Oscar-nominated Native American Hollywood producer accused of faking heritage ... trends now
A prominent producer and Native American activist has been accused of faking her Cherokee heritage - with a leading tribal watchdog group now saying she usurped 'real American Indian voices and perspectives' for her own gain.
The producer of several films featuring stars like Ellen Page, 56-year-old Heather Rae currently serves on the Academy of Motion Pictures' Indigenous Alliance, and once headed the Sundance Institute's Native American program.
Born in California but raised in Idaho, Rae is perhaps best known for 'Frozen River,' a Sundance Award-winning film that was nominated for an Oscar, and 2005's Trudell, an acclaimed documentary that follows notable Native American John Trudell.
Over the course of her career, Rae has been hailed for her self-professed Cherokee roots - named a top visionary by Variety back in 2009 and enjoying top spots in two of the world's most prominent film organizations' Native American factions.
More recently, she was tapped to broker an apology from the Academy to the estate of Sacheen Littlefeather, the Native American activist who famously rejected Marlon Brando's 1973 Best Actor Oscar in a bid to call attention to her and others' plight.
However, her two surviving sisters unmasked her as an ethnic fraud following her death in October, revealing she had actually actually Hispanic.
Heather Rae, a filmmaker who currently serves on the Academy of Motion Pictures' Indigenous Alliance and once headed the Sundance Institute's Native American program, has been accused of faking her Native American heritage
The Oscar-nominated filmmaker (top left) recently brokered an apology from the academy to Sacheen Littlefeather (seen seated), the Native American activist who famously rejected Marlon Brando's 1973 Oscar in a bid to call attention to her and others' plight. The pair are seen with Bird Runningwater, co-chair of the Academy's Indigenous Alliance, last September
Littlefeather sent shockwaves in the 70s when she delivered a speech about the way 'her people' were treated in Hollywood in lieu of Brando accepting the award. She was unmasked as a sham after her death in October at age 75
Now, according to claims from the Tribal Alliance Against Frauds [TAAF], it appears that Rae is the latest figure to be ousted as a 'Pretendian' - a term for a person who falsely claims to have Indigenous ancestry - with the group providing census records and birth certificates that go back hundreds of years to support their claims.
A report outlining that research charges: 'Heather Rae has built a long and impressive resume as a Cherokee producer, positioning herself as perhaps the central figure in Native American media production, sitting on boards and acting as a gatekeeper for Native artists.
'Yet even a cursory look into her family tree points to this career being built on a lie: Heather Rae is a white woman who is wholly lacking even the most minute bit of Native American ancestry, Cherokee or otherwise. Put simply, she has none. Zero.'
The report proceeds to provide a 1969 divorce certificate from both of Rae's parents, Vernon and Barbara Bybee, in which they are listed as white.
When venturing further down the figurative rabbit hole detailing Rae's bloodline, TAAF officials said that it becomes increasingly clear that neither parent sported any sort of ties to the tribe that their daughter now claims.
Census records going back as far as the 1700s show that on her father's side, one ancestor arrived from England in Virginia before the Pilgrims.
As for her mother - whom, according to Rae, was the source of her Cherokee heritage - documents show little to no evidence of any Cherokee connection whatsoever.
The report adds of her distinctly 'Anglo-American' roots: 'Her father's side was primarily Mormons who have lived in Utah and Idaho since the mid-19th century. \
Records further show how Rae's ancestors lived in lands which were historically part of the Cherokee Nation, such as Kentucky and Tennessee, but were occupying the territory as white, European settlers.
'Rae's great-great-great grandparents, Byrum Lee Bybee (1799-1864) and Elizabeth Lane (1802-1867) were the first to make the move West as Mormon overland pioneers from Kentucky.
The report proceeds to provide a 1969 divorce certificate from both of Rae's parents, Vernon and Barbara Bybee, in which they are listed as white.
Census records going back as far as 1950 show Rae's white ancestry. This 1950 U.S. Census show how all her family members at the time identified as white
Records show how Rae's ancestors lived in lands which were historically part of the Cherokee Nation, such as Kentucky and Tennessee, but were occupying the territory as white settlers
Seen here are more documents that supposedly disprove Rae's claims concerning her heritage
'Her paternal grandmother, Ethel Harper Bybee, is the great-granddaughter of English immigrant and Mormon Pioneer Thomas Harper, who was a proponent of polygamy.'
The document further details how Rae's earliest known patriarch hailed from England, and married a 16-year-old bride in Salt Lake City in 1883 while married to Rae's great-great-great grandmother, whose ancestors 'are almost entirely from the British Isles, and most were English.'
'She is truly an
