University President on Paid Leave After Claiming Indigenous Identity

Memorial University President Vianne Timmons is now on voluntary paid leave after igniting controversy over her claim that she has Indigenous heritage. 

Timmons, the President of a Canadian university in Newfoundland and Labrador, released a statement apologizing for any pain she has caused as a result of her claims.

The university president has stated that she never benefited from her Indigenous ancestry, and has also contended that Indigenous ancestry and Indigenous identity are not synonymous terms.

Timmons addressed the controversy:

While I have shared that I am not Mi’kmaw and I do not claim an Indigenous identity, questions about my intentions in identifying my Indigenous ancestry and whether I have benefited from sharing my understanding of my family’s history have sparked important conversations on and beyond our campus.

Timmons has claimed that she joined the Bras d’Or Mi’kmaq First Nation tribe around 2009 after her brother submitted their genealogy, but that she made the decision to disassociate from it.

“But then I looked into it on my own and I didn’t feel comfortable identifying as a member of a band that wasn’t official or as a member of a band anyway because I was not raised Mi’kmaw and so I removed it and never referred to it again,” Timmons explained. 

But public documents, including a CV, revealed that she claimed membership in the tribe in 2016 and referenced it as recently as 2018.

“I have been reflecting on this feedback from the Indigenous community, and I sincerely regret any hurt or confusion sharing my story may have caused. That was never my intention and I deeply apologize to those I have impacted,” she also stated.

Meanwhile, Timmons stated that she supports a decision from the university’s board of regents to host an Indigenous-led roundtable discussion on the controversy.

“I am wholeheartedly supportive of this process to seek Indigenous guidance and knowledge. Indigenous Peoples must lead this conversation and we all have a role to play in listening and ensuring their voices are elevated in the weeks to come,” the university president remarked.

Spencer Lindquist is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerLndqst and reach out at slindquist@breitbart.com.