A note to our presenters, participants, and followers

We would like to acknowledge that one of the presenters in our Sacred Wisdom Sacred Earth convening, “nibiiwakamigkwe”, was exposed in January of 2023 for pretending to be Native (Link). We have edited their presence out of the video of the panel they were on.

We first learned of the situation late December 2022 when evidence was posted on New Age Fraud Forum (Link) accusing Kay LeClaire, who went by the Native name “nibiiwakamigkwe”, of having only white ancestry and lying about their heritage as a Métis, Onyota'a:ka, Anishinaabe, and Two-Spirit person. Soon after, giige, a queer- and Indigenous-owned tattoo studio in Madison that Le Claire co-founded,, officially parted ways with them (Link). Since then, we have learned that their birth name is Kathryn LeClaire and that the work they claimed to have made as part of reviving their Native Indigenous heritage actually belongs to other artists (Link).

Given that the second sentence of our vision says: To create a convening that centers Indigenous knowledge and wisdom, designed and led by Indigenous leaders and features Indigenous Elders, knowledge holders, academics, scientists, activists and youth leaders, and that we worked hard to make the Sacred Wisdom Sacred Earth event Indigenous-led only, we were shocked and distressed to receive this news. Not only did LeClaire claim to be an authority on Native culture and history and was given a prominent platform in the local media of Madison, Wisconsin as a well-established Indigenous activist, but they also played a decision-making role in various Indigenous collectives in Wisconsin including MMIW and Indigenous related programs on the UW-Madison campus. They were recommended to us by Native activists and we invited them to speak at SWSE with a great deal of excitement and joy and welcomed their advice on the project that is emerging from this collective. In essence, they took up the space that was meant for an Indigenous person. We, along with hundreds of other people including many local Native leaders, were deceived by this person and our event, which involved several highly respected elders, was used to enhance their credibility. Their deception does unconscionable injury to Indigenous identity, sovereignty, and spirit.

We will not be taking any action directly against LeClaire and do not condone violence or harassment towards them. This level of deception is not something new or surprising, but it is heartbreaking. The harm perpetuated by fraudulent claims such as LeClaire’s is that they make it more difficult for Indigenous peoples who already struggle within systems that do not validate us as peoples, nor our knowledge and traditions. This also discourages people with Indigenous ancestry who are in an ongoing process of reflection and reconnection with their own identity to stop building relationships with the Indigenous community they have been severed from. 

We apologize for our role in unintentionally exposing our communities and audiences to this injury. Despite the pain this has caused us and the greater Indigenous community, we will never stop reaching out to young Indigenous peoples, attempting to rebuild community and kinship among Indigenous diaspora, and strengthen Indigenous representation in all our efforts. 

Loka Initiative 

Mayan League