Weekend Read: Why Do So Many People Claim Native Heritage?

By Carla Murphy Aug 08, 2014

What do Elizabeth Warren, Bill Clinton, Miley Cyrus and The Crying Indian in that popular 1970s Earth Day PSA have in common? Oklahoman Russell Cobb says they all belong to Wannabe Nation. It’s "bigger than the Cherokee Nation and perhaps even bigger than the entire state of Oklahoma–although that’s difficult to confirm, since the Census Bureau doesn’t keep statistics on this subset of the population," Cobb writes in a brilliant essay in This Land Press. Definitely check it out this weekend [full text available by popular demand via Longreads].

Add Rachel Aviv’s, Wrong Answer, too. It’s being described as some of the most riveting reporting on the infamous Atlanta Schools cheating scandal that blew up in 2011. (See here for a brief refresher of the allegations, investigation and fallout.)

And last but not least, check out the latest from Colorlines’ Life Cycles of Inequity series about black men, Criminals, Victims and the Black Men Left Behind

What’s on your Read-Watch List this weekend?