Scam Goddess – “Historical Pretendians” w/ Franchesca Ramsey

Air Date: September 23, 2025
Host: Laci Mosley
Guest: Franchesca Ramsey

Episode Overview

In this lively and sharply funny episode of "Scam Goddess," host Laci Mosley welcomes back comedian, actress, and podcaster Franchesca Ramsey to explore the phenomenon of “Pretendians”—non-Native people fraudulently claiming Indigenous identity for personal gain. Through the lens of the recent Elizabeth Hoover scandal, Laci and Franchesca dissect why people pretend to be Native American, the impacts on real Native communities, and the wild history of similar cons. Their playful banter and incisive commentary offer equal parts entertainment and cultural critique.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Personal Encounters with Scams (03:07–09:08)

• Franchesca's Story: Franchesca recounts her experience with a sophisticated phishing scam where her Facebook fan page was hijacked under the guise of a paid appearance offer. The scam was notable for its authenticity—using professional contacts, payment negotiation, and even tech onboarding calls.
  • Quote:
    “I am not a scam girly myself. I walk the straight and narrow. Except for I'm not straight or narrow... my Facebook fan page got hacked last year.” (03:07 – Franchesca Ramsey)
• Both lament the rise in scam calls and texts, noting scammers’ increasing desperation and professionalism amid a tough economy.
  • Quote:
    “It's honestly starting to upset me. Like, as someone who has been in scams for almost a decade now, scam is the brand.” (08:58 – Laci Mosley)

2. Historical Hoodwinks: Elizabeth Hoover and the Pretendian Phenomenon (13:05–41:10)

Who Was Elizabeth Hoover?

• UC Berkeley professor who falsely claimed Native ancestry for decades before apologizing in 2022, admitting she's white.
• Grew up attending powwows, claiming a “traumatizing family story” of a Mohawk great-grandmother—later, none of it verified.
• Built an academic career, became a leading “Native” scholar, organized indigenous campus life, published research.
  • Quote:
    “By her early 40s, she was one of the most successful Native American academics in the country…” (20:25 – Laci Mosley)

Early Red Flags

• Hoover leaned heavily into stereotypical Native aesthetics (turquoise jewelry, powwow attendance, beadwork during lectures).
  • Quote:
    “Colleagues and students noticed how Elizabeth was always beading, even during presentations at work...” (22:06 – Laci Mosley)
• Other Native scholars suspected her, noting she was playing to “white fantasies of what an authentic Native person was.”
  • “It looked like an Etsy shop exploded on her.” (24:14 – Audra Simpson as quoted by Laci)

Apology and Response

• In 2022, Hoover finally researched her genealogy, found no evidence, and issued a lengthy, bullet-pointed apology rife with academic speak but dodgy on genuine accountability.
  • Franchesca reads a dramatic excerpt and mocks its bureaucracy:

    “I have put away my dance regalia, ribbon skirts, moccasins and native jewelry... I begun to give away some of these things to people who will wear them better.”
    (41:04 – reading apology)

• Critique of apology: too long, vague on reparations, deflects blame to family, tries to maintain academic position.
  • “It's comedically longer than we thought... She was saying anything and everything.” (47:02 – Laci Mosley)

The Rationale and Damage

• Discussion on people passing as Native for academic, financial, and social gain.
• The harm in occupying space, speaking for, and representing groups one doesn’t belong to—taking jobs/scholarships, erasing actual Native voices.
  • Quote:
    “I'm very mad that she took away an opportunity for a real Native person to be quoted in that article.”
    (18:50 – Franchesca Ramsey)

Academic Imposters: A Pattern

• Laci highlights that higher education is especially plagued by such identity scams, referencing Rachel Dolezal as the most infamous example:
  • “You know, transracial people in teaching positions are not only pretending to be something they're not, but acting like an authority on the matter...” (59:42 – Laci Mosley)

3. The Parade of ‘Pretendians’ (53:07–58:41)

• Iron Eyes Cody: Famous "crying Indian" from 1970s anti-pollution PSA—actually Italian American.
  • “Pollution is a crying shame. Now the message is... good. No, the message is great. The message is you are just not the one to do it.” (55:16 – Franchesca Ramsey)
• Sacheen Littlefeather: Accepted Marlon Brando’s Oscar as a protest—revealed posthumously as not Native but Spanish/Mexican.
  • “How do you solve a problem like Maria? You change your fucking name to Sasheen Little Feather. That is messed up…” (57:41 – Franchesca Ramsey)
• Both discuss how “costuming” seal the grift—big jewelry, dreamcatcher necklaces, performative names.

4. Broader Cultural Themes (33:03–36:05; 49:45–52:14)

• White fascination with and appropriation of Native American identity—Cherokee myths, cars named for tribes, and racist sports mascots.
• The difference between DNA, legal tribal citizenship, and authentic community membership.
• The racially fraught history of “transracial” performance and its intersection with academia/power.

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On scam hustle:
  "Scamming is a career, okay? It's a profession. They work just as hard as me."
  (07:55 – Laci Mosley)

• On performative apology:
  "This apology has so much language of a good apology, but it's also saying my family lied... so really they lied to me. I mean, look, and I'm a victim."
  (30:50 – Laci Mosley)

• On mascot racism:
  "You don't have to be native to have some sense."
  (18:39 – Franchesca Ramsey)

• On what ‘counts’ as Native:
  “It doesn’t matter if you claim to be Native. It matters if a tribe claims you to be one of them.”
  (50:50 – Laci Mosley)

• Classic Scam Goddess humor:
  "If you want to see the photos of all of these white people— I was going to say native. They almost got me. They almost tricked me."
  (64:40 – Laci Mosley)

Notable Timestamps

• 03:07 – Franchesca’s Facebook Page Scam Story
• 13:05 – Start of “Historical Hoodwinks” and the Elizabeth Hoover case
• 22:06 – Colleagues suspect something is off: “always beading”
• 29:36 – Dramatic reading of Hoover’s apology statement
• 41:04 – Listing of Hoover’s “reparations” (giving away regalia)
• 47:02 – Discovery that apology is much, much longer than thought
• 53:07 – Introduction and discussion of the “Pretendian” hall of fame
• 55:00 – Iron Eyes Cody’s true Italian identity revealed
• 57:41 – Sacheen Littlefeather exposé
• 58:48 – Fallout: Hoover keeps her job, students push for more accountability

Tone and Style

The conversation is candid, irreverent, and charged with pointed cultural commentary, but always delivered with warmth and humor. Laci and Franchesca’s rapport makes serious cultural critique accessible and fun, seamlessly weaving personal stories, pop culture, and deep analysis of fraud in society.

Final Thoughts & Call to Action (65:33–66:05)

• Franchesca: “Be yourself. Be you. There's only one you, so be you.” (65:41)
• Laci: “Whatever you are is beautiful. Embrace that.” (65:53)

Stay Schemin’

For photos from the episode and more scam breakdowns, follow @scamgoddesspod on Instagram and find Laci (@divalaci) everywhere. The episode closes with a gentle reminder—be yourself, not a scam. Stay schemin’, congregation!