Census data about Native Americans is often misleading
Perhaps no one causes more confusion and muddies the water more than fake Indians. We used to call them wannabe Indians, affirmative action Indians, Johnny come lately Indians, census Indians, among others.
They mislead the public. My uncle, Tom Godwin, an electronics genius, worked for Martin Marietta in Denver for 30 years. During that time he was the team leader for building the lunar lander, was the chief tech rep for the Titan missile sites, was the team leader for the design and build of the Little Red School House satellite communication system, and the team leader for building the $2 billion launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base.
But when the affirmative action thing came about in the late 1960s, somebody looked on his records and saw that he was Indian. He was immediately given the additional duty of identifying and working with other Indians at Martin. All of a sudden people who had never claimed to be Indian said they were. They thought it would help them with promotions, job opportunities, and advancement. Some of them were obviously not Indian. Continue Reading