Nathon Breu, UW-Milwaukee

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Nathon Breu is an Instructor within the American Indian Studies (AIS) department at UW-Milwaukee. He is 1 of 2 instructors in the AIS department that were protegees of Margaret Noodin. As a student, Nathon was involved in Margaret’s drum group “Minowakiing Chibizhiwag Dewe'igan” and was interviewed with her multiple times by WUWM.

Nathon Breu has made the following claims about his family:
-His dad is from Lac du Flambeau.
-He has an uncle "Ginew Makwaba" from Keeseekoose First Nation in Saskatchewan.
-He's Bear Clan.
-He has family in Northern Wisconsin, Canada, and the Oshkosh area.

Does anyone know anything about this guy?

Nathon Breu, Instructor
Teaches the AIS 105: Anishinaabe Ethnobotany: Plants in Anishinaabe Culture, AIS 203: Western Great Lakes American Indian Community Life of the Past, and HIS 262: North American Indian History to 1887 courses.
Teaching and research interests: Indigenous history, language, and culture.

Source: UW-Milwaukee: American Indian Studies - Faculty and Instructors
Direct Link:https://uwm.edu/american-indian-studies/our-people/
Archive Link: https://archive.ph/i6NpA
 

He thanks Margaret Noodin (aka "Giiwedinoodin") in the thesis for his Master’s of Art.

Thanks to…Margaret Noodin for being so patient and understanding when I was ready to give up. …Giiwedinoodin there are not enough words to express my gratitude for our friendship, your patience, and guidance. I would be another lost soul struggling to find my way. Gichimiigwech sa! …To all my ancestors and all the elders who have taught me, your knowledge has not been lost and I will
continue the struggle, we are not forgotten.

Source: Aninatoogoog Ezhi-maamwi-minobimaadiziyang (Maples and How We Live with Them) - 2020
Direct Link: https://dc.uwm.edu/etd/2465/
Archive Link: https://archive.ph/nK2Jw

Nathon Breu, a senior in American Indian studies, researches how the Ojibwe used plants for building materials, food and medicine. A former paramedic and of Ojibwe descent himself, he interviews elders and attends ceremonies in which the plants are used. Breu, a father of seven, plans to go on to earn his doctorate. “This area is rich in Native history and culture, which fits perfectly for me and my research,” Breu says. “I want to teach native history, culture and language, continuing my research on ethnobotany.”

Source: UWM Report - February 26, 2018
Direct Link: https://uwm.edu/news/undergraduate-research-makes-an-impact/
Archive Link: https://archive.ph/RFJwb

Transcription begins at 9:08.

Nathan Breu: (translated from Ojibwe) My name is Nathon, I’m Anishinaabe. My dad is from Lac du Flambeau (and) I live in Milwaukee.

Source: Divers-city? (Documentary) - May 21, 2018
Direct Link (Video): https://mediamilwaukee.com/special-projects/documentaries/divers-city/
Direct Link (Script): https://mediamilwaukee.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Divers-city-documentary-script.pdf

Transcription begins at 8:12

Tom Luljak: "Nathon, what nation are you from?"
Nathon Breu: "Lac du Flambeau Ojibwe"
Tom Luljak: "Okay. And that’s up north, right?"
Nathon Breu: "Northern Wisconsin."
Tom Luljak: "Did your relatives- did your family migrate down to Milwaukee? Or do family still live up in that part of the state?"
Nathon Breu: "I still have family that lives up that way. Northern Wisconsin, Canada, and also, um, in the Oshkosh area. So, I have family scattered throughout Wisconsin and Canada."

Source: Learn About UWM's 'Commitment To Serving The Native American Population' – December 27, 2018
Direct Link: https://www.wuwm.com/show/uwm-today/2018-12-27/learn-about-uwms-commitment-to-serving-the-native-american-population#stream/0

Transcription begins at 8:24. Nathon Breu speaks from 7:55-10:15.

Nathon Breu: I found the drum in the American Indian Student Services office and started taking it out and feasted it and started caring for it the way I was taught by my uncle from the Keeseekoose First Nation and with that and the help of Margaret Noodin we came across these songs…

Source: Native American Big Drums: A Performance & Chat – January 23, 2019
Direct Link: https://www.wuwm.com/show/uwm-today/2019-01-03/native-american-big-drums-a-performance-chat#stream/0

The following is the story I heard from my Uncle, Ginew Makwaba, from the Keeseekoose First Nation in Saskatchewan. This story was told to me by Ginew Makwaba in the 1980’s as I recall it.

Source: Minowakiing Chibizhiwag Dewe'igan (In the Good Land, the Panthers Drum)
Direct Link: https://uwm.edu/eqi/minowakiing-chibizhiwag-deweigan/
Direct Link (PDF): https://uwm.edu/eqi/wp-content/uploads/sites/130/2018/04/Minowakiing-Chibizhiwag-Deweigan.pdf

Transcription begins at 0:23.

Nathon Breu: "So, my name is Nathon. I am -uh- I'm from the Bear Clan. I'm- my family is originally from Lac du Flambeau, and I currently reside in the Milwaukee area."

Source: YouTube “2020 Research Intern Presentations Nathon Breu” Great Lakes Narch* - November 23, 2020
Direct Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpA3No_lu-Q

*The Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council (GLITC) Native American Research Center for Health (NARCH) internship program uses self-identification.

Profiles of previous student research participants and their projects during 2016 – 2017
Student: Nathan Breu
UWM area of study: B.A., American Indian Studies Major
Identity: Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians
Research Title: Ninaandagikenimaanaanig Zaagigiig: A survey of current plant use by Wisconsin Ojibwe tribes.
Project summary: Interviewed 10 elders about traditional uses of plants, cultural interpretations and language use in the environment.
Project Advisor: Dr. Cary Miller, UWM
Research Impact: Presentation at Algonquian Conference (2017), McNair Scholar
Key Words: American Indians, Ethnobotany, Anishinaabemowin language

Profiles of previous student research participants and their projects during 2017 – 2018
Student: Nathan Breu
UWM area of study: B.A., American Indian Studies Major (awarded 2018)
Identity: Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians
Research Title: Minowaki Chibizhiwag Dewei’igan: In the Good Land, the Panthers Drum
Project Summary: Documentation about the creation, history, and legacy of Panthers Drum by Buck Martin.
Project Advisor: Dr. Margaret Noodin, UWM
Research Impact: Accepted into Graduate School, Master's Program in History, AOP Recipient (2018-2021)
Key Words: Native American Drum, Indigenous Music, Ethnobotany, Anishinaabemowin language

Source: Electa Quinney Institute – Student Research
Direct Link: https://uwm.edu/eqi/research/student-research/
Archive Link: https://archive.ph/1N4nV

[Advanced Smite]

This post contains a Paternal Genealogy Summary and Maternal Genealogy Summary for Nathon Troy Breu. The genealogy summary format focuses on the most important pieces of information for each generation. Supporting documentation (birth and death records, marriage registrations, censuses, etc.) will be posted separately after all summaries and conclusions have been shared.


PATERNAL GENEALOGY SUMMARY

Nathon Troy Breu
B: 197X - Wisconsin, USA
D: Living

FATHER
Robert Raymond Breu (GERMAN ANCESTRY)
B: 195X - Wisconsin, USA
D: Living

PATERNAL GRANDPARENTS
William John Breu (GERMAN ANCESTRY)
B: 26 Jul 1919 - Auburndale, Wood, Wisconsin, USA
D: 18 Dec 2014 - Arpin, Wood, Wisconsin, USA
Dorothy Louise Blessing (GERMAN ANCESTRY)
B: 17 Sep 1920 - Joliet, Will, Illinois, USA
D: 31 Aug 2010 - Arpin, Wood, Wisconsin, USA

GREAT-GRANDPARENTS
Joseph Carl Breu  (MOTHER AND PATERNAL GRANDPARENTS BORN IN GERMANY)
B: 6 Jun 1892 - Auburndale, Wood, Wisconsin, USA
D: 19 Mar 1975 - Abbotsford, Clark, Wisconsin, USA
Josephine Augusta Bruckert (GRANDPARENTS BORN IN GERMANY)
B: 9 Aug 1894 - Marshfield, Wood, Wisconsin, USA
D: 12 Oct 1942 - Marshfield, Wood, Wisconsin, USA

GREAT-GRANDPARENTS
George John Blessing II  (FATHER AND MATERNAL GRANDPARENTS BORN IN GERMANY)
B: 1 Jan 1889 - Chicago, Cook, Illinois, USA
D: 13 Oct 1969 - Port Washington, Ozaukee, Wisconsin, USA
Emma Louisa Jung (FATHER AND MATERNAL GRANDPARENTS BORN IN GERMANY)
B: 16 Feb 1889 - Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
D: 7 Dec 1967 - Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, USA

PATERNAL GENEALOGY CONCLUSION
In my opinion, based on publicly available information, Nathon Troy Breu's paternal ancestors immigrated from Germany in the mid-1800s. All records reviewed indicate Nathon's paternal ancestors exclusively identified as "White" and didn't live with/or near the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians as previously claimed by Nathon.


MATERNAL GENEALOGY SUMMARY

Nathon Troy Breu
B: 197X - Wisconsin, USA
D: Living

MOTHER
Barbara Jean Rudie* (NORWEGIAN, SWEDISH, AND PORTUGESE ANCESTRY)
B: 195X - Hardin County, Kentucky, USA
D: Living

MATERNAL GRANDPARENTS
Eldon Norwood Rudie (NORWEGIAN ANCESTRY)
B: 30 Dec 1909 - Port Townsend, Jefferson, Washington, USA
D: 23 Mar 1992 - Wood County, Wisconsin, USA
Vella Evelyn Price (SWEDISH AND PORTUGESE ANCESTRY)
B: 19 Jul 1910 - North Dakota, USA
D: 13 Mar 1996 - Clark County, Wisconsin, USA

GREAT-GRANDPARENTS
Rudolph Cornelius Rudie (PARENTS BORN IN NORWAY)
B: 23 Jun 1884 - Shawano County, Wisconsin, USA
D: 22 Aug 1972 - Hennepin County, Minnesota, USA
Annette Marie Evenson (PARENTS BORN IN NORWAY)
B: 30 Aug 1885 - Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, USA
D: 16 Dec 1963 - Hennepin County, Minnesota, USA

GREAT-GRANDPARENTS
Axel Edwin Price (PARENTS BORN IN SWEDEN)
B: 21 Apr 1884 - Moline, Rock Island, Illinois, USA
D: 26 Apr 1974 - Brookfield, Linn, Missouri, USA
Della L Baptist (MATERNAL & PATERNAL GRANDPARENTS BORN IN PORTUGAL)
B: 16 Apr 1887 - Jacksonville, Morgan, Illinois, USA
D: 4 Jun 1913 - Albuquerque, Bernalillo, New Mexico, USA

MATERNAL GENEALOGY CONCLUSION
In my opinion, based on publicly available information, Nathon Troy Breu's maternal ancestors immigrated from Norway, Sweden, and Portugal in the mid-1800s. All records reviewed indicate Nathon's paternal ancestors identified as "White" and "Portuguese" exclusively.

*Barbara Jean Rudie was previously "Barbara Jean Breu" and is currently "Barbara (Barb) Jean Stucki".


PATERNAL & MATERNAL GENEALOGY CONCLUSION
In my opinion, based on publicly available information, Nathon Troy Breu has German, Norwegian, Swedish, and Portuguese ancestry.

[Advanced Smite]

Like her son, Barbara J. (Rudie) Breu Stucki, has made inconsistent claims of Native American ancestry. I was able to find newspaper articles from 1986 and 1995 in which Barbara first claims to be “a native American of the Chicksaw (sic) tribe based in Kentucky” and then “a member of the Ojibwa tribe.” I can’t say whether “Chicksaw” was Barbara’s mistake or a reporter error/misprint. I can say the statement from 1995 about being “a member of the Ojibwa tribe” is consistent with Barbara’s current Facebook profile which says she speaks “English and Ojibwa.” I’ve never heard an actual Ojibwe person refer to themselves as “Ojibwa” and definitely not as being a member of “the Ojibwa tribe.” For reference, Nathon Breu would have been 10 years old in 1986 and 19 years old in 1995.

Barbara worked as an advisor to Native American students in the Multicultural Education Center at UW-Oshkosh. In 1992, ““Manitou Benese: Storyteller of the Great Chickasaw Nation” a dramatization by Barbara Stucki portraying a 17th century Native American storyteller” was hosted by the University of Wisconsin Center-Fox Valley. The title references a Chickasaw storyteller but uses the Ojibwe word “Manitou.”

I feel sympathy for second generation (unwitting) pretendians. At this point in time, I don’t believe Nathon is unwitting though. Nathon claims his dad is from Lac du Flambeau. He mentions an uncle from Keeseekoose First Nation teaching him how to honor the drum. These are Nathon’s stories…not his mom's.

Nathon was a McNair Scholar and an Advanced Opportunity Partnership Fellow. Both programs have similar paths to qualify. You need to be a member of an ethnic or racial group considered underrepresented in graduate education OR a first-generation college student as well as low income. Nathon's mom has a master's degree in clinical psychology from UW-Oshkosh which, from my understanding, makes him ineligible to qualify based on income because you must be a first generation college student AND have high financial need. It seems likely that Nathon qualified based on claims of being Native American.

Barbara J. (Rudie) Stucki Articles

Barbara Stucki, Oshkosh, is a graduate student at UW-Oshkosh majoring in clinical psychology. She is working on evaluation of numerous programs including the statistical analysis, training of Expanded Foods and Nutrition Education Program staff, teaching about Indians at 4-H Camp, intrastate exchange. Barb is a native American of the Chicksaw (sic) tribe based in Kentucky and has functioned as a native American adviser in Oshkosh.

"University Extension Office has 3 students as summer interns"
The Reporter, June 23, 1986, Page 3. via Newspapers.com
Direct Link: https://www.newspapers.com/image/270932277

The University of Wisconsin Center-Fox Valley presents the following topics in its fall lecture series:
Nov. 11 - "Manito-Denese: Storyteller of the Great Chickasaw Nation," a dramatization by Barbara Stucki portraying a 17th century Native American storyteller, held in the Aaron Bohrod Fine Arts Gallery.

"UWFox announces fall lecture series"
The Post-Crescent, September 23, 1992, Page 15. via Newspapers.com
Direct Link: https://www.newspapers.com/image/290466691

"Manitou Benese: Storyteller of the Great Chickasaw Nation" will be presented at noon Wednesday at the University of Wisconsin Center-Fox Valley's Aaron Bohrod Fine Arts Gallery. The program is open to the public free of charge. " Barbara Stucki will portray the 17th century storyteller. Stucki holds a master's degree in clinical psychology and currently is a staff aide/counselor at Towards Tomorrow group home in Oshkosh.

"Storyteller on Centertalk program"
The Post-Crescent, November 6, 1992, Page 11. via Newspapers.com
Direct Link: https://www.newspapers.com/image/290477647

"We don't have a real strong presence like the Oneida community or in Milwaukee. We're trying to strengthen the Native American community," Haynes said. But the association isn't solely for members of the Oneida tribe; it's for all tribes, she said. Barbara Stucki, a member of the Ojibwa tribe, said the meetings are a great opportunity for Indians to share their culture with others. "This is a fantastic idea and a long time coming.

"Group reaches out to Valley's Indian culture"
The Oshkosh Northwestern, April 10, 1995, Page 13. via Newspapers.com
Direct Link: https://www.newspapers.com/image/248186826

Supporting Documentation
The graduation announcement below lists the parents of Barbara J. Stucki as Eldon and Vella Rudie of Marshfield. Additional confirmation that Barbara J. Rudie is Barbara J. Stucki is that both the announcement (below) and articles (above) reference her obtaining a master's degree in clinical psychology from UW-Oshkosh. I've included the marriage record and marriage announcement for Barbara Rudie and Robert Breu to show that this person is the mother of Nathon Breu. The marriage announcement is also attached to the post. An obituary for Barbara's father, Eldon N. Rudie, is included below as additional support.

Former Marshfield resident Barbara J. Stucki, daughter of Eldon and Vella Rudie, 106 W. 11th St., received her Master of Clinical Psychology Degree during commencement exercises Saturday at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
"Receives degree"
Marshfield News-Herald, May 19, 1987, Page 9. via Newspapers.com
Direct Link: https://www.newspapers.com/image/267806068/

Wisconsin, U.S., Marriage Records, 1820-2004
Name…………………………Barbara Jean Rudie
Marriage Date……………25 May 1974
Marriage County………..Wood, Wisconsin, USA
Spouse……………………….Robert Raymond Breu

Mr. Breu Weds Miss Rudie

A 1 p.m. ceremony was performed by the Very Rev. Walter J. Dillenburg in Our Lady of Peace Catholic Church as he united in marriage Miss Barbara Jean Rudie and Robert Raymond Breu.

The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Eldon N. Rudie <unreadable> 100 S. Central Ave., was given by her father to the son of Mr. and Mrs. William J. Breu, 602 S. Birch Ave., during the Saturday, May 25, rites. Sister Julie was organist.

Appearing in an empire gown of organza and chantilly lace and a cathedral-length veil of illusion, the bride carried a bouquet of yellow roses and multi-colored daisies. Mrs. Daryl Herman, Marshfield, was matron of honor, and bridesmaids were Miss Marilyn Breu and Miss Coni Bohy, both of Marshfield. Their flocked empire gowns of dotted swiss were complemented by matching Camelot headpieces, which secured short veils.

Best man, Daryl Herman, and groomsmen, Tom Breu and Bill Rudie, are of Marshfield. Dave Herman and Dick Haebig seated guests while Jeff Breu and Chuck Breu were Mass servers. After a dinner, reception and dance at the Marwood Motor Inn, 1735 N. Central Ave., the couple left for a honeymoon. Upon return they will reside at 15 Fulton, Oshkosh.

The new Mrs. Breu graduated in 1973 from Marshfield Senior High School. She was a Sarah Coventry and Amway representative. Her husband, a 1970 graduate of Columbus High School, is a student at the University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh.

"Mr. Breu Weds Miss Rudie"
Marshfield News-Herald, May 29, 1974, Page 17. via Newspapers.com
Direct Link: https://www.newspapers.com/image/267799619

Eldon Rudie Obituary

Services for Eldon N. "Al" Rudie, 82, of 106 W. 11th St, who died at 2:15 a.m. Monday at St. Joseph's Hospital hospice home, House of the Dove, will be at 11 a.m.
Thursday at Immanuel Lutheran Church. The Rev. John W. Schenck will officiate, Mrs. Nancy Losinski will be the organist, and William A. Allen will be the soloist. Members of the Marshfield Lions Club will form a guard of honor and serve as honorary pallbearers.

Burial will be in Hillside Cemetery. Pallbearers will be C.G. "Blackie" Marvin, Marvin Schlinsog, Ted Goessl, Ronald Guldan, Ray Ohlsen and Kenneth Kobs.

Visitation will be at Rembs/Kundinger Chapel at 4 p.m. Wednesday and again Thursday until 9 a.m. and then at the church from 10 a.m. until service time Thursday.

He was born Dec. 30, 1909, in Port Townsend, Wash., to Rudolph and Annette (Evanson) Rudie. He moved with his parents to Minneapolis at the age of 4 and attended schools there. He was a 1927 graduate of Roosevelt High School, Minneapolis. He married Vella E. "Peg" Price Jan. 20, 1933, in Minneapolis. After his education, he worked for several electric repair firms in Minneapolis. He moved to Marsh-field in August 1934 and, as an electrician, owned and operated Marshfield Electric Motor until 1974. He then retired and sold the business to K&M Electric.

He continued to reside in Marshfield after retirement. He had been in ill health since January 1991 and had been a resident of the hospice home since Nov. 14. He was a member of Immanuel Lutheran Church and the American Association of Retired Persons. In the early 1960s, he worked with the Boy Scouts, who were making miniature electric motors.

He was also an honorary life member of the Marshfield Lions Club and was its oldest member. He joined the Lions Club in September 1945 and served as club president from 1961-62. He had been a member of most working committees and assisted in the organization of several neighboring clubs. He was elected to a three-year term on the 21-man board of directors of the Wisconsin Lions Foundation in May 1971. He received the Guiding Lion award in September 1975 from Lions International, the first ever presented in the district He was awarded the Lions International's highest honor in April 1989, the Melvin Jones Fellowship from Lions Club International Foundation, an award given in recognition of exemplary humanitarian service.

He is survived by his wife; two sons, Dennis of Onalaska and William "Bill" of Marshfield; two daughters, Mrs. Everett (Mary) Crist of Spencer and Barbara Stucki of Oshkosh; three sisters, Mrs. Alanzo (Dorothy) Kindhart of Newbury Park, Calif., Mrs. Lorraine Fisher of Edina, Minn., and Mrs. Donald (Beverly) Youngquist of Palm Harbor, Fla.; and eight grandchildren.

He was predeceased by his parents and one brother, Russell Clifton Rudie. Memorials may be given in his name to St. Joseph's Hospital hospice home, House of the Dove, or to St. Joseph's Hospital Hospice Care Unit or to the Lions Wisconsin Foundation.

Obituary: Eldon Rudie
Marshfield News-Herald, March 24, 1992, Page 13. via Newspapers.com
Direct Link: https://www.newspapers.com/image/267933064

[Advanced Smite]

Below are transcribed excerpts from several YouTube videos not previously cited in this thread. Nathon Breu makes the following representations:
- That an uncle told him about being "cut and washed with bleach" at boarding school
- That he spent time at "[his] res" in the 80s
- That his family is from Lac du Flambeau

There is no evidence Nathon or his family lived at Lac du Flambeau in the 80s or at any other time. There is ample evidence that Nathon's father lived in Omro, WI and his mother lived in Oshkosh, WI throughout the 1980s. Despite talking about a rundown reservation school, Nathon went to school in Omro and Oshkosh. Omro and Oshkosh are approximately 11 miles (17 minute drive) apart. Lac du Flambeau is approximately 182 miles (3 hour drive) away from the Omro/Oshkosh area. He has 6 paternal uncles and 2 maternal uncles. I'm not sure how I would find any of them in Native American boarding school records because they aren't Native American. 

Nathon has made very specific claims. It shouldn't be difficult to answer the following questions:
- Who is his uncle?
- What reservation? Lac du Flambeau? What family live/lived there?

Transcription starts at 6:12.
Nathon Breu: That's when we- - you see these boarding schools start to rise. Where our Indian children were taken into and sent to boarding schools. Usually far away from their home so they couldn't run away or find their way back. Um- and then -there's-  that's where all these atrocities happen -of- of our children being beaten -and- and washed with lye. And my uncle tells tell stories of how they were cut and they were washed with bleach to get rid of their fleas and lice. And -um- they were beaten any time they spoke their language or tried practicing their- - their- - their religious beliefs.

Transcription starts at 32:11.
Nathon Breu: So, if you think back to -to- the 80s -um- when I was up -up- at -uh- my res, for example, everything was -run down- run down. All the buildings were run down. The -the- school was like a little shack and what (sic) these casinos now, that they have a beautiful big school, and they're putting it back
-that money back- into the community. So, which -you know- to bring a full circle that's how we see more autonomy of -with- these communities because they have had -that- the funds to -to- do it. To fight -um- these battles in court as opposed to -uh- again like the Lakota Sioux that don't have the funds that don't have -have- much -uh- out there. So, it goes from community to community. Um- again there's some -some- communities up in -up in- Canada that don't have -have- -uh- have the same autonomy as we do because they don't have the money to -to- fight for their -their- autonomy because that's what it comes down to. I mean- we didn't just get this autonomy. We had -we've had- to fight for it. Um. And suffer severe hardships.

Source: YouTube “Nathon Breu: Tribal Fishing Rights” UWM School of Freshwater Sciences – November 26, 2021
Direct Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTUWp0kThBU&t=1857s

Transcription begins at 0:22.
Nathon Breu: So, my name is Nathon. I'm -uh- my family's from -uh- Lac du Flambeau. I currently reside here in the Milwaukee area. I am a second year PhD student at the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee.

Source: YouTube “2021 Research Intern Presentations Nathon Breu” Great Lakes Narch – August 25, 2021
Direct Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQU7OtpneqU&t=53s

[educatedindian]

Nathon was a McNair Scholar and an Advanced Opportunity Partnership Fellow. Both programs have similar paths to qualify. You need to be a member of an ethnic or racial group considered underrepresented in graduate education OR a first-generation college student as well as low income. Nathon's mom has a master's degree in clinical psychology from UW-Oshkosh which, from my understanding, makes him ineligible to qualify based on income because you must be a first generation college student AND have high financial need. It seems likely that Nathon qualified based on claims of being Native American.

I was a McNair Scholar back in 1998. I remember the same requirements. But at least at that time they only accepted enrollment in a recognized tribe as proof of being Native. I'm not enrolled, so got in as Latino, Mexican, and all the other requirements. We do know the requirements keep changing. At the time I was in it, they accepted women as an underrepresented group, so there were a number of white women among the several dozen McNair Scholars at my school that year.

[ojib22]

Boozhoo, I’m not sure how much proof or information is needed to move someone from “Research Needed” to “Known Frauds” but I believe we are at the edge of the tipping point with Nathon. I have spoken with multiple people about Nathon’s claims and I want to address a few questions that were posed on the thread. I’m not going to use the names of the people who provided the information to me publicly but am open to having a private discussion. #1, regarding Nathon’s dad, Robert Breu is the biological father & has a relationship with Nathon. #2, Nathon’s “Dad” from Lac du Flambeau is Bobby “Bullet” St Germaine who befriended Nathon in his late teens. The two met through ceremonies based on Nathon’s then claims of being Chickasaw. Bobby “adopted” Nathon along the way. Bobby is a nice man, does a lot of work with kids, is from LDF and has lived in the south central Wisconsin area for many years, (none of this is intended to be negative towards Bobby) #3 Nathon’s “Uncle Ginew Makwaba” from Keeseekoose First Nation is actually the uncle of a former romantic partner; #4 Nathon did not attend school in LDF, his description of the old grade school as a ‘shack’ is completely inaccurate. The school was old and repairing/replacing old pipes and systems was not financially sound, but it was far from being a shack. #5 I used the genealogical info provided by Advanced Smite, (double checked family members on Ancestry.com) and then checked the Chickasaw Dawes roll for any surnames on Nathon’s mothers side and found nothing. That’s likely why that claim was abandoned for claims of Ojibwe heritage. Anyway, I have typed this on my phone so forgive any difficulties in reading. I feel it is clear that Nathon and his mother have scammed people for many years, and taken up space not meant for them.

[Advanced Smite]

Thank you for providing additional information and context, ojib22. It sounds like Nathon Breu showed up with a false claim and was welcomed by one individual based on it...just like his mentor, Margaret Noodin.

An interesting commonality between Nathon and Margaret is participation in their high school bands. Both played percussion. Margaret would go on to start multiple "Native American" drum groups; in one of which Nathon was an active participant. An actual Native American student at UW-Milwaukee questioned the handling of the big drum by one of these groups and was allegedly reported for harassment to UW-Milwaukee campus police based on the accusations of Margaret and Nathon. Allegedly Margaret and Nathon were unable to provide any evidence of the supposed harassment. Based on Nathon and Margaret's claims, the Native American student was allegedly deterred and/or prevented from attending a class that included Nathon Breu as a student. There is a public Facebook post containing these allegations. Although it's a public post, I'm trying to get permission from the former UW-Milwaukee student before sharing the actual link and screenshot.

The State of Wisconsin has a helpful website for looking up Circuit Court records (which are public under state law): https://wcca.wicourts.gov/. Nathon Breu (note the unique spelling of "Nathon") pled guilty to several misdemeanors and had a felony dismissed from charges entered on 5/4/2020. He accepted a deferred prosecution agreement that appears to have been completed and resulted in the dismissal of the felony. Nathon lists his race as "American Indian or Alaskan Native" which is incredibly distasteful behavior and evidence of the harm done by pretendians. Nathon (a white man) now has his crimes included in "American Indian or Alaskan Native" statistics. This is also interesting in light of the harassment accusations allegedly made by Nathon against the former UW-Milwaukee student.   

Post Attachments: I've attached an article from The Oshkosh Northwestern that was published on 5/15/1992 and lists Nathon Breu as a member of the Omro High School percussion ensemble. The other attachment is from the 1982 Chaska High School yearbook and shows "P 0'Donnell" (Margaret previously went by "Peg/Peggy O'Donnell") in the percussion ensemble.

I'm not sure how NAFPS administrators/moderators make the decision to move from Research Needed to Frauds. Can an administrator or moderator advise on what else is needed?