Addressing False Claims of Native Identity Fraud

“Only Indians and Dogs have to prove their pedigree”

-Vine Deloria Jr.

Community Verification

The Sawyer family’s tribal enrollment with the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe has been verified by Ellison King, a Mohawk genealogist and MCA (Mohawk Council of Akwesasne) tribal government official. With additional support from the Akwesasne Kahwatsi:re Genealogy & Historical Society, a Native American-run organization that holds records on over 10,000 Mohawk people dating back to the 1500s. The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe (Akwesasne) exclusively supports genealogical research through the genealogy society, which is featured on the tribal government website here. The Tribal Enrollment records for Frank Sawyer were accessed directly from the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne Tribal Government database.

Family History

Liam McDonald also known by his stage name OPLIAM is a Mohawk descendant. He is the first generation in his family to not be born and raised in the St. Lawerence River Valley. Growing up in Minneapolis, MN. Liam’s Indigenous ancestry is on his father’s side. His father was born in Watertown, NY, near where the St.Lawerence River meets Lake Ontario near the Adirondack Mountains.Liam’s family has lived in the same small town of Watertown since they left the reservation. Liam’s closest direct Mohawk relative is Delia Deschamp (maiden name Mary Delia Warner-pictured bottom left). When Delia was just two years old, her father Andrew Warner died. She was then taken from her mother, Susan Sawyer (seen above, back center), as was common for those times when she was adopted into a white family. Later on, Susan remarried a man by the name of Francois Robidoux. (Susan Sawyer-Warner-Robidoux). Later in life, Delia reconnected with her mom and Native family (Pictured above) and settled with her husband on Wolfe Island and ultimately Watertown, NY.

The Sawyer family is originally from Kahnawake, a Mohawk community located south of Montreal, Quebec, commonly called Caughnawaga. The family moved to Hogansburg along with many other Mohawk families in the mid-1800s and held membership in the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe (Akwesasne) for multiple generations. Akwesasne is located on both sides of the border between the United States and Canada. In the mid-1700s, the community of Akwesasne was resettled by Catholic Mohawk families from Kahnawake to relieve overcrowding. French Jesuit priests founded a mission (St. Regis) in the community. However, Mohawk families did not leave Kahnawake en masse until the middle of the 1800s, when Akwesasne once again became a primarily Mohawk community. The Sawyer family is mentioned on this 1890 list of Saint Regis (Akwesasne) reserve occupants. Louis Sawyer Sr., Susan Sawyer’s father, is also buried on Akwesasne territory.

Along with her four siblings, Mary, Louis, John H., and Jane, Susan Sawyer was tribally enrolled with the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe of New York, this has been confirmed by historical tribal enrollment records held by the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne band office. Her nephew Frank Sawyer (Son of Louis and Margarett Sawyer) was the only Sawyer to remain on the reserve. His 1901 tribal enrollment document was accessed directly from the tribal government database and is posted at the bottom of this page, this document clearly confirms his and his father Louis Sawyer’s (Brother to Susan Sawyer) enrollment with the tribe. Today there are 11 Sawyers enrolled with Akwesasne.

Conclusion

Since OPLIAM’s first book was announced in 2022, there have been widespread false accusations and misinformation about the McDonald family’s background. The controversy began with an inaccurate temporary description by the publisher (Penguin Random House) that mistakenly stated Liam was a Mohawk tribal member, which he had never claimed to be. This error was swiftly rectified once it was brought to their attention.

Claims that the McDonald family members confirmed these allegations and stated that Liam’s identity differs from the rest of the family are entirely untrue. In reality, both the immediate and extended McDonald family proudly identify as Indigenous and have maintained a deep cultural pride in their shared heritage for generations. These allegations were fabricated to support baseless claims.

For three years, these unsubstantiated allegations have circulated online without any investigation by the Department of the Interior (DOI) regarding an IACA case. This lack of action is due to the absence of credible evidence and the baseless nature of the accusations. The McDonald family is eager to present all their evidence of Indigenous ancestry in court if necessary, but to this day the federal government has not pursued any legal action due to the lack of substance in the false allegations. Despite loud claims of fraud and calls directing people to file reports to the DOI for an investigation, no formal case has yet to be filed.

Furthermore, online harassers and defamers relied solely on ancestry.com and incomplete open-source genealogical investigations. This independent genealogical exploration lacks endorsement from any tribal government, tribal genealogists, or tribal officials and jeopardizes every tribal community’s ability to uphold verification protocols for determining lineage. Such pseudo-genealogical approaches have caused distress to a verified Indigenous family and undermined tribal records that definitively prove enrollment over multiple generations.

Frank Sawyer’s 1901 Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe of NY -Approved Tribal Enrollment Records

Document Transcription

1. Full name: Frank Sawyer
2. Reservation: St. Regis Reservation
3. Post Office: Hogansburg
4. County: Franklin
5. State: NY
6. Date & Place of Birth: June 5th ,1873, St .Regis Reservation St. Of NY
7. To what tribe of band do you belong: St. Regis American Indian Tribe
8. By what right do you claim membership? : Father was an American Indian, St.Regis Indians , mother was a French woman adopted by the tribe, and drew NY state annuities up to about the year of 1870.
9. Are you married?: No
10. N/A
11. N/A
12. N/A
13. N/A
14. N/A
15. Given Names of Father and Mother: Louis Sawyer , Margaret Sawyer
16. Where were they born? : State of NY
17. Did they reside in the U.S? : Yes
18. To which band of NY Indians did they belong? Father to St. Regis Tribe

Complaint:

“Some years ago the chiefs of the St. Regis NY Tribe of Indians brought three different actions against my father (Louis Sawyer) in the county court at Malone,NY to dispossess him of his land rights and his rights as a member of the St. Regis NY Tribe of American Indians. And in each case decisions were rendered in fathers favor.”

———————————————Photocopy Line Break———————————–

Decision:

Frank Sawyer (Claimant) has been reinstated, enrolled and approved by the council.

Signed ,dated and notarized by Claimant and Commissioner.

C

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