Tinsel Korey and Kiowa Gordon – PHOTOS from LA Twilight Convention

Harsha Patel[2], is an East Indian actress widely criticized for falsely claiming First Nations “status” in Canada in order to play Aboriginal roles in film and television.
Although she is not of Native American/First Nations descent, Harsha Patel stated in Instyle Magazine that, although “there is a Native American community” that is vibrant, she is, in fact, the “New Native America“,”[3] a comment that sparked outrage on many online blogs[4].

In a recent interview with HollywoodChicago.com, both Patel and co-star BooBoo Stewart, another non-native actor cast in a native role for the Twilight series, promoted the upcoming Twilight film. In the June 29th 2010 interview, Harsha Patel stated that while native people are “struggling,” her presence in “modern day culture, as in the Twilight films, [is] good for native actors.”

Prior to moving to Vancouver, Patel appeared in some ads. After choosing to sever all ties with her biological parents, she decided, in late 2002, to move to Hollywood, but was “stopped at the border because she couldn’t prove she was going to come back to Canada. She couldn’t go home though so she called her friend and got on a flight to Vancouver, abandoned her family and friends, created a new alias, and a new life.”[5]

Patel performed as a singer at the 2008 National Aboriginal Achievement Awards.[6] Patel was scheduled to host the 2010 National Aboriginal Achievement Awards, but was removed from their programming after discovery of her fabricated identity and false claims to First Nations status in Canada. [7]

Patel is a 1998 graduate of William Lyon Mackenzie Collegiate Institute and was recently honored on their Wall of Fame to feature 50 Mackenzie alumni who have contributed to society in a significant way.[8] The North York High School list both Patel’s real name and stage name, stating, ““Tinsel Korey, born Harsha Patel, is an up and coming actress and musician now living in Vancouver, British Columbia.”[9]

Patel currently lives in Los Angeles.

Kiowa is so cute ; )