The Strange Tale of Charlie Smoke

"Just look at me," says Charlie Smoke. "You can tell from my round eyes, I'm not Asian. You can tell from my straight hair, I'm not African. You can tell from my dark scrotum that I'm not white. There's only one thing left: I'm an Indian."

If only it were that simple. Smoke is a 40-year-old resident of Regina, Saskatchewan, who identifies himself as a member of the Lakota Nation, an informal association of North American Indians. Yet he has no birth certificate, no passport—no official form of identification whatsoever. And over the past year, his identity has become a matter of considerable dispute.

In June 2001, Canadian immigration officials sent Smoke a letter instructing him to appear in court for having illegally used his wife's Social Insurance Number—the Canadian equivalent of a Social Security Number. During the hearing, it became evident that Smoke's nationality was unclear. An immigration lawyer suggested that Smoke obtain Canadian citizenship, since he claimed to have been born in Ontario. But Smoke rejected the idea that he was a Canadian citizen. With equal vehemence, he refused to produce genealogical documentation that could allow him to live in Canada without ... // 94% Remaining