Why lie about being Native American?

So many people I've met in life have claimed to be Native American, or at least part, and they aren't. How many people have you met say they are part Native? A lot I bet... and none of them are. When it comes to this site, I put in a search for Native American women and far too many are obviously not First Nations. So why lie about it? I never understood why so many people claim to be a race that they aren't. Doesn't happen with any other race or nationality, but it happens in this country all the time... people claiming to be Native American or half native or whatever. Show me your Native rights documents and I would believe you. Show me your dual citizenship paperwork of the USA and your First Nations tribe. Really, Lame at best. I put in a search for Native American women on here and automatically way over half are off my list for blatant dishonesty. I know what Native American features look like, and the differences in tribes, I see those features every morning and afternoon. I can tell if you're lying about that, and most of the showcases are lying. Well, I mean we all know they lie about things but that is one thing I personally find unacceptable. Anyone else have thoughts on this matter?

Maybe those that claim to be native are from the NAVaHOE tribe.

Maybe those that claim to be native are from the NAVaHOE tribe. Originally Posted by bear1222

somehow I don't think that's it.

This gal?

This gal? Originally Posted by 44formore

Hilarious!!

Hilarious!! Originally Posted by EastTexasGrown

Yeah that got me to chuckle a bit

Good question OP.

The same reason blacks lie about being mixed... Mo money...

This gal? Originally Posted by 44formore

Actually yes. Her facial features match many people I know with Cherokee tribal membership. Though of course since you loaded that picture that was meant to make fun of her tribal claim I can only presume that you meant your reply to be ironic

Remember, many of the tribes, especially the "five civilized tribes" did interact with and intermarry with non-tribe over their history. Not every person with native blood looks like a character from a John Ford Western with a headdress and buckskins.

Having said all that, I agree with the OP that there is a distinct amount of ladies who identify themselves as something they are not, presumably for marketing reasons. Though Native is not one of the ones I usually think of on that, but if the OP is looking for that, it is probably a fairly rare find to discover the genuine article.

I don't know how much Native-American blood it takes to qualify, but I knew a full-on black girl in college who claimed NA status, had some tribal membership, and received financial compensation as a result. So basically, maybe many of them are Native-American, even though they don't look it.

I don't know how much Native-American blood it takes to qualify, but I knew a full-on black girl in college who claimed NA status, had some tribal membership, and received financial compensation as a result. So basically, maybe many of them are Native-American, even though they don't look it. Originally Posted by biggestbubba

Depending on the tribe, she could have been a decedent of slaves owned by a tribe up until the civil war. Part of the treaties with the slaveholding tribes ending the civil war was a provision that all of their slaves and slave's decedents had to be given tribal membership and all rights and privileges of that membership.

Depending on the tribe, she could have been a decedent of slaves owned by a tribe up until the civil war. Part of the treaties with the slaveholding tribes ending the civil war was a provision that all of their slaves and slave's decedents had to be given tribal membership and all rights and privileges of that membership. Originally Posted by losdac

Also, in Louisiana the tribes in the Gulf region were very hospitable and welcoming to blacks. With the creole influence and mixing of races a person's looks were only a vague reference to ethnicity.

In my dad's family story it is handed down that 3or4 times great grandmother was a Cherokee forced from lands in Georgia or the Smokey Mountains and march on the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma. I can't find a direct name link, they Americanized names and assimilated so well back then that some left very little trace trying to fit in. I sure don't look NA, but my dad and his brothers sure do now that you mention it.
Just my .02
MM

losdac,
No, she lied about being NA, among other things.

MM,
Same here in my family. Great-grandmother was displaced (moved to reservation) from Florida to NC. My great-grandfather met and married her there. Then they started moving west and ended up in LA. But, it was never documented, and I didn't even find out about it until a few years ago. Hell, they just didn't talk about it much, and damn sure didn't brag about it. In the white community, it was frowned on to marry a "woman of color." That's only really changed in recent years.

Shadows,
To answer your original question, I think that some folks are under the impression that it's somehow glamorous to be part of the original Americans. (and it is special, if you're really NA) Others think that the NA are "owed" by our gov't, our society, and all others who are not NA. They want to get on the "gravy train" too.
But it's not only being NA that some lie about. There's Rachel Dolezal, a white girl that got a 'fro, put on dark makeup, and claimed to be black. Even worked for the NAACP.