Co-founder of queer Indigenous artists’ collective in Wisconsin is unmasked as a white woman

The co-founder of a queer indigenous artist collective in Wisconsin who claims to be Native American is being accused of being a white woman and has since resigned her community charges.

Kay LeClaire, who also goes by Nibiiwakamigkwe, also identifies as “two spirit,” which is a term many indigenous people use to describe a non-binary gender identity.

LeClaire has allegedly been profiting from the identities of indigenous peoples, according to amateur genealogist AdvancedSmite as reported by madison365.

He has claimed Métis, Oneida, Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, Cuban, and Jewish heritage, but AdvancedSmite he allegedly used records and online resources to find LeClaire’s true lineage: German, Swedish, and French-Canadian.

In recent years, LeClaire, who is a member and co-owner of the giige artist collective, has earned several artist stipends, a paid residency at the University of Wisconsin, a spot on the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women’s Task Force, and many concerts. and art exhibits, it was reported.

LeClaire declined to answer questions but provided a statement to Madison365.

‘Sorry,’ they wrote. ‘A lot of information has come to my attention since the end of December. I’m still processing everything and I still don’t know how to respond properly. What I can do now is offer change.

“In the future, my efforts will focus on reducing the damage by following the instructions provided by the members of the native community and the representatives specified by the community.”

The statement continued: ‘This currently means I am not using the Ojibwe name given to me and I am withdrawing from all community spaces, positions, projects and grants and will not seek new ones.

‘Any culture related items I have are redistributed in the community, either to the original creators and giveaways where possible or elsewhere as determined by community members. Thank you.’

DailyMail.com has reached out to the artist collective and LeClaire for comment.

AdvancedSmite, who is also of Indigenous descent, told Madison365 that they first learned of LeClaire through a Facebook ad for an upcoming talk on Indigenous feminism.

The talk identified LeClaire as Nibiiwakamigkwe, which AdvancedSmite said it found unusual because the given Ojibwe name is “typically something that would only be used in a ceremony or with other people who are Ojibwe or part of their community,” they said.

AdvancedSmite reportedly used records and online resources to find LeClaire’s true lineage: German, Swedish, and French-Canadian. They are pictured in his high school photo.

AdvancedSmite did some research and connected the Ojibwe name to LeClaire, which is “a common Native American last name,” but also saw posts on her social media that LeClaire seemed to often identify as Anishinaabe.

“Our band names are very important, so I tend to get suspicious when someone just says Anishinaabe,” AdvancedSmite said.

AdvancedSmite then reportedly used records and online resources to find LeClaire’s true lineage: German, Swedish, and French-Canadian, Madison365 reported, and reported its findings on the New Age Fraud Forum.

AdvancedSmite also provided information from its investigation stating that LeClaire, on her now-deleted Facebook account, LeClaire referred to herself as “a 20-something white female.”

But by 2019, they identified as indigenous enough to co-found the giige collective.

It was also claimed on the forum that LeClaire graduated from Hamilton High School in Sussex, Wisconsin, where they were known as Katie Le Claire, in 2012.

They apparently attended the University of Wisconsin and in the summer of 2018 married Hamilton alumnus Adam Pagenkopf, a UW research specialist, it was reported.

AdvancedSmite claimed on the forum that LeClaire worked her way into many institutions and expos and made money by claiming Indian heritage, but it’s unclear how much.

“It cannot be assumed… that Kay LeClaire is an isolated incident… the alleged issue is a long-term strategic issue,” they wrote in a subsequent email to Madison365, adding that people who falsely claim the indigenous heritage are passing on that false claim. to their children, who may unknowingly accept it, perpetuating a falsehood through generations. “It’s a fight for our future and identity.”