White-Passing Natives
- Jun 20
- 2 min read
Updated: Jun 28
The following slides are from an Instagram post about white-passing Natives and specific behaviors. Those behaviors are based on white supremacy works.
The comments were a mixture of education, lived experience, and valid criticism. Someone suggested the tone of post was angry. And yes, I am angry when I see white-passing Natives who act in white supremacist behaviors, including being the only face of an Indigenous organization.
The comments gave way to other Native issues of identity. These identities being Mixed-Natives, Afro-Indigenous, Natives prejudices towards White-Passing Natives, and light skinned Natives, and colorism.
Which are all important topics that need their own post and conversation.
Characteristics of white supremacy behaviors
Here are some resources:
“You don’t look Indigenous.”
Many Indigenous people are told they do not look Indigenous or look Indigenous enough, and struggle with culture and identity for being “white passing” or not visibly Indigenous. This type of remark is often said in conjunction with something discriminatory or racist about Indigenous people, where the person saying the remark thinks it’s okay to do so because they deem the person they’re with as not Indigenous due to their appearance.
Identity and the Complexities of ‘Passing’
White-Passing refers to the ability to appear to belong to another group. This ability to pass is a privilege because it allows an individual to claim the advantages of a more privileged group (such as economic security, safety, and avoidance of stigma) and can serve as a form of self-protection when expressing one’s true identity could be dangerous.
