Plex an indigenous Hip Hop artist said:
A very divisive topic among Indigenous people these days is Pretendians/Raceshifters. I’ve known it has existed for most of my adult life, but it became a bigger interest to me when I reached out to some of my peers in the music scene and asked about a few artists who self-identify. I was either told to leave them alone, or I was just completely ignored. As time went on, I noticed it wasn’t just the music industry and Hollywood that were affected. Students, authors, directors, professors, artists, etc, who stood to gain from claiming Indigenous ancestry, were starting to be exposed. And many, many more have not.

I’m well aware at this point, that even making a song like this makes me a target for Pretendians and Defendians. Many of them are gatekeepers within Indigenous industries. But this discussion is far too important and I hope this inspires more Indigenous people to carry on this discussion and explore this topic more deeply. I believe the future of Indigenous people depends on it.