NAFPS Forum

I first became aware of this person through this Facebook post.



He also has this page which is a mix of Colville things and Lakota things:

https://nativelawinternati.wixsite.com/nativelawinternation/profile/nativelawinternational/profile

To my knowledge, mthe Colville people don't have stories about White Buffalo Calf Woman.

On 10/23/2019, Kai Pyle (KP) posted a series of tweets about their grandmother being a "Metis/Nishnaabe woman" with names of ancestors, locations, and dates. Screenshots of the tweets are attached to this post. I've detailed the most significant factual discrepancies below.

Quote"My grandma's maternal grandmother was a Metis/Halfbreed woman whose father had been dispossessed post-1870 at Red River and whose mother received payments from the Treaty of Lake Poygan in Wisconsin. She lived until 1934 and passed on her stories to my great-auntie Donna-ban." 11:57 AM - 10/23/2019

KP's "grandma's maternal grandmother" is Mary Louise (nee Krause) Keller. See genealogy below. In my opinion, based on publicly available information, the parents of Mary Louise (nee Krause) Keller were born in Germany. Despite KP's social media posts making it sound like they have extensive family history knowledge, claiming Metis ancestry through the maternal grandmother of Louise Ellen (nee LaPlante) Pyle doesn't work.

Where are the records that show Mary Louise (nee Krause) Keller's father at Red River post-1870 being dispossessed of his land?

Where are the records that show Mary Louise (nee Krause) Keller's mother received payments from the Treaty of Lake Poygan? This claim is especially bizarre because the Treaty of Lake Poygan was made with the Menominee in 1848. Does KP claim to be Menominee?

GRANDMOTHER OF KAI PYLE
Louise Ellen (nee LaPlante) Pyle
B: 1940 • Wisconsin, USA
D: Living

MOTHER OF LOUISE ELLEN LAPLANTE, GREAT-GRANDMOTHER OF KAI PYLE
Rose Catherine (nee Keller/Rosik) LaPlante
B: 3 FEB 1911 - Marinette County, Wisconsin, USA
D: 19 MAY 1981 - Brown County, Wisconsin, USA

MATERNAL GRANDMOTHER OF LOUISE ELLEN LAPLANTE, 2X GREAT-GRANDMOTHER OF KAI PYLE
Mary Louise (nee Krause) Keller (PARENTS BORN IN GERMANY)
B: 20 DEC 1886 - Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
D: 15 SEP 1949 - Oconto County, Wisconsin, USA

"Context: my grandmother has one Ojibwe parent from Sault Ste Marie and one Michif parent from Winnipeg. Why should she (and her descendants, including me) have to choose to be one or the other?"

This from a social media clip by KP that Advanced Smite posted earlier.

So, what tribal community claims KP? What community are they in-person active in?

KP appears to believe they are eligible for enrollment in a federally recognized tribe. Federally recognized tribes are self governing political entities, they get to determine their membership. As a Nation, they get to state that citizens must be citizens of only one Nation.

Many citizens of federally recognized tribes also have other Native American heritage. Being a citizen doesn't exclude other heritage.

One of countless examples is Jacqueline Keeler who is enrolled in the Navajo Nation and is also of Yankton Dakota descent.

So, KP needs to learn about the sovereignty of federally recognized tribes.

If KP is not accepted as a citizen, but has demonstrable heritage - great. Heritage needs to be backed up by skilled genealogy and ideally with actual community involvement.

Why is KP asking about this online? To me, they sound like an outsider talking at mostly other outsiders.

Quote from: Sandy S on March 28, 2026, 02:03:32 PMI'm struck by how much Dr. Pyle doesn't seem to know about their heritage. Or how to do accurate genealogy.

Look at how much Advanced Smite has been able to work up.

I'm following along with what Smite has posted and also what I find on Ancestry, Family Search, and Wisconsin Historical Society.

Dr. Pyle says they aren't able to find a great grandfather's birth certificate. But I can see that it is available for purchase online.

I think the main thing is that its time to for Dr. Pyle to hire a professional genealogist. This needs to be done without trying to prove anything other than the facts. One step at a time.

Maybe this is a case of family stories that are inaccurate. That can be cleared up. Dr. Pyle is motivated to "find" Native American heritage. They are trying to prove something that may not be true. Accurate genealogy doesn't work that way.

Thank you for all your work on this one, Sandy S. I feel like KP actually knows quite a bit about their genealogy. KP reminds me of Kay LeClaire in that they take real ancestors and modify their life stories to fit a narrative. I found KP's post about several Metis genealogy websites being gateways to raceshifting revealing. If you accept it at face value, KP is judging people asking for help finding documentation of NA ancestry. KP chose to create stories around their family with actual facts interwoven rather than honestly seek assistance or take accountability.

Another social media screenshot...

More social media screenshots...

Quick correction to my prior post. The full copy of the great grandfather's birth certificate can currently be seen on microfilm at the Wisconsin Historical Society. The Society is updating their online ordering system and it is not otherwise available at this time.

The Society does have an online index version of the birth certificate. Also available elsewhere.

KrazyKraut thanks for all your ongoing work, much appreciated.

I'm struck by how much Dr. Pyle doesn't seem to know about their heritage. Or how to do accurate genealogy.

Look at how much Advanced Smite has been able to work up.

I'm following along with what Smite has posted and also what I find on Ancestry, Family Search, and Wisconsin Historical Society.

Dr. Pyle says they aren't able to find a great grandfather's birth certificate. But I can see that it is available for purchase online.

I think the main thing is that its time to for Dr. Pyle to hire a professional genealogist. This needs to be done without trying to prove anything other than the facts. One step at a time.

Maybe this is a case of family stories that are inaccurate. That can be cleared up. Dr. Pyle is motivated to "find" Native American heritage. They are trying to prove something that may not be true. Accurate genealogy doesn't work that way.

Dr. Kai Pyle identifies as a Two-Spirit person. They've published research on Two-Spirit themes, from their own claimed identity as Two-Spirit.

Two-Spirit = "a contemporary pan-Indian umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people who fulfill a traditional third-gender (or other gender-variant) social role in their communities" (Wikipedia source).

If a person is not actually Native American, can they rightfully claim "Two-Spirit" identity?

If I was Dr. Pyle's student, I'd be concerned. And upset.

If an academic is trans and an outsider (not Native American) - that is what I'd want to know. I'm perfectly fine with that. That academic can publish on Two-Spirit themes if they are clear on who they are and who they are not.

Because Dr. Pyle makes confusing and flaky claims about their heritage, I'd not have much trust in their scholarship.

(Claimed identity: "Kai Pyle is a Two-Spirit Métis and Sault Ste. Marie Anishinaabe interdisciplinary scholar from Green Bay, Wisconsin" https://shekonneechie.ca/biographies/kai-pyle/ )