Elizabeth Warren Apologizes to Cherokee Nation Over DNA Test

Before announcing her 2020 exploratory committee, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) received criticism for the DNA test she took. Just this week, Cherokee Nation secretary of state Chuck Hoskin Jr. wrote that “when someone boasts they are Native American due to the results of a DNA test, it perpetuates the general public’s misunderstanding about what it means to be a tribal citizen.”

Well, Warren has now apologized to the Cherokee Nation. The Intercept reported last night on Warren reaching out to express regret for “furthering confusion over issues of tribal sovereignty and citizenship and for any harm her announcement caused”:

“Senator Warren has reached out to us and has apologized to the tribe,” Cherokee Nation’s executive director of communications Julie Hubbard told The Intercept. “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.”

Warren has been traveling the country since her first 2020 announcement––an official announcement is expected February 9––and was asked in Iowa last month about her decision to take the DNA test. “I am not a person of color, I am not a citizen of a tribe,” she said. “Tribal citizenship is very different from ancestry. Tribes and only tribes determine tribal citizenship, and I respect that difference.”

[image via screengrab]

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