An associate professor at Oregon State University has quietly stepped down from his position after facing allegations he falsely claimed Native American and African ancestry. Paul Edward “Qwo-Li” Driskill identifies as “Two-Spirit” uses S/he, Hir, and they/them pronouns.
Driskill, who was a member of the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies department, is a poet who has identified himself as being of Cherokee and “African, Irish, Lenape, Lumbee, and Osage ascent.” According to the Poetry Foundation, “Driskill’s poetry engages themes of inheritance and healing, and is rooted in personal (unenrolled) Cherokee Two-Spirit, queer, and mixed-race experience.”
Over the years, Driskill’s trans and racial identity claims afforded him ample opportunities and speaking engagements. In 2022, he was invited to lecture on “gender and sexuality in Cherokee cultural memory” at the University of British Columbia. He was also honored with a Stonewall Service Award in 2014 by the Conference on College Composition and Communication.
Driskill has publicly identified as a Two-Spirit Cherokee throughout his career and has integrated these identities into his teaching, writing, and academic work with multiple videos of him on YouTube reciting his original poems in the Cherokee language.
But despite having been a well-respected scholar in his field, Driskill came under the scrutiny of the Tribal Alliance Against Frauds (TAAF), which has drawn national attention for investigating claims of Native American heritage made by high-profile figures. The TAAF uncovered no evidence of Driskill’s assertions of Cherokee, Lenape, Osage, and Lumbee heritage or African American ancestry.
TAAF, an intertribal organization of genealogists and researchers, conducted a detailed investigation into Driskill’s background beginning last year. The genealogists, who are certified experts in researching Native American and slave ancestry, were unable to substantiate any of Driskill’s claims related to his identity.
According to the TAAF, they began investigating Driskill after receiving a tip out of Oregon State University from an individual who expressed concerns about Driskill’s claims. TAAF’s director, Lianna Constantino, asserted in an October 2023 statement that Driskill’s family has no documented ties to the tribes he claims. She also emphasized that Driskill’s claims of Indigenous identity were unfounded and accused him of profiting from a false identity.
Constantino also critiqued Driskill’s use of Tsalagi in his poetry, saying: “Although he uses the Cherokee language, he’s butchering it — it’s not correct.”
While Driskill was initially silent on the claims, he has now quietly stepped down from his position at Oregon State University after initially being slated to return to his teaching post this fall.
In a phone call to the University’s Women, Gender and Sexuality department a department administrative assistant confirmed Driskill was no longer working there as of early September but declined to comment any further.
Oregon State University has not made any further statements regarding the allegations against Driskill, nor has it clarified whether any internal action was taken in response to the investigation.
Driskill’s departure from OSU in September 2024, several months after the release of TAAF’s findings, has raised further questions. The circumstances of his sudden exit remain unclear, as neither OSU nor Driskill has confirmed whether he resigned or was terminated.
In addition to the allegations of falsifying his identity, Driskill has also been accused of mistreating students of color in the WGSS program. Several students have come forward with complaints, describing a hostile classroom environment and alleging that Driskill was dismissive of their requests for accommodations.
According to the Daily Barometer, one Ph.D. candidate, Yola Gomez, said he was warned by fellow students on her first day at OSU about Driskill’s behavior toward students of color. Another student, Ariana Berenice, shared that Driskill had denied her a Zoom accommodation that had been granted to other students.
In response to these allegations, the students wrote an open letter in the summer of 2023, raising concerns about Driskill’s behavior and asking OSU to take action. Despite the letter, the findings of TAAF and growing complaints, students reported that no significant changes were made, and Driskill continued to teach until his departure in September.
Driskill filed a complaint with the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) before his departure, alleging that he experienced racism while working at the University. It remains unclear if the complaint has been withdrawn or is still under investigation, as neither Driskill nor OSU has commented further on the matter.
