I appreciate the Paper Genocide site's disclaimer:
Disclaimer: Paper Genocide does not suggest in any way that every single person labeled African American or Black is a reclassified Native American Indian, some African Americans are just that, African American, just as some Hispanics and White folks are just as they are correctly labeled Hispanic and White.?
http://www.papergenocide.org/But I think a lot of wishful thinking is going on by non-NDNs, some who then seek things to confirm their possibly mistaken beliefs, rather than doing the actual research needed.
Jon Fowler could have a professional genealogist work on his ancestry. They would know how to evaluate primary sources, how to weigh possible evidence, how to view records in light of their cultural and historical context.
Many people have a family story of NDN heritage, and they get stuck on it, they won't accept other evidence, and they even claim that they are being persecuted. But a family story does not automatically equal fact. Genealogy research really can get much closer to the actual truth.
Census takers may make mistakes. They may base their decisions on their own bias. The historical time, how race is viewed by the governments and people, all this comes into play. A neighbor may give mistaken info. The person themselves may not report accurately, or they might not be heard accurately.
Some white folks lie on government records, because they can, for instance some claim they are "Indian" on marriage certificates when they are not. Buck Ghosthorse did that, but I found out that he had legally changed his name from Leonard Albert Mattern and that he was not NDN at all. Unfortunately he had several other adults legally change their names and then continue the fraud.
Jon Fowler could have distant heritage. If he does, even his mother doesn't know what it is, even with her own genealogy work. He wasn't raised in the cultures that he claims to be presenting and educating about.
I know lots of people in Fowler's position here say they feel bullied and abused by having their claims examined. This seems to be a belief that we all should value romance over research and evidence. Really it seems like folks are anti-intellectual - they trust the good feelings they get when claiming they are NDN warriors over any facts. We white folks have all sorts of interesting and even romantic stories in our ancestry, ideally we would learn about our own heritage rather then trying to rip off something that is not ours.
Fowler has put himself in the public eye. I think it is fair to say that he is promoting misinformation and that he doesn't know what he is talking about.
