I did some research into Mark Freeland as someone interested in the phenomenon of enrolled or connected Native Americans supporting known pretendians. Some reasons a Native American may support a proven pretendian are friendship ("I don't care about evidence. I don't want to believe my friend would lie to me."), personal risk ("I need to appear to support this person because my success as a student or employee is at risk."), and not understanding historical documentation ("Colonizer records."). Anecdotally, I feel like the last reason can be born from concern about how their own family is documented and/or connected to the community.
I can't definitively say what factors influence Freeland's motivation to be an active participant in promoting fake Native American voices in academia. I can say his family's documentation could lead someone unfamiliar with using census rolls to question his claims due to the distance of his Native American ancestry. It seems reasonable to think it may be a concern for him.
I have not confirmed that Freeland is actually enrolled but, in my opinion, he meets the requirements to be an enrolled member of the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians. The Sault Tribe is the largest federally recognized tribe in Michigan with approximately 40,000 enrolled members. I'm fairly certain it's the largest federally recognized band of Ojibwe in the United States due to relatively broad enrollment criteria (direct descendant of someone on the 1870 Census Roll or later Durant Roll). Through tribal sovereignty, the Sault Tribe recognizes Freeland as one of them. That is their right. I don't dispute it. Other tribes/bands do not have similarly broad enrollment criteria and that is their right.
While Freeland is enrolled and has ancestors documented on the 1870 Census Roll and 1907 Durant Roll (the 1870 roll was used as a basis for the 1907 roll), it looks to me like someone would have a hard time finding any direct ancestors designated as anything other than "white" prior to approximately 1870. This is not necessarily uncommon in Michigan but I can't help but wonder if Freeland is concerned about his own legitimacy being questioned. There are high school yearbook photos of Freeland available online and, in my opinion, Freeland has undergone an interesting change in appearance. Make of that what you will. Some may interpret it as insecurity.
Whether Freeland's position stems from rationalizing his non-Native wife taking up space in an indigenous program at UWM or insecurity about this own connection (quite possibly both), he is attacking the sovereignty of every tribe Margaret Noodin falsely claimed. I hope he's showing up at his tribe's council meetings to advocate an enrollment policy that represents his beliefs. The only policy that would ever allow Margaret Noodin to be a tribal member is one that allows anyone to randomly pick a tribe and enroll.
Does Freeland recognize that's what he's advocating? I can't figure out if he's intentionally being obtuse by making it a blood quantum issue or if he has a deficit that impedes his ability to comprehend all the records showing Margaret's ancestors didn't even originate from the right location.
