Award-winning Canadian author Thomas King publicly revealed Monday that genealogical research has uncovered no evidence of Cherokee ancestry, a finding he calls “deeply devastating.” The finding impacts the narrative surrounding King, whose acclaimed novels and non-fiction-including The Inconvenient Indian-have prominently explored themes of Indigenous identity and ancient trauma.King, a Companion of the Order of Canada and recipient of the Governor General’s Award, detailed his years-long investigation in an essay published by the Globe and Mail, prompting a critical reckoning with personal and publicly held perceptions of his background.
Award-winning author Thomas King revealed Monday that he does not have Cherokee ancestry, a revelation that comes after believing for nearly his entire life that he did. The news is particularly impactful given King’s extensive work exploring Indigenous identity and storytelling.
King, known for books like 2003’s The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative and 2012’s The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious Account of Native People in North America, said he was “shocked” to recently learn he has no documented Cherokee lineage.
In an essay titled A Most Inconvenient Indian published Monday in the Globe and Mail, the Guelph, Ontario-based author explained that rumors questioning his heritage had surfaced several years ago. This year, he undertook a concerted effort to determine his origins, leading him to the Tribal Alliance Against Frauds, an American organization dedicated to investigating claims of Indigenous ancestry.
With the assistance of a researcher from the University of British Columbia, the Alliance investigated King’s family history and found no evidence of Cherokee roots.
The 82-year-old author insists he never deliberately misrepresented his background. He recounts that his father left the family when he was three years old, and his mother rarely spoke of him, but had told him he was part Cherokee.
King described the discovery, made “a few weeks” ago, as “deeply devastating, although the word ‘devastating’ feels too bland.”
“At 82, I feel as though I’ve been cut in two, like a one-legged man in a two-legged story. It’s not the Indian I thought I was. It’s not an Indian at all,” King wrote.
King’s accolades include the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour for his 2020 novel Indians on Vacation, and he was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada in 2004, later being promoted to Companion in 2020.
He was previously recognized with a Governor General’s Award for his work that “exposes the harsh truths about the injustices suffered by Indigenous peoples in North America” and through which “this revered storyteller and activist challenges stereotypes and cultural prejudices, and fosters dialogue and reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.”
After winning the RBC Taylor Prize for Non-Fiction for The Inconvenient Indian in 2014, he told The Canadian Press: “The best I can hope for, I think, is that it starts a conversation that other people will have to carry on.”
“Maybe it will start a serious conversation about the state of Indigenous people in Canada. That would be the best I could hope for. And I won’t be around to see that. It’s going to be a long debate, and it’s going to take years before it bears fruit. You can’t have 400 years of government policies that oppress Indigenous people and then, overnight, change everything and wipe it all out.”
HarperCollins Canada, King’s publisher, told the Globe and Mail that they are proud to have published his work for over 30 years.
A spokesperson told The Canadian Press that the publisher has no further comment, and a request for an interview with King has been forwarded.
King explained in his essay that he had previously attempted to locate relatives of his father in Oklahoma, hoping to learn more about his paternal grandfather, who his mother said was “part Cherokee.”
However, a genealogist with the Tribal Alliance Against Frauds traced both that individual’s lineage and that of King’s “official” father, finding no Cherokee ancestry in either line.
King anticipates a “storm” of anger, disbelief, and feelings of betrayal, and says he intends to “sift through the wreckage to see if anything remains of my reputation and career.”
“I’d like to think that at least I’ll find a way to continue to support Indigenous causes and Indigenous artists, even if those causes and artists don’t want to approach a smoking ruin like me,” he wrote.
