Siobhan Marks Our Grandmothers Strap Dress

[educatedindian]

I wrote this to the moderator last year, but was having difficulty figuring out how to post. I have copies of all the genealogical information on Siobhan. Yes, I am quite aware that she did not grow up with a strong Anishinaabe identity or connections to LCO, but was able to confirm she has Anishinaabe ancestry (in the late 1800s, which is much more current than many of the claims others are making to ancestry that go back to the 1600s).  I don't regard Siobhan as a "cultural expert" and have never seen her "ride roughshod" against anyone. Even if she does/did, that does not negate her rightful claim to having Anishinaabe ancestry, I know/have known quite a few Anishinaabe people with public profiles with whom I disagree on their presentation/teaching-perspectives/treatment of others, but I wouldn't use my personal opinion of them to question their lineage. It is up to the Anishinaabe community who look to her to decide whether or not they respect her contributions to their cultural initiatives, is it not? Also, Siobhan and Mark do a lot of work together as a couple, and I've yet to hear that anyone questions Mark's legitimacy as a culturally-knowledgable person.

I have to come in here and point out my own failure on this. I just now checked old messages and found the email exchange between us.

I confirm you wrote several times about not being able to post and I passed along the tech problem to the other mods. As has already been mentioned, our tech problems got far worse. But I did not think to post the genealogy you sent me. I did not ask to either.

To all reading this, one reason SM has never been moved to Frauds is not just because there's been conflicting accounts of her genealogy. This forum was originally aimed solely at frauds who pose as medicine people or "shamans." Later we included anyone posing as Native who benefitted from the falsehood.

Never do we go after someone who just repeated what they were falsely believed, or taught as family stories. They must gain something from it. A good recent example is Marie Cruz who called herself Sacheen Littlefeather. She made up the name and posed as Yaqui, which is as common among Mexicans as Cherokee claims are among whites. Except for two small roles in exploitation films, there was no other benefit to her. She spent her life establishing theaters and hospices. I think because she was doing good, the many people who knew of her falsehoods, not just family, never came forward.

Has SM ever benefitted from the alleged lack of ancestry? Is it OK if she calls herself a descendant and continues her work? Those are questions for all involved.

[WINative]

We neglected to go that far back in Siobhan Marks family tree here, so her great-great-great grandmother Madeline was listed as an Indian in 1885 being born in 1802. So that would make Siobhan Marks at most 1/32 Ojibwe ancestry. Which is very distant, since there’s jokes about even great grandmothers being Indian princesses.
Since Madeline married a white man as did all of her descendants and they all identified as white from thereafter, and do not appear on any Indian Census records. All her ancestors have lived in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin which is over 90% white on every census, and Siobhan herself has lived in Muskego since at least 1996, a suburb of Milwaukee in Waukesha County with a population of 97% white in the last census. She has no ties to the Milwaukee Native community, and her family and lodge are many hours drive away from where she does her business and extracts resources, so they cannot censure her effectively, nor have the right to advance her claims over other Indigenous people who are enrolled and connected to their nations.
The Three Fires Midewiwin Lodge has a right to set their membership levels at wherever they choose, if it’s under a “One Drop Rule,” that’s their right, but all other Indigenous communities and Native people have a right to consider 1/32 not enough blood quantum for leadership or cultural positions. Each community and person can set their own standards and Three Fires cannot force her membership with them on other Native people.  If they choose to condone her behavior and actions, and still speak out and defend her, then they bear part of the responsibility as well.
Siobhan Marks acting as a Gatekeeper for the Indian Community School, Gerald Ignace Indian Health Clinic, and Spotted Eagle Inc. is not acceptable to me or appropriate based on her background. She is occupying important positions of power in the Milwaukee Native community, in which she does not have the background, experience, or right to occupy. She has given cultural teachings, and pushed Native people out of their jobs, decided who got hired or fired, and made others uncomfortable while choosing others for opportunities who are close to her or belong the Three Fires as well, all while hanging on this very distant connection to her families past to justify it all. She has re-written community history that she has taken no part in with inaccurate information and sources, in order to be the media spokesperson for the Milwaukee Native community. She has lived with white privilege all her life, so this must allow her to feel she can go anywhere and takeover a community space she is unfamiliar with.
The greatest weakness of an Urban Native community is allowing people to self-identify and accepting everyone at their word and not doing anything until the damage has been done.

[Smart Mule]

Siobhan's mother was Mary Jane Smith. Siobhan's grandmother was Ann Jane Wright. Her great grandmother was Mary Diamond. Her great great grandmother was Angeline Corbine, born at LCO and recorded as half Indian on the 1880 census. Her 3rd great grandmother was Madeline Wasbakosi/Wabakosi who was married to Jean/John Baptiste Corbin/Corbine (and a bunch of other weird spellings). Madeline died in 1901. This means she directly interacted with Mary and Ann Jane. Ann Jane would have been able to tell Siobhan about Madeline's experiences as she heard them from Madeline herself.

Does this make it okay for Siobhan to ostracize members of the community as a descendant? Nope, it sure doesn't. It should actually make her more aware of her privilege in my opinion. She really does have a responsibility to those who are hurt by her conduct. Rather than send in a friend it would be nice if she were to come here and dialogue. If she continues to ignore the concerns of the community, it only adds to the appearance that she is of the position that she believes she is above actual urban community members. And that is upsetting to say the least.

I do have documentation showing that Angeline was clearly  1/2 but I am having an impossible time uploading attachments. If one goes here https://chequamegonhistory.wordpress.com/tag/john-baptiste-corbine/ under the heading {$180.00 Stamp Int Revenue U.S.}, if you click on the first blue box for Chippewa Certificate No. 228, it will bring you here https://glorecords.blm.gov/details/patent/default.aspx?accession=0377-179&docClass=CT&sid=qa4encts.oad#patentDetailsTabIndex=1 which is the half breed land script for Madeline and Jean/John's children.

[NAFPS Housekeeping]

Relevant section added to above post; full page of census here:

[Smart Mule]

Thanks for adding the images House Keeping!

[Diana]

"We neglected to go that far back in Siobhan Marks family tree here"
No we did not Winative!!! 2 years ago I msg'd you several times about what I found about Siobhan Marks. I have all the msgs. I told you that I found she may have been related to Madeline Corbine and Angeline Diamond. Madeline Corbine appears in the 1880 census with her daughter Angeline and family. In the census her race is down as I. Her daughter's race is down as1/2 I.  The others are white as is Angelines. You have to look at the original census to see the Indian blood.

I have looked and looked for thier Tribal affiliation and I can't find them on any Tribal rolls. There is another Madeline Corine who was born in 1865. She is on the Lac Courte Oreille Tribal rolls. I believe and have seen this Madeline Corbine 2 being mistaken for the Madeline Corbine born in 1802.

I was still working on this genealogy when I informed Winative about this, I sent him all the info and yes he is correct about the blood quantum being1/32. If these people are her relatives which I told Winative that I was pretty sure they were I would post the info.

During this time 2 years ago we had some very bad storms in my area and I had some damage to my house and got distracted with insurance adjusters and workmen etc etc. When I finally got back to NAFPS, Winative had posted that Siobhan Marks was not Indian. I contacted the moderators with the information and what Winative had posted. I'm not sure what happened but things fell through the cracks.

Now here we are 2 yrs later and there is alot of disinformation.

Yes, I did see a family tree and some of the info is wrong. Like I said before people keep mistaking this Madeline Corbine 2  born 1865 who is on the Tribal rolls. I cannot find Madeline or Angeline on any Tribal rolls. If someone can prove what Indian Tribe these 2 people are from that would be great. In the mean time the only place where it says Madeline Corbine and Angeline Diamond are Indian is in the 1880 census.

We neglected to go that far back in Siobhan Marks family tree here, so her great-great-great grandmother Madeline was listed as an Indian in 1885 being born in 1802. So that would make Siobhan Marks at most 1/32 Ojibwe ancestry. Which is very distant, since there’s jokes about even great grandmothers being Indian princesses.
Since Madeline married a white man as did all of her descendants and they all identified as white from thereafter, and do not appear on any Indian Census records. All her ancestors have lived in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin which is over 90% white on every census, and Siobhan herself has lived in Muskego since at least 1996, a suburb of Milwaukee in Waukesha County with a population of 97% white in the last census. She has no ties to the Milwaukee Native community, and her family and lodge are many hours drive away from where she does her business and extracts resources, so they cannot censure her effectively, nor have the right to advance her claims over other Indigenous people who are enrolled and connected to their nations.
The Three Fires Midewiwin Lodge has a right to set their membership levels at wherever they choose, if it’s under a “One Drop Rule,” that’s their right, but all other Indigenous communities and Native people have a right to consider 1/32 not enough blood quantum for leadership or cultural positions. Each community and person can set their own standards and Three Fires cannot force her membership with them on other Native people.  If they choose to condone her behavior and actions, and still speak out and defend her, then they bear part of the responsibility as well.
Siobhan Marks acting as a Gatekeeper for the Indian Community School, Gerald Ignace Indian Health Clinic, and Spotted Eagle Inc. is not acceptable to me or appropriate based on her background. She is occupying important positions of power in the Milwaukee Native community, in which she does not have the background, experience, or right to occupy. She has given cultural teachings, and pushed Native people out of their jobs, decided who got hired or fired, and made others uncomfortable while choosing others for opportunities who are close to her or belong the Three Fires as well, all while hanging on this very distant connection to her families past to justify it all. She has re-written community history that she has taken no part in with inaccurate information and sources, in order to be the media spokesperson for the Milwaukee Native community. She has lived with white privilege all her life, so this must allow her to feel she can go anywhere and takeover a community space she is unfamiliar with.
The greatest weakness of an Urban Native community is allowing people to self-identify and accepting everyone at their word and not doing anything until the damage has been done.

[Defend the Sacred]

"We neglected to go that far back in Siobhan Marks family tree here"
No we did not Winative!!! 2 years ago I msg'd you several times about what I found about Siobhan Marks. I have all the msgs. I told you that I found she may have been related to Madeline Corbine and Angeline Diamond.

Confirming what Diana says here. I was cc'ed on these messages. Diana wanted to post the genealogy and I told her to go ahead. When things seemed to be going in circles I told her to do what she needed to do. WINative did what they did. I pretty much stayed out of it, which I now realize was a mistake.

The data I was shown about Marks' possible heritage at the time... was unclear and confusing. It wasn't what was just posted above and, honestly, I had no idea whether the woman had heritage or not. I wasn't in a space to deal with it. But I was always adamant that if someone had found a possibility of heritage, that should be disclosed. I insisted the members I spoke with be honest and transparent about their findings.

Unfortunately, with the other, very serious hassles we had going on with the board, and my other responsibilities, I did not adequately follow up. I didn't have the time or energy to get involved in this thread and forgot to keep an eye on what was and was not posted, whether those discrepancies were ever cleaned up, or even what section this thread was in. I didn't have a chance to do any of my own research on Marks.

That was clearly a mistake on my part, but there were circumstances. We're all volunteers here and we've had a lot on our plates. I'm sorry it got to this point.

[WINative]

I can confirm what both of you said and there was some uncertainty in the records at the time, andso  I thought that she or her family should confirm their ancestry or post the correct information which I indicated at the time, and which has just been done now.
So I want to move on beyond the records, now that the proper information has been received and confirmed, and I will retract my previous statements that Siobhan Marks has No Native blood, when in fact she has 1/32 Indian blood.
I hope this helps to clarify my part at least, which has become a distraction to the issue and post.

[WINative]

It looks like Lac Courte Oreilles has some of the lowest blood quantum requirements of all Wisconsin Tribal Nations for enrollment. They operate under Lineal Descent, with no specific blood amount required, but must be able to trace to an ancestor from the 1940 census for LCO as listed below.
Ms. Siobhan Marks being 1/32 and far removed from an ancestor on the LCO tribal census roll and is therefore ineligible for enrollment at Lac Courte Oreilles, and labels herself a "Descendant."
So it would be illegal for her to manufacture, market, or sell her Grandmother's Strap Dresses or any others items, as Native American made under the Indian Arts and Crafts Act of 1990 posted link below also.
Under the Act, an Indian is defined as a member of any federally or officially State recognized tribe of the United States, or an individual certified as an Indian artisan by an Indian tribe.

https://www.doi.gov/iacb/act?fbclid=IwAR1-aqv0z4boKEKId-XakLzWGXf7T8X8iPM92D39ErgvqMYPLExX9huv5Wg

https://www.lcotribe.com/tribal-constitution

Article II: Membership

Section 1. The membership of the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin shall consist of the following persons:

All persons of Lac Courte Oreilles Chippewa Indian Blood whose names appeared on the official census roll of the Band as of January 1, 1940, or whose names were eligible for inclusion in such rolls, PROVIDED, such persons are citizens of the United States and are not enrolled with another tribe, band or group of Indians. This roll will be the basic membership roll.

Any lineal descendant of a member born prior to the effective date of this Constitution, provided, an application for enrollment is filed with the Governing Board and provided further, that such person is not enrolled with another tribe, band or group of Indians.

Any person gaining membership after the effective date of this Constitution through ordinances enacted under Section 2 of this Article.

 

Section 2. The Governing Board shall enact the ordinance subject to approval of the Secretary of the Interior stating the criteria for future membership and adoption of the new members. Such ordinance shall include the provision that to be eligible for membership persons must possess Lac Courte Oreilles Indian blood and must be a lineal descendant of an enrolled member. Any amendments to the ordinance shall require approval of the Secretary of the Interior.

Section 3. Any person who has been rejected for enrollment as a member of the Band shall have the right of appeal to the Secretary of the Interior, whose decision shall be final.

Section 4. The Governing Board shall have the power to enact ordinances governing loss of membership, such ordinance subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior. The ordinance shall include a provision for appeal of decisions to the Secretary of the Interior.

[Waubizee]

I'm curious how Siobhan sharing her research that she did on the strap dress has anything to do with the issue of whether/what % of ancestry she has. I am not aware of her 'manufacturing' or selling strap dresses (in contravention of the IACA1990 Act) but maybe she is, go ahead, report her to those authorities. What I DO know is that almost all of the research she did on strap dresses was with museums that have strap dresses in their holdings, and that information (from museums) was most likely research by white historians and archivists. Her workshops are no different than one of those individuals sharing their research with the general public or with Native American groups who want to hear it. I attended one of her strap dress workshops, because I know her and also because I am aware that the Cree women from northern Canada (some who are my own Cree ancestors) historically wore strap dresses and distinctive hoods. Siobhan conducts a good workshop, and is very respectful of the knowledge she has gathered. On another note, If Siobhan is in any position to hire or fire people, confront the agency that employs her or on which she holds a committee/board seat,,, etc. The blood quantum question is a minefield, the administrators of this site have not, as far as I know determined a cut-off % /timeline to determine who is in or who is out.

[educatedindian]

I'm curious how Siobhan sharing her research that she did on the strap dress has anything to do with the issue of whether/what % of ancestry she has. I am not aware of her 'manufacturing' or selling strap dresses (in contravention of the IACA1990 Act) but maybe she is, go ahead, report her to those authorities. What I DO know is that almost all of the research she did on strap dresses was with museums that have strap dresses in their holdings, and that information (from museums) was most likely research by white historians and archivists. Her workshops are no different than one of those individuals sharing their research with the general public or with Native American groups who want to hear it. I attended one of her strap dress workshops, because I know her and also because I am aware that the Cree women from northern Canada (some who are my own Cree ancestors) historically wore strap dresses and distinctive hoods. Siobhan conducts a good workshop, and is very respectful of the knowledge she has gathered. On another note, If Siobhan is in any position to hire or fire people, confront the agency that employs her or on which she holds a committee/board seat,,, etc. The blood quantum question is a minefield, the administrators of this site have not, as far as I know determined a cut-off % /timeline to determine who is in or who is out.

We don't determine that, or even say we should have any say in that. Each tribal nation or community has its own standards.

Obviously they are going to be different, sometimes different within that nation in different time periods. This thread has stayed under Research because there are very different opinions within the same community.

We, NAFPS, don't research anyone just for BQ, ancestry, or claims of it. It must be shown they benefit, money, power.

[WINative]

I wanted to put one thing in perspective after not thinking about this threat for a few months. 1/32 blood quantum is equivalent to 3%. I think those familiar with DNA Ancestry will understand that is not much in a person's full DNA composition. Many Indigenous people have similar small percentages of European blood, English, Irish, German, Polish, French, Greek or Jewish, etc. But they cannot appear in any of those communities and expect a warm reception and to be invited or accepted to be a leader or cultural expert based on these newfound low percentages of DNA.
What is it about White Privilege that allows them to think they can do that in Indigenous communities and that they often get away with it?
I think this is definitely a systemic issue and associated with historical trauma that allows urban Native American communities to be overran such as they are in the United States. Just seeing all the Fraud and Research Needed threads shows there's a major problem. There has to be solutions other than asking everyone new to a community for their tribal ID or DNA report.

[Diana]

I don't see anything wrong with asking someone for their Tribal ID. Or asking what Tribe they're from or who their family is. If they're for real, they won't mind at all. It's only the fakes that evade the question or get aggressive when you inquire further.

I wanted to put one thing in perspective after not thinking about this threat for a few months. 1/32 blood quantum is equivalent to 3%. I think those familiar with DNA Ancestry will understand that is not much in a person's full DNA composition. Many Indigenous people have similar small percentages of European blood, English, Irish, German, Polish, French, Greek or Jewish, etc. But they cannot appear in any of those communities and expect a warm reception and to be invited or accepted to be a leader or cultural expert based on these newfound low percentages of DNA.
What is it about White Privilege that allows them to think they can do that in Indigenous communities and that they often get away with it?
I think this is definitely a systemic issue and associated with historical trauma that allows urban Native American communities to be overran such as they are in the United States. Just seeing all the Fraud and Research Needed threads shows there's a major problem. There has to be solutions other than asking everyone new to a community for their tribal ID or DNA report.

[WINative]

Indian Community School 2022 990 Form
Already controversial for past 20 years because of the amount of money the board members are making and has risen each year since 1999.
Miss Marks has benefitted financially with her relationship with fellow Three Fires Midwiwin member and Board Member Diane Amour.