Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) privately spoke with the principal chief of the Cherokee Nation and apologized for taking and publicizing a DNA test that showed she had a Native American in her family ancestry, the New York Times reported Friday.
A spokesperson for the Cherokee Nation told the Times that Warren “apologized for causing confusion on tribal sovereignty and tribal citizenship and the harm that has resulted.”
“The chief and secretary of state appreciate that she has reaffirmed that she is not a Cherokee Nation citizen or a citizen of any tribal nation,” Julie Hubbard, a spokesperson for Bill John Baker, head of the Cherokee Nation, told the Times.
Warren was berated for releasing DNA blood test results that showed she had a Native American ancestor several generations ago. Warren, who initially did not apologize publicly, was criticized for not only for playing into President Trump’s “Pocahontas” mocking, but also for appearing to claim a Native American heritage based on blood and not the culture or citizenship values most Native Americans see as vital to tribe membership.
As the Times notes, Chuck Hoskin Jr., the secretary of state for the Cherokee Nation, penned an op-ed in the Tulsa World this week that outlined why Warren’s move was problematic.
Good lord. Its like she wants to keep people talking about this.
Apologizing? For a DNA test that proved what her family had always told her? WTF? For fuck’s sake, she never claimed was a member of the Cherokee nation, just that she had some Cherokee ancestry. What a complete non-issue and non-scandal.
I can only assume her team has done some polling and found that the constant right-wing yammering about this somehow works for her.
Funny, Warren never sought to benefit economically from her Cherokee heritage. Contrast that with Kevin McCarthy’s brother-in-law, awarded nearly $8 million in no-bid government contracts at China Lake and LeMoore, on the grounds he was a “discriminated Cherokee”. With zero consequences even if a) his tribe is unrecognized, and b) federal nepotism laws make it illegal for a close relative of a member of congress to receive a massive benefit without disclosure and a written exemption that the conflict of interest has been resolved. Had the law been enforced, McCarthy would be sitting in prison at this moment.
The criticism seemed unwarranted to me. But then again I am a white guy and the criticism was coming directly from the native American community, so shrug