Fraud

Very grateful to have stumbled upon this series. The investigative journalism is thorough and sheds light on a largely unaddressed and rampant issue. Both of the hosts are engaging and work well with each other. I especially appreciate how Robert challenges interviewees, outlining clear holes in their claims, while still speaking with a level of respect and clarity that prevents them from fully shutting down in the interviews. This must take an incredible amount of poise and emotional maturity, given how incredibly egregious the subjects of the show can be. The reason I put this podcast at 4 rather than 5 stars is that the use of AI art, especially the music, is truly off-putting, the constant use of such an exploitative and derivative tool derails the entire message of the show. I would love to see more of this podcast, but without the use of AI music and art. Please consider supporting real artists and musicians instead, and if you are unable to do so, omit the music breaks altogether. It would be better to sit in silence than be subjected to off-putting and hollow imitations of music and art in between important and informative conversations.

The amount of times my jaw has dropped and my eyes have rolled is hard to count. Great podcast! Amazing music too!

I love the approach you have taken. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, your insides… taking us to understand such a serious issue about identity with care & subtitle analysis.

The idea covering natives and fake natives in prison is a great and important topic to cover. However Norman Larue is charged with brutally murdering a man….. and they barely mention this. Could they not find a guest who didn’t commit horrible murder? I think that using this guest clouds the narrative for me and I think the way that the hosts leave the extent of this murder unacknowledged makes it even worse. Regardless great show great topic I will continue listening.

Racist! Tell me why any race should get better conditions.

American non-native here. Absolutely loving all four seasons. Thank you for all of this. Just trying to be a stronger ally. Keep pushin, and much love.

American listener tuning in to give all the kudos to Pretendians. The biggest surprise I got was learning that “Littlefeather” of the Oscars was a pretendian! Love the insights. A little uneasy about the AI—maybe you can find a real life native musician or band to plug for next season? Looking forward to the next season!!

This podcast is super interesting and insightful. I love that they are bringing this pretending topic to light. I really like listening to them! I hope they do another season!

Its really awesome to hear fellow Natives talk about this topic, and to explore the nuances and difficult topics associated with it. Keep up the good work, and looking forward to a season 2!

Living in North America is like living on a crime scene- the degree of theft, murder, and trickery is staggering. Issues of sovereignty make issues of identity on this subject very real. The scale of theft committed when the producers use machine-learning-generated music is *NOT* comparable to the scale of what has been inflicted through history. This is obvious. But the fact that they don’t acknowledge it is very sleazy. If they would have, say, used machine-learning music and said “our music is by “___” based on the prompt “___” at the end, it would have at least indicated that their choice to manufacture racist AI generated powwowing tomahawking crackerjack jingles was a statement about the overwhelming scale of economic and cultural precedent of indigenous identity theft. But the show just slips it through like we wouldn’t notice. I wonder if this was intentional, because such a statement might accidentally humanize the guilty, because it indicates the crushing pressure of social and technological forces that convince people to turn to evil carpetbaggery. Point is, why not just get some friend with a guitar to cover some Redbone, for goodness sake.

This show is so thoughtful and interesting. Great approach to a unique and interesting subject. Please make a second season!

Fantastic reporting and presentation - absolutely shocking content - highly recommend - in fact I did recommend each episode on FB and instagram which I don’t do for most shows.

Great show

Thank you for educating! Loved every episode. And thanks for telling me why I thought I was descendent from a “Native American princess” until I was about 12. Please less AI art/music 💕

...instant classic, cant wait for a new season!

Love Angel’s frank candor & both hosts take care to be thoughtful. The use of AI songs is hilarious for the irony but ultimately a lil dangerous/lazy but besides that 10/10, I couldn’t get enough!

I learned so much from this podcast. I knew someone in my youth who would assume different ethnic identities. I thought it was just an eccentricity but now I realize it affects the assumed culture, too. Well worth an in depth listen

I learned so much from this podcast, even though I was already familiar with the concept and some of the high profile offenders. As a professor of American art, podcasts like this are indispensable in helping me to unlearn and relearn so much of the history of N. America. I binged all available episodes and really hope there is a season 2. Would love to see the hosts dig into the art world and help us navigate the rumors as well as the outing of several prominent artists who claim Native identities. Thank you. Your podcast is informative, fair, empathetic, and entertaining.

Love the show but find the use of Ai music segments highly disappointing. I hope they reconsider the use of Ai music.

Thanks for telling us your story, your truth, your life! As a Lumbee I know our story must be told as well! Or maybe it’s just another story of the indigenous getting used, abused, stepped on and stepped over by the whites. Anyway love your work!

As a white European I really appreciated the information in this very well done podcast. Thank you for your hard and diligent work!

just a mix of trump propaganda & woke identity politics victim complex and a boring over emphasis on a handful of cultures that should be forgotten in short two ppl on the worst side of every take

This is a terrific show: great reporting and amusing story telling. However I hope the hosts appreciate the irony of AG-1 as a sponsor. Athletic greens is a known scam with zero evidence to support the claims of the supplement. It should be called Pretendigreens, then it would be 5 stars.

Great show, i learned so much about Pretendians. Funny and informative I recommend

Accidentally stumbled upon this & listened to Episode 1. The ‘my Grandma was Cherokee’ always gets an eyebrow raise from me & my husband. Dee Browns daughter taught us this years ago. The hosts are fantastic, funny & real. Absolutely loved every minute of it!

Important podcast, but I would listen more and rate it higher if Angel could curb her language a bit. Prefer to just listen to Robert. He is interesting and respectful.

Thank you for the serious journalism with a fun sense of humor. I’m a Choctaw citizen and loved every minute of it. :)

My great grandmother was full Cherokee but married a white guy. That was my moms grandmother on her dads side. Her mother had some Cherokee lineage as well but the point is my Mom was like a 1/4 Cherokee at least and she was raised with a lot of the old ways passed down from her grandmother. But we don’t pretend to be more than what we are. Can’t stand the liars. I’m so proud to know I have this bloodline running through my veins. ❤️ this podcast

I am always listening to podcasts- no tv, just podcasts. This means that I am am always looking for a new podcast to binge. After almost a full week with no power I burned through everything I had In the queue and went looking for a new story to keep me going. Joy of joys, I found this podcast! I am not indigenous, just an average American girl with ancestry back in Mexico. There is no reason for me to be as totally enthralled with this subject, but the storytelling and the educational factors are brilliant… This pod is very easy to listen to, and I am learning so much. The narrative style is not overly mellodramatic; cynical or jocular… hosts strike a perfect balance. Thanks for this great content. You are giving me so many things to absorb and consider! Bravo!

One of the most brilliant and important podcasts out there. No justice, no peace.

Great podcast and I’ve already learned so much.

I had no idea about nearly everything they discuss. The injustice is just so clear. May this stellar reporting lead to meaningful change, upliftment of native peoples and justice for those sociopaths who are pretendians and recouping of the land and benefits they stole from the indigenous peoples of the americas. Thank you for doing this amazing work.

My heart goes out to these hosts. Investigating, interviewing, and researching this offensive and harmful phenomena is one thing. Then to have so much humor and patience 😳. Amazing resource that all of us need to tune into and support.

I’m so happy to hear more stories from the native peoples stories. As a black person I get where you guys are coming from. Thank you for sharing

An absolute must listen, an essential for all non-Native inhabitants of the Americas. Polished and important podcast.

This podcast is equally as captivating as it is powerful. The writing behind the spoken word is incredibly eloquent, masterfully conveying the atrocities First Nations people experience not only in Thunder Bay, but across Canada (arguably native people globally). A must listen

…why we’re focusing on the rights of trans people (they’ve got rights), when the Highway of Tears, The Starlight Tours, the bodies of children, the unclean drinking water. We need to get our priorities straight as a nation. Question everything, elitists run the show, and they don’t care about any one of us, unless you’re one of them. Native rights to be truly respected is long, long long overdue. What an embarrassment as a Canadian.

The investigative reporting/journalism may have been some of the best I have heard. Though I did not know that these occurrences were happening just north of the MN border in CA. The racism and hate that the First Nation people are experiencing in Thunder Bay is unacceptable and disgusting. If there were a way that I could help I would. Not an easy listen. But you have to.

I’m sitting here in my living room ugly crying after listening to the last episode of season 2. Thank you for bringing light to such an important issue and telling all these very important and extremely heart wrenching stories of indigenous people to compel and effect much needed change.

Choose your favorite investigative journalist podcaster in your head. This is as good or better.

Very well done, succinct, and professional. In Season 1, Episode 4, I love that the podcast is not afraid to name the names of the judges and public officials that were accused. Also-have to make a note that the Constable in Episode 4 is disgusting-the fact that he cannot help but giggle every time he talks about the underage sex workers is appalling and should not be normalized. Nothing about sex trafficking with underage women is funny.

This was an eye opening look at what Indigenous people go through every day. I am a MN native and am appalled at what is happening all around us. Thank you for telling this story with compassion.

Thank you for sharing these stories and giving voices and a space to those who otherwise would not be heard.

When there are more cuss words in sentences than regular words I lose respect for the intelligence of the person speaking. This happened here and I deleted the podcast from my list. Totally unnecessary and unhelpful.

Thank you for sharing these events.. Hearing stories about the racism and blatant disregard of any human hurts to hear but is so important to listen and spread awareness.

This is excellent investigative reporting on an important topic in the guise of a true crime podcast

Katie Halper referred to you. Great work all.

Thank you for sharing this Truth.

I feel so thankful for this podcast as an Indigenous woman. It stirs a lot of emotions for me. My favorite part being the song at the end. I raise my hand to the creator of this podcast. Thank you.