She was later named the inaugural director of the University of British Columbia's Indian Residential School History and Dialogue Centre.
[1] Following the report, she left her UBC role, and many awards, including 11 honorary degrees and the Order of Canada, were revoked or relinquished.
[1] Before a 2022 CBC News report cast doubt on her statements of Indian ancestry, Turpel-Lafond was celebrated as one of the most accomplished First Nations scholars in the history of Canada.
[15] Turpel-Lafond worked on land claims with the Indian Law Resource Center in Washington, DC, and served as a legal and constitutional adviser to aboriginal leaders.
[17] During a 2013 speech at a Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences event, Turpel-Lafond stated that she had received the designation of Queen's Counsel (QC) from the Government of Saskatchewan.
[18] As of February 2, 2024, Turpel-Lafond was listed as "non-practising" by the Law Society of British Columbia, the regulatory body for lawyers in that province.
[19] In 2024, the Law Society of British Columbia issued a report which concluded that Turpel-Lafond likely has recent Indigenous ancestry.
[22][24] In 2017, Turpel-Lafond filed a lawsuit against the province of British Columbia which claimed that the government broke a verbal agreement to provide her with 18 months worth of pension credits for each year of service.
[31] The Globe and Mail stated that Turpel-Lafond was removed from her position at the Peter A. Allard School of Law "because of the compelling evidence that she isn't who she says she is".
An investigation by its Discipline Committee in 2024 found that Turpel-Lafond had committed professional misconduct in relation to misrepresentations when joining the society along with testimony at the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in 2018.
According to the report, Turpel-Lafond inaccurately claimed to have been called to the bar of New Brunswick, said she had co-authored a book when no such book had been published, claimed to have been awarded an honorary degree from First Nations University of Canada when no such award had been made, and stated that she had been a tenured professor at Dalhousie Law School for 15 years when she was only tenured for two.
Keeper further recalled that William Turpel's father was a white doctor in the community who had treated him for double pneumonia and dysentery during his youth.
[4] After the CBC News report was published, the University of British Columbia initially affirmed its support for Turpel-Lafond.
According to The Globe and Mail, Turpel-Lafond was removed from her position at the School of Law due to evidence that her claims about her background were untrue.
[39] Cindy Blackstock, professor of social work at McGill University, and member of the Gitxsan First Nation, concluded that the birth certificate of Turpel-Lafond's father "... was pretty clear and convincing evidence suggesting that in this case there is no Indigenous identity per se".
She also stated that "Trial by media is rampant, can be unbalanced and cause harm", and added: "This is precisely how wrongful convictions and injustice happens – take a position based on what someone else suggests while never delving deeper into matters to determine the truth.
"[46] In 2024, a report from the Law Society of British Columbia indicated that Turpel-Lafond most likely has recent ancestors with substantial Indigenous DNA.
According to a publicly available curriculum vitae, Turpel-Lafond has asserted that she had received an honorary doctorate from First Nations University of Canada in 2001.
[65][66] On March 9, 2023, the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association announced that it had stripped Turpel-Lafond of the Reg Robson Award it had previously given her in 2020.
[69] According to Turpel-Lafond, she co-authored a book with University of British Columbia professor Grant Charles in 2017 titled Indigenous Customary Adoption and Reconciliation.