Author Topic: Cedric the wannabe Sunray  (Read 26276 times)

Offline Diana

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Cedric the wannabe Sunray
« on: January 17, 2014, 06:16:59 pm »
I have thought long and hard before posting about Cedric Sunray. I just want everyone to know that Piff and I did a ton of research on him and we have come to the conclusion that this person has no Indian blood what so ever. He is White. He is whiter than marshmallow fluff and has pulled off one of the biggest cons I have ever seen.

 Cedric Sunray claims through his father Chris Ray (deceased) that he is Choctaw and Cherokee and is enrolled in the phoney MOWA tribe. Now, we have an entire section devoted to that heritage club and have battled time and time again with crazy people who have come here to defend or claim some sort of association with these fraudulent people. Not to sound like a broken record, but the Mowa's applied to the BIA for federal recognition and were emphatically rejected. The BIA published their findings and had found, that out of 3700 people only 40 had some minuscule Indian blood and it wasn't even Choctaw.

Piff and I thoroughly researched his family starting with his father Chris Ray which he claims his Choctaw/Cherokee heritage. Chris Ray died in an airplane crash in 1978 his death certificate says white and his marriage license says white. His father Claxton Ray in all census records white, His father's parents Secular Claxton Sr.and Maude Ethel Ray nee Runyan white in all census records His mother Ola Gay Ray nee Cotney white in all census. His mother's parents Otis and Ola Elizabeth Cotney nee Gay white in all census records. As well as the great, great great grandparents. We went back as far as 1700's all white on both sides of his family. Actually Cedric Sunray has a very impressive family tree, he has civil war veterans to revolutionary era relatives. Anyone would be proud to have his family tree.   

Cedric Sunray has had his name legally changed from Ray to Sunray, to make himself sound more Indian. I believe he has actually learned the Cherokee language and worked for the CNO and Haskell University teaching the language under the guise that he was a Cherokee. There was a bad falling out and dismissal over his lies about his phoney Indian blood. Since then he has written prolifically about the CNO/Haskell University. The CNO in his opinion are not a real Tribe. His vitriol about the CNO is renowned as is his anger toward Haskell University

Cedric Sunray's writings appear in ICT almost monthly. He angrily writes about the same subject again and again. Always about some poor wannabe or heritage club not being recognized and how dare we real Indians not welcome them with open arms. He has written a manifesto on this very subject inter mingled with his own life story. http://www.helphaskell.com/CDIB_final_WORD_VERSIONII.pdf A little heads up about this manifesto/essay on steroids; it is the most tedious and hard to follow piece of dreck I have ever read. Even Piff had a hard time with it and we all know how smart she is. 

He is an educated man and I believe holds a couple of master degrees? He is also a teacher and has had numerous teaching positions with legitimate Indian institutions, but I believe he was eventually let go or left on his own after being found out about his so called Indian heritage or lack of it. Cedric Sunray is a prime example of how fakes and frauds maneuver themselves into positions of authority where they gain trust and credibility all the while conning real Tribes and legitimate Indian institutions. Any thoughts or opinions?


Lim lemtsh,

Diana

Offline educatedindian

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Re: Cedric the wannabe Sunray
« Reply #1 on: January 19, 2014, 04:11:55 pm »
It's very poorly written, no sequence or logic to it, bouncing around between at least 4 subjects at the same time. Buried within his rants, both at that link elsewhere, are a few valid points. There are several dozen unrecognized tribes who should have been recognized long ago, and there is some anti Black racism among some tribes, esp in the southeast. But his defense of so many phonies does not help him, and neither does his persecution complex.

One of the stranger things is his harping on some Cherokee not looking like what many think of as NDN looking. It comes across as anti white hatred, and made stranger that he does not look like what many think of as NDN either.

The 5 Tribes are some of the most well documented people anywhere, and to not have a single ancestor listed that far back is not credible. He also often claims he could be enrolled as Metis in Canada through his mother's side. Clearly that claim is false.

Offline Diana

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Re: Cedric Sunray the wannabe
« Reply #2 on: January 21, 2014, 07:12:14 am »
It's very poorly written, no sequence or logic to it, bouncing around between at least 4 subjects at the same time. Buried within his rants, both at that link elsewhere, are a few valid points. There are several dozen unrecognized tribes who should have been recognized long ago, and there is some anti Black racism among some tribes, esp in the southeast. But his defense of so many phonies does not help him, and neither does his persecution complex.

One of the stranger things is his harping on some Cherokee not looking like what many think of as NDN looking. It comes across as anti white hatred, and made stranger that he does not look like what many think of as NDN either.

The 5 Tribes are some of the most well documented people anywhere, and to not have a single ancestor listed that far back is not credible. He also often claims he could be enrolled as Metis in Canada through his mother's side. Clearly that claim is false.


Agreed, his manifesto is one hot mess. As for several dozen??? unrecognized Tribes who should be recognized, I disagree. Just because a Tribe may he have been a Tribe at one time in the past doesn't mean they are now. I'm sorry, I do not support descendancy or thin blood Tribes. This is why we have to contend with people like Cedric Sunray and all the white newage frauds. And it's depressing and exuasting. It didn't use to be like this when everyone went by 1/4 blood quantum.   

He claims he is enrolled with his mother in the First Nation Tribe Wabaseemoong Independent Nation. Piff and I still haven't figured out that one. We did investigate the mother and found 3 marriage licenses where "she" wrote white for race. He also says in his manifesto that his mother is white.

Diana
« Last Edit: February 06, 2014, 10:02:51 pm by Diana »

Offline Diana

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Re: Cedric the wannabe Sunray
« Reply #3 on: February 06, 2014, 10:17:45 pm »
Recent interview with Cedric Sunray, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTseLxGZZcU. That weirdo Darby Weaver who got banned is the first to post on this youtube interview.


Diana

Offline Real Ponca

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Re: Cedric the wannabe Sunray
« Reply #4 on: February 09, 2014, 10:55:03 pm »
   
Let me first state my interest in this fraud named Cedric “Sunray”.  My family are from three tribes in Oklahoma including the Ponca.  Mr. “Sunrays” wife is part Ponca.  We have to endure him at lots of venues here in Oklahoma.  You have done some research, but let me tell you, I have done much more not only on him, but on numerous other frauds playing Indian.  I posted about him once before after one of his articles on ICT [why do they let this guy’s words get published!], which as you mentioned are always about the same things.  My post was deleted after a very short time.   
I want to start with his name.  I was able to find out that he changed it when he was eighteen years of age.  That is probably about the time he caught “Indian fever”   This guy is from Key West, Florida of all places!  The history of the Sunray name comes from Europe, but I doubt seriously that he was trying to uncover some European ancestor when he changed it.  His dad also used the name in an article I saw from years ago in the 1970s when I was down in Louisiana at an Indian gathering.  Seems he comes from multiple generations of wannabes.  In looking up people who have the Sunray surname across the United States and Europe I see that everyone of these people is white!
When I first searched his family tree I found out like you did that his father’s family is all white.  While the pictures on the internet of his father may make people believe that he “looks Indian”, it is probably that his long dark hair and Key West tan have more to do with it than any Indian blood.  The picture of his father in the 1970’s wearing a beaded “Indian” headband makes me want to laugh. His father’s grandfather was a preacher it turns out who preached at some of the churches of the so called MOWA “Choctaw”  in Alabama.  What I also found out is the reverend wasn’t “Sunrays” biological great-grandfather, though he appears on the birth certificate.  The biological great-grandfather he gets his connection to this fake group from is named James Chestang.  He is the son of Jerome Chastang and Cornelia Weaver.   Baptist Missionary records from the 1920s show “Sunrays” grandfather Claxton Ray resided in the MOWA groups area in the 1920s with his biological father’s people for a time before he eventually went to live with his biological mom and father (the venerable preacher) who appears on his birth certificate. He was an only child.  Seems great-grandma stepped out on great-grandpa.  This research was verified to me directly by a member of the MOWA group when I made numerous inquiries as to how this guy was a member of their group.  “Sunrays” grandfather was one of the original ones to enroll with this made up “tribe” in the early 1980s.  I verified this by contacting this groups “tribal” office.   That is how “Sunray” is enrolled today. 
Now lets talk about the so-called MOWA “Choctaw”.  The MOWA are not a real Indian tribe and the BIA makes that very clear in the denial of their federal petition.  The William Pollitzer genetic study also makes it clear.  They are just people that are mixed black who were trying to escape Jim Crow by saying they are Indian, like so many other fake groups in Southern and Eastern Regions of the United States.  They are just like the “Lumbee” and “Chickahominy” and “Nanticoke” and other pretendian tribes.  I have looked through the Indian school records that “Sunray” has on his website.  While it is true that his MOWA do appear at the boarding schools as do these other groups I mentioned, it was more likely a mistake made by people who did not know better and allowed them to be admitted.  This goes for the other fake tribes on this website as well.  These records do show that the MOWA who went to the schools were listed in various ways as Choctaw and Cherokee.  It seems this fantasy has persisted in “Sunrays” family and the MOWA group for multiple generations.  Some bureaucrat must have bought into it along the way.  The records of “Sunrays” great-grandfather and great-great grandparents show that they are not Choctaw or Cherokee Indians as he claims to be.  His great-great-grandfather Jerome Chastang gave an application to the Eastern Cherokee Roll in 1908. 
What it states is  “Why were your parents not enrolled in 1851 if they were living at that time.  My mother Cecile Weaver born Weatherford died in 1850. Give the fullnames of your Grandparents on both sides and  [not able to read] wether any of them ever enrolled.  Fathers parents I dont know.  Mothers parents were Bill Weatherford and Nancy Weatherford born Fisher a Cherokee Indian [not able to read] died in 1850 about 16 days after my mother. None of my ancestors were slaves. I believe myself discend from Cherokee Indian stock from statement made to as child by my mother and Grandmother.”   
“Sunray” needs to realize that just because someone claims to have some Indian in them don’t mean they do and let’s be honest just reading how this guy claimed his false Indian heritage is a dead giveaway of what the final result was.  Jerome Chastang was rejected from the roll as were the many MOWA ancestors who applied.  Jerome Chastang is listed in records as both white and mulatto, not INDIAN! The same goes for his wife Cornelia and his son James.  “Sunrays” great-grandmother Maude Runyan is also listed as white in all records.  I did see one record that lists her mother Nancy England [“Sunrays” great-great grandmother as a mulatto, but I am not sure if that is the same Nancy England]  Maude’s father appears as white in all records. This part of the family is all originally from Tennessee and they moved to Alabama.  How the MOWA claim that Maude Runyan is a MOWA is beyond me.  I guess every mulatto that shows up in the community is made an “Indian”  The fake tribal enrollment “bq” that was circulated about “Sunray” shows him as ¼ MOWA.  To be on their “tribal” roll I found out you have to be ¼ MOWA.  It seems to me that this guy is only 1/8 MOWA and so he shouldn’t even be on the roll anyway.  I guess a 1/8 MOWA means 0/8 Indian, just like a 4/4 MOWA means 0/4 Indian.  How can this group even issue a “bq”?  That is my question. 
Now let’s talk about his mom who is listed on her marriage records as white as you mentioned.  She is from Canada and “Sunray” was born there as well.  His mom from what I have read in “Sunrays” writings left Key West for the sole purpose of his birth and then returned to Key West.  I have no idea of her intentions and as to why “Sunray” was born in Canada when his parents lived in Key West. Claiming to be part Scottish is probably the only true claim this guy makes.  His mother comes from a place called Port Albert from what I can gather. It is in Ashfield Township in Huron County which is in Ontario, Canada.   You can get information about the community at www.portalbert175.ca Most of the people in that region came from Scotland and Ireland.  Most of his mom’s family surnames are Scottish and Irish.  There are lots of fakes claiming to be Metis up in Ontario now.  These people are not like the real Metis in Western Canada.  I looked up the information of the Metis Nation of Ontario.  To be enrolled basically all you have to do is show that you descend from someone on Canada Census records that is listed as a Metis and you have to live up there.  You then have to state that you  are a Metis.  In looking up the records of Port Albert it seems that the matriarch of the place is a woman named Mary Martin.  She was the first woman settler there.  I found a book Port Albert: 150 years about the community.  [I think a newer version or updated version of this book is available on the Port Albert website for $65]  There is no publication date but it looks to be about 30 or 40 years old.  One caption reads, “…Stephen Martin and his wife Mary, a Chippewa Indian who died in 1889 at the age of 105.  The Martin and Hawkins descendants still live at Port Albert.”  It seems that “Sunrays” Crawford family who are also mentioned as a founding family throughout the book intermarried with the other original settler familys which include Stephen and Mary Martin’s family over the generations.  But we are going way, way back here.  Mary Martin’s Census Records list her birthdate as 1796!  She is listed as Indian on the 1881 Census of Canada.  She is listed as Metis on the Canadian Genealogy Index.  Her husband is listed as French in all records.  IF “Sunray” descends from this woman, he would be of very minor Indian ancestry as she was born in 1796.  Besides this she may not be a full blood and may be of minor ancestry herself due to her list as Metis.  I could find no other records of Indians living in Port Albert.  “Sunray” does not get his Canadian First Nation enrollment from Mary Martin.  The Metis Nation of Ontario has no record of his being enrolled with their more newly created organization.  The Metis Nation of Ontario did not receive any form of recognition from the Canadian government until the 1990’s and they are viewed cautiously by most Canadian First Nations.  “Sunrays” First Nation enrollment is another big wrinkle for him.  It turns out his white mother was legally adopted by a white mother and Canadian First Nation father.  Yes, the story gets stranger and stranger.  Due to the status laws in Canada, any non-indian woman who married an Indian before 1985 gained Indian status.  The opposite was that any Indian woman who married a non-indian man before 1985 lost their Indian status.  So “Sunrays” mom’s white adoptive mom gained Indian status through marrying her Indian husband.  Tribes in Canada can legally adopt children as band members. “Sunrays” mother gained Indian status this way through legal adoption.  Legally adopted children of First Nation members are not supposed to be able to pass their Indian status along to their children, but somehow “Sunray” received this very status from one of the Ojibwa tribes in Ontario named Wabaseemoong through his mom.  What makes things weirder is that there are Canadian First Nations today in Canada where white women who gained their Indian status through marriage are now elected leaders.  While “Sunray” may be able to get enrolled with the Metis Nation of Ontario if he moved to Canada, that organization is highly questionable like the MOWA.  Also, I have no definitive proof that he is a direct descendant of Mary Martin anyway.  At some point “Sunrays” mother parted company with her Canadian familys and moved all the way to Key West, Florida.  Records show she has maintained residence there since 1969.  She would have been 19 years old I believe when she first moved there.   
As far as “Sunrays” employment, I also inquired about that.  To his only credit, I could find no tribe he has worked for who would admit that he was fired for being a non-indian.  The reality turns out to be that he works contracts with tribes mostly in their language departments.  This is probably what makes it seem as though he is being fired as he moves on to the next contract.  Four of the tribes I spoke with said he has a natural ability with language.  Well good for him.  It seems he has a natural ability with having a big mouth as we all know who read his articles.  However, I did find out that he was fired from one tribe, the Chickasaw Nation, because of the articles he writes and his combative nature. “Sunray” has been convicted in tribal court and has had other charges laid against him in other courts.  All the charges deal with issues of assault and intimidation of others.  Cherokee Nation council member Cara Cowan-Watts circulated an email which said he is “aggressive and violent” and that when he was tried in a tribal court years ago he stated that as a member of a Canadian First Nation and a “state recognized tribe” that he couldn’t be prosecuted in a federal court operated by a federally-recognized tribe.  At the time that was legally the case but it was clearly a cop out.  It seems “Sunray” is only Indian when it is convenient for him and suddenly becomes non-Indian when he may suffer the consequences.  It is because of this that people such as myself feel obligated to post these truths and also have to keep anonymous for fear of retribution.   
So lets sum it up and hopefully unlike Indian Country Today, my long post won’t be censored.  Cedric “Sunray” changed his name to Sunray most likely to sound more Indian.  He and his father’s original surname is Ray.  Ray however is not even the correct paternal surname in regards to his actual biological descent.  “Sunray” is most likely only 1/8 MOWA and the MOWA are not a real tribe.  “Sunrays” claim to being Cherokee and Choctaw began with a fantastic story created by his great-great grandfather during his application to the Eastern Cherokee Roll in the early 1900’s.  This story was rejected by officials.  “Sunrays” family, like the other MOWA familys are many generation wannabes.  These same sort of stories exist in almost every group in the South and East that is of mostly mixed white and black ancestry.  MOWA attendance at indian boarding schools was just an administrative error that if it had been further studied would not have occurred.  “Sunrays” “tribe” has been completely rejected by the Bureau of Indian Affairs as a real Indian tribe.  The William Pollitzer genetic study shows that they are not of Indian ancestry and a new book by Professor Mark Miller called Claiming Tribal Identity also refutes the MOWA claim to being Indian.  The MOWA are mixed white and black people who claimed Indian to escape prejudice that was put upon black people in the south. “Sunrays” white mother may or may not have a minor drop of Indian ancestry but definitely not enough to allow for enrollment in a Canadian First Nation.  “Sunrays” mother was legally adopted by Canadian First Nation members and that is how she and he gained Indian status or enrollment.  In other words he is like the legendary country singer Shania Twain whose Indian claims were laid to rest when they found out she was adopted by her white mother’s Canadian First Nation husband.   “Sunray” is not enrolled with any Metis organization and the only one who he could possibly enroll with is very questionable despite their new found recognition in Canada.  “Sunray” is mostly white with some small black ancestry.  It is doubtful he possesses any Indian blood. “Sunrays” knowledge of Indian people and history has been developed from his degree programs of study and travel and marrying an Indian and therefore having Indian kids, not from any Indian upbringing.  He uses this marriage to further his Indian fantasy and attempt to gain legitimacy in the Indian world.  The many MOWA’s who it seems have also married Indians from legitimate federally-recognized tribes are doing the same thing.  I should also mention that “Sunray” [as he claims] was a student at Haskell Indian Nations University which can only be attended by members of federal tribes.  While I was able to get verification of his enrollment I could not get anyone to explain to me how he became enrolled in the first place.  It would seem to have been another administrative error.  One of his former Haskell classmates also told me he claimed to be part Cheyenne. Oh brother.
“Sunray” believes he has pulled off the great cultural heist but sadly his Indian story and that of his “tribe” the MOWA ends here and now.  For me it is a relief to finish this research and actually have a forum in which to share it.  It has taken a lot of time and effort not only documenting him, but many others who are perpetrating the same old stories.  I want to thank you all who run this website for exposing these frauds.  “Sunray” is just one of many.  I may send you more of my research on others in the future.   -Real Ponca   

Offline debbieredbear

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Re: Cedric the wannabe Sunray
« Reply #5 on: February 10, 2014, 12:43:36 am »
Thanks for your information! And no, we won't be censoring you. You will see few posts here that are censored. The few that are, are usually censored because of childish insults. I look forward to your further input.

Offline Diana

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Re: Cedric the wannabe Sunray
« Reply #6 on: February 10, 2014, 01:48:50 am »
Hi Ponca and welcome. Thank you for all your work we came to the same conclusions as you with a couple of exceptions. I'll have to go back and re-examine some of the records we went through, but I believe Sunrays grand and great grand mothers family came from Ireland on the Runyon side and we found no black blood what so ever. 

Good work and thanks for posting.


Diana
« Last Edit: February 10, 2014, 07:15:39 am by Diana »

Offline milehighsalute

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Re: Cedric the wannabe Sunray
« Reply #7 on: February 12, 2014, 08:15:04 pm »
good work ponca!!!

Offline Ojikwe

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Re: Cedric the wannabe Sunray
« Reply #8 on: October 15, 2014, 06:24:20 pm »
I was curious to see what has happened to this fellow... And the clothing company. Cedric and his wife started a clothing company called dinawo in canada. In the late 90's. He married an ojibwe woman from Wabaseemoong. That's how he was registered there.  Her roots are from there not his.. And most likely talking about his mother in law. I wonder if they know?
It's shocking knowing how much he has lied and I also heard the you tube video interview!

Offline Diana

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Re: Cedric the wannabe Sunray
« Reply #9 on: October 16, 2014, 11:00:02 pm »
I was curious to see what has happened to this fellow... And the clothing company. Cedric and his wife started a clothing company called dinawo in canada. In the late 90's. He married an ojibwe woman from Wabaseemoong. That's how he was registered there.  Her roots are from there not his.. And most likely talking about his mother in law. I wonder if they know?
It's shocking knowing how much he has lied and I also heard the you tube video interview!

Hi Ojikwe and welcome. I thought his wife was from Oklahoma...? Someone else named Real Ponca also posted about Cedric Sunray and his wife in an earlier thread. He's from the Ponca Tribe in Oklahoma and is not pleased with Mr. Sunray either. Here's a quote " Mr. “Sunrays” wife is part Ponca.  We have to endure him at lots of venues here in Oklahoma." Was Cedric Sunray married before? Or is this the same wife?

As far as I know here in the U.S. you cannot be enrolled in two Tribes. Do you know what Tribe his wife is enrolled in? This is interesting.

Lim lemtsh,

Diana

Offline Defend the Sacred

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Offline Diana

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Re: Cedric the wannabe Sunray
« Reply #11 on: November 07, 2014, 08:35:06 pm »
Indianz.com excerpted his letter to the editor: http://www.indianz.com/News/2014/015567.asp

Original letter in the Oklahoman: http://www.oudaily.com/opinion/letters_to_editor/systematic-violence-letter-to-editor/article_2fa53cc0-6551-11e4-8352-0017a43b2370.html

Hi Kath, yeah I saw that yesterday too. I don't remember if he has written anything about this subject before....hmmm. Maybe he realizes he might need to change things up for a while. He's a real Johnny-one-note with his vitriol of big bad mean Indians keeping out the wannabes and pretendians. Lol!


Diana 
« Last Edit: November 07, 2014, 08:36:56 pm by Diana »

Offline debbieredbear

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Re: Cedric the wannabe Sunray
« Reply #12 on: November 07, 2014, 10:50:09 pm »
Quote
In the Friday, November 31
Wait. WHAT?? November now has 31 days?? And he's a teacher??

Offline rsmith

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Re: Cedric the wannabe Sunray
« Reply #13 on: April 05, 2019, 09:26:47 pm »
I was just wondering if anyone had any more proof on Mr. Sunray's disputes on his Indian heritage?