient Native American methodology for learning, organization, and health".
Her daughter Laurie (Spencer) Roberts knows her family are white settlers http://www.wikitree.com/genealogy/Spencer-Family-Tree-9918 yet she continues with the family hoax business of book selling and workshops.
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Paula Underwood contradicted herself often. In "Franklin Speaks" pg 95 is both "Fundamental accuracy is considered essential" and "From my perspective, it wasn't important whether Tsilikomah was Skenandoah's daughter or grand-daughter or even if she were a direct descendant.".
I'd wondered if there would be a strong Quaker influence in her stories, but actually the main themes are pretendian. She took her own actual genealogy, some history, modern psychology beliefs, and threw in lots of pretendian.
She said about her father's teachings: "In Western culture this is referred to as the Socratic method.".
In "Franklin Speaks" she says her Quaker paternal grandmother told her a story about a white ancestor John Howland. Paula says she later met someone else that knew this story and that this story shared shows specialness.
But the story of John Howland being saved from drowning is from "Bradford's history of the Plymouth settlement" from the late 1800s. It was eventually translated into modern English. Most anyone reading up on John Howland would come across this story.
Paula Underwood, a white woman, benefited from playing pretendian. She presented herself as a special individual, with special ancient knowledge.