Walela, Douglas Blue Feather Among Fake Native American Recording Artists

Members of American Indian tribes are required to carry cards issued by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and be on the tribal rolls or be able to point to a lineal ancestor who is on one of the Government rolls for their tribe.

Rita Coolidge can't do this. Douglas Blue Feather can't do this. Mikki Free and Coyote Oldman can't do this either.

Why not? you might ask. The answer is who knows? But to legally call yourself a Cherokee, Lakota, Navajo or whatever, you must be a member of that tribe. Especially when it comes to displaying or marketing a product for sale to the public.

The Indian Arts and Craft Act of 1990 is a truth in marketing law which requires anyone labeling or calling their craft or product "Indian," "Native American," or using the name of a tribe on their products to prove their link to that tribe.

People who have failed to do this and continue to break the law by selling their products as Native American and still claiming they belong to a tribe are:

Rita Coolidge of the group Walela

Douglas Blue Feather who records under the fake Indian name Douglas Blue Feather

Coyote Oldman who also uses a fake name

Mikki Free (former member of Shalamar) who used to claim Northern Cherokee as his tribe, but now claims just Cherokee and Kiowa

Flutemaker Charlie Oakwind (Marine Raye's husband who claims he is Choctaw but has not card nor is a member of the Choctaw tribe)

Cher, who is lebanese and is not a member of Cherokee Nation. She marketed her song "Halfbreed" wearing a war bonnet which only men wore and she also began saying she was Cherokee like Rita Coolidge did to give her career a boost.

Brooke Medicine Eagle, who claims she is a member of the Crow Tribe of Montana. The Crow Tribe says they have heard of Brooke who is not using her real name, but she is not a member of their tribe. She is only defrauding the public to make money.

Sacred Spirits, a populas CD that was a butchered version of several archived Native American songs put to synthesizers. The producers/writers thought it sounded good but it was not even one song. It was several put together and out of order in a european studio.

If Douglas Blue Feather who continues to win Native American Musica Awardes is in fact Native American and a Cherokee why can't he prove it? Why isn't it a requirement for artists nominated for Native American Music Awards to prove they are members of the tribes they claim to belong to? Because the Native American Music Awards (NAMMY'S) are a farce. Anyone can nominate someone if they pay a fee of about $75.00.

It's time to end this era of wannabe recording artists ripping off thre public who think they are actually buying a Cherokee who is singing a traditional or original Cherokee song, or a real Cherokee or Native American playing the flute.

If you have questions regarding someone's Cherokee or Native American heritage, visit the artist's website, email them and ask what their tribal affiliation is and if they are a member of the tribe.

If they say they are not a tribal member then they are not Native American. The legal definition of an Indian or Native American is "A person who is a member of that specific tribe." In other words, you can't just say, "I"m Cherokee or Shawnee. You have to be a member of the tribe and have a card issued by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to prove it.

Let's stop supporting fake Cherokees and wannabes. Support real Native American Artists. Inquire before you buy.