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Siobhan Marks Our Grandmothers Strap Dress

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educatedindian:

--- Quote from: Waubizee on January 12, 2023, 03:31:28 pm ---I wrote this to the moderator last year, but was having difficulty figuring out how to post. I have copies of all the genealogical information on Siobhan. Yes, I am quite aware that she did not grow up with a strong Anishinaabe identity or connections to LCO, but was able to confirm she has Anishinaabe ancestry (in the late 1800s, which is much more current than many of the claims others are making to ancestry that go back to the 1600s).  I don't regard Siobhan as a "cultural expert" and have never seen her "ride roughshod" against anyone. Even if she does/did, that does not negate her rightful claim to having Anishinaabe ancestry, I know/have known quite a few Anishinaabe people with public profiles with whom I disagree on their presentation/teaching-perspectives/treatment of others, but I wouldn't use my personal opinion of them to question their lineage. It is up to the Anishinaabe community who look to her to decide whether or not they respect her contributions to their cultural initiatives, is it not? Also, Siobhan and Mark do a lot of work together as a couple, and I've yet to hear that anyone questions Mark's legitimacy as a culturally-knowledgable person.


--- End quote ---

I have to come in here and point out my own failure on this. I just now checked old messages and found the email exchange between us.

I confirm you wrote several times about not being able to post and I passed along the tech problem to the other mods. As has already been mentioned, our tech problems got far worse. But I did not think to post the genealogy you sent me. I did not ask to either.

To all reading this, one reason SM has never been moved to Frauds is not just because there's been conflicting accounts of her genealogy. This forum was originally aimed solely at frauds who pose as medicine people or "shamans." Later we included anyone posing as Native who benefitted from the falsehood.

Never do we go after someone who just repeated what they were falsely believed, or taught as family stories. They must gain something from it. A good recent example is Marie Cruz who called herself Sacheen Littlefeather. She made up the name and posed as Yaqui, which is as common among Mexicans as Cherokee claims are among whites. Except for two small roles in exploitation films, there was no other benefit to her. She spent her life establishing theaters and hospices. I think because she was doing good, the many people who knew of her falsehoods, not just family, never came forward.

Has SM ever benefitted from the alleged lack of ancestry? Is it OK if she calls herself a descendant and continues her work? Those are questions for all involved.

WINative:
We neglected to go that far back in Siobhan Marks family tree here, so her great-great-great grandmother Madeline was listed as an Indian in 1885 being born in 1802. So that would make Siobhan Marks at most 1/32 Ojibwe ancestry. Which is very distant, since there’s jokes about even great grandmothers being Indian princesses.
Since Madeline married a white man as did all of her descendants and they all identified as white from thereafter, and do not appear on any Indian Census records. All her ancestors have lived in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin which is over 90% white on every census, and Siobhan herself has lived in Muskego since at least 1996, a suburb of Milwaukee in Waukesha County with a population of 97% white in the last census. She has no ties to the Milwaukee Native community, and her family and lodge are many hours drive away from where she does her business and extracts resources, so they cannot censure her effectively, nor have the right to advance her claims over other Indigenous people who are enrolled and connected to their nations.
The Three Fires Midewiwin Lodge has a right to set their membership levels at wherever they choose, if it’s under a “One Drop Rule,” that’s their right, but all other Indigenous communities and Native people have a right to consider 1/32 not enough blood quantum for leadership or cultural positions. Each community and person can set their own standards and Three Fires cannot force her membership with them on other Native people.  If they choose to condone her behavior and actions, and still speak out and defend her, then they bear part of the responsibility as well.
Siobhan Marks acting as a Gatekeeper for the Indian Community School, Gerald Ignace Indian Health Clinic, and Spotted Eagle Inc. is not acceptable to me or appropriate based on her background. She is occupying important positions of power in the Milwaukee Native community, in which she does not have the background, experience, or right to occupy. She has given cultural teachings, and pushed Native people out of their jobs, decided who got hired or fired, and made others uncomfortable while choosing others for opportunities who are close to her or belong the Three Fires as well, all while hanging on this very distant connection to her families past to justify it all. She has re-written community history that she has taken no part in with inaccurate information and sources, in order to be the media spokesperson for the Milwaukee Native community. She has lived with white privilege all her life, so this must allow her to feel she can go anywhere and takeover a community space she is unfamiliar with.
The greatest weakness of an Urban Native community is allowing people to self-identify and accepting everyone at their word and not doing anything until the damage has been done.

Smart Mule:
Siobhan's mother was Mary Jane Smith. Siobhan's grandmother was Ann Jane Wright. Her great grandmother was Mary Diamond. Her great great grandmother was Angeline Corbine, born at LCO and recorded as half Indian on the 1880 census. Her 3rd great grandmother was Madeline Wasbakosi/Wabakosi who was married to Jean/John Baptiste Corbin/Corbine (and a bunch of other weird spellings). Madeline died in 1901. This means she directly interacted with Mary and Ann Jane. Ann Jane would have been able to tell Siobhan about Madeline's experiences as she heard them from Madeline herself.

Does this make it okay for Siobhan to ostracize members of the community as a descendant? Nope, it sure doesn't. It should actually make her more aware of her privilege in my opinion. She really does have a responsibility to those who are hurt by her conduct. Rather than send in a friend it would be nice if she were to come here and dialogue. If she continues to ignore the concerns of the community, it only adds to the appearance that she is of the position that she believes she is above actual urban community members. And that is upsetting to say the least.

I do have documentation showing that Angeline was clearly  1/2 but I am having an impossible time uploading attachments. If one goes here https://chequamegonhistory.wordpress.com/tag/john-baptiste-corbine/ under the heading {$180.00 Stamp Int Revenue U.S.}, if you click on the first blue box for Chippewa Certificate No. 228, it will bring you here https://glorecords.blm.gov/details/patent/default.aspx?accession=0377-179&docClass=CT&sid=qa4encts.oad#patentDetailsTabIndex=1 which is the half breed land script for Madeline and Jean/John's children.

NAFPS Housekeeping:
Relevant section added to above post; full page of census here:

Smart Mule:
Thanks for adding the images House Keeping!

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