Mother, daughters sue woman in Ontario over allegations theyre pretendians

A mother and her three daughters are suing a woman in Ontario for defamation for a series of online posts she made alleging the women are falsely claiming Indigenous heritage. A statement of claim was filed in the Supreme Court of Yukon by Louise Darroch and her daughters Amanda Buffalo, Krista Reid and Amaris Maderscheid on July 25 against Michelle Christine Cameron, who goes by the name of Crystal Mariah Semaganis. Semaganis is a self-described activist against “pretendians,” a pejorative term used to describe someone falsely claiming Indigenous heritage. She is also the leader of a grassroots organization, the Ghost Warrior Society, which seeks to expose people claiming what it considers to be false First Nations, Métis or Inuit identity, or “FNMI.” The organization’s website offers paid investigation services, though, per the claim, Semaganis is not a licensed private investigator in Ontario. The claim states that starting in October 2024, Semaganis “engaged in a relentless and libelous campaign” against the women, alleging they are white Ukrainians and “grifters” and “racists” who exploit their falsely claimed Indigenous heritage for personal gain. According to the claim, Darroch was adopted as a baby by a non-Indigenous couple in a closed adoption. “When she was an adult, Ms. Darroch’s biological mother confirmed to her that they have Indigenous lineage and provided Ms. Darroch with some particulars of their heritage,” the claim states. It says on Oct. 13, 2024, Semaganis contacted Buffalo, who was a PhD student in Toronto at the time, to verify her FNMI identity, to which she received no response. Days later she contacted Darroch’s former colleague demanding information about her FNMI identity. Darroch contacted Semaganis informing her of her adoption and Indigenous lineage. Semaganis disputed her claims, alleging her research shows Darroch is white. According to the claim, Semaganis then went on to describe the women as “pretendians, grifters, liars and racists” during a video chat event. It states that Semaganis proceeded to make numerous defamatory statements against the women on social media, the Ghost Warrior’s website and on video chat, especially with regard to Buffalo. That includes Semaganis posting a document titled the “Buffalo Brief” on the Ghost Warrior’s website. The brief, along with several alleged defamatory statements, accused Buffalo’s consulting business – which is also listed as a plaintiff on the lawsuit – of being a “pretendian organization.” Per the claim, Semaganis distributed the brief to numerous individuals and on social media. It goes on to say the women, through their lawyer, sent Semaganis two demand letters which also included requests for an apology and for her to remove the alleged defamatory statements. “To date, the defendant has not deleted or retracted the defamatory statements pleaded herein,” the claim states. The lawsuit asks for general damages totaling just over $500,000, as well as other damages to be decided before trial. It also asks for a mandatory order directing Semaganis to remove the alleged defamatory statements from all media platforms and to publish a notice on each platform that the statements are untrue, among other things. It’s further seeking a permanent injunction preventing Semaganis from publishing future comments about the women. Semaganis has not filed a statement of defense and the allegations against her have not been tested or proven in court. She told APTN News via email that she hadn’t yet been served with the lawsuit and didn’t want to comment. The Ghost Warrior Society website states its “standard” to determine Indigenous identity is four generations. It says beyond that, people claiming FNMI identity have no lived experience, intergenerational trauma or genetic memory. The debate around Indigenous identity claims is a contentious issue. In the past few years, starting with Joseph Boyden, a number of high profile people, including Buffy Sainte-Marie, have been questioned about whether they are First Nation, Métis or Inuit. Continue Reading