Highwater's false claims to American Indian ancestry were explored and documented by Hank Adams (Assiniboine) in a 1984 "Akwesasne Notes" article. He identified Highwater's inconsistencies about birthplace and date, parents, college, and other biographical details. Between 1982 and 1983 Highwater and his Primal Mind Foundation had received more than $825,000 dollars in federal grant money from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), based on his claimed identification as Native American. His claims of Native ancestry were strongly disputed by American Indian activists and intellectuals, who argued that his works were inauthentic and stereotypical. They said that he had illegally received the grant money by misrepresenting material facts about his life.