Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren, preparing to formally launch her 2020 presidential campaign, has apologized to the Cherokee Nation for taking a DNA test to prove she had Native American ancestry according to the New York Times.
“Senator Warren has reached out to us and has apologized to the tribe. We are encouraged by this dialogue and understanding that being a Cherokee Nation tribal citizen is rooted in centuries of culture and laws not through DNA tests. We are encouraged by her action and hope that the slurs and mockery of tribal citizens and Indian history and heritage will now come to an end,” the Cherokee Nation said in a statement.
The apology is a break from Ms. Warren’s previous public stance, where she refused to admit fault said the Times.
Chuck Hoskin Jr, the secretary of state of the Cherokee Nation, published an opinion column in Tulsa World titled, “Elizabeth Warren can be a friend, but she isn’t a Cherokee citizen.”
Back in October Warren (D-MA), frequently mocked with the name “Pocahontas” by Donald Trump and other conservatives and a possible challenger for his office in 2020, released the results of a DNA test that showed Native American ancestry “in the range of 6-10 generations ago.”
The Boston Globe reported: ‘That timing fits Warren’s family lore, passed down during her Oklahoma upbringing, that her great-great-great-grandmother, O.C. Sarah Smith, was at least partially Native American. The inherent imprecision of the six-page DNA analysis could provide fodder for Warren’s critics. If her great-great-great-grandmother was Native American, that puts her at 1/32nd American Indian. But the report includes the possibility that she’s just 1/512th Native American if the ancestor is 10 generations back. Undergoing the test and releasing the results reveal how seriously Warren is taking the attacks from Trump, who has been able to effectively caricature and diminish his national foes via nicknames and conspiracy theories.’
She even demanded that President Trump pay up for the public bet he made with Warren: Trump said he would give Elizabeth Warren’s favorite charity a $1 million donation if she took a DNA test and it proved she had Native American ancestry.
Warren demanded Trump to pay up, tweeting:
By the way, @realDonaldTrump: Remember saying on 7/5 that you’d give $1M to a charity of my choice if my DNA showed Native American ancestry? I remember – and here’s the verdict. Please send the check to the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center: https://t.co/I6YQ9hf7Tv pic.twitter.com/J4gBamaeeo
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) October 15, 2018
Since then Warren has announced her 2020 bid for the presidency and likely was looking to preclude it from becoming a talking point or barb by her opponents.
