Elizabeth Warren Native American Heritage Controversy

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Part of a series on Elizabeth Warren. [View Related Entries]

Overview

Elizabeth Warren Native American Heritage Controversy refers to disputes over United States Senator Elizabeth Warren's claimed Native American ancestry. While initially arising due to a 2012 report by the Boston Herald, the issue reemerged following her release of a controversial DNA test in late 2018.

Background

On April 27th, 2012, the Boston Herald^[1] reported that Warren listed herself as a Native American in the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) directories from 1986 to 1995. Scott Brown, her opponent in that year's Massachusetts Senate race, speculated that she faked being Native American to advance her career. During an interview with NPR^[2] in May, Warren claimed she had always been told she was "part Cherokee" by her family, and that she was "very proud of her heritage."

Developments

"Pocahontas" Nickname

In late May 2016, Trump mocked Warren using the nickname "Pocahontas," a Native American of historical significance for her association with the colonial settlement Jamestown, in reference to her Native American heritage scandal in an interview with The New York Times.^[3]

"When I asked if he had been chided by any Republicans for his Twitter feud with Elizabeth Warren, he replied, 'You mean Pocahontas?'"

On June 10th, Trump posted a tweet referring to Warren as "Pocahontas" and "goofy" (shown below, left). Following Warren's speech at the Democratic National Convention on July 25th, Trump tweeted that the Senator was "often referred to as Pocahontas" (shown below, right).

DNA Test

On October 15th, 2018, Warren released a video announcing the results of a DNA test, claiming it showed "strong evidence" of her Native American heritage (shown below). According to the Boston Globe,^[4] the test revealed that Warren had a "Native American in her family tree dating back 6 to 10 generations." The results suggest that Warren is "between 1/64th and 1/1,024th Native American."

My family (including Fox News-watchers) sat together and talked about what they think of realDonaldTrump</a>’s attacks on our heritage. And yes, a famous geneticist analyzed my DNA and concluded that it contains Native American ancestry. <a href="https://t.co/r3SNzP22f8">pic.twitter.com/r3SNzP22f8</a></p>— Elizabeth Warren (elizabethforma) October 15, 2018

The same day, Warren tweeted^[5] "I never expected my family’s story to be used as a racist political joke, but I don’t take any fight lying down" (shown below). The follow-up tweet received more than 13,000 likes and 3,100 retweets over the next several months. The tweet linked to a page^[6] citing The Boston Globe's report that her ethnicity "played no role in her hiring" at Harvard Law.

Some criticized Warren for her decision to take and release a DNA test. Twitter @EmmyNawjoopinga tweeted, "That's not how this works, that's not how any of this works. Can Warren just stop? I would much rather it said Warren meets with Cherokee women to apologize. This is NOT how you make amends to Natives FYI. #ElizabethWarren." The tweet received more than 560 retweets and 1,600 likes in 24 hours (shown below, left).

Twitter user @serena_graves tweeted, "As a Ntv person in academia I cant prove my Ojibwe and Lakotah lineage via DNA tests for scholarships. I have to provide tribal documentation and written proof that I’m connected to my community. @elizabethforma gets to take a DNA test to prove 'lineage' & it’s cool tho? 👀💀" The tweet received more than 100 retweets and 300 likes in 24 hours (shown below, center).

Others attempted to call attention to President Trump's offer to donate $1 million to charity if Warren released the DNA test. CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins tweeted, "Trump denies offering to pay $1 million to the charity of Elizabeth Warren’s choice if she proved her Native American heritage. He did." The tweet received more than 1,000 retweets and 2,200 likes in 24 hours (shown below, right).

That day, ABC this week released a video of Trump responding to the DNA test and denying the $1 million challenge. The post received more than 170 retweets and 330 likes in 24 hours.

President Donald Trump on Sen. Elizabeth Warren releasing the results of her DNA test: "Who cares?"The results show "strong evidence" Warren had a Native American ancestor dating back several generations, The Boston Globe reported today https://t.co/EOm10j8Yef pic.twitter.com/iVw6tuhWA2

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) October 15, 2018

Apology to Cherokee Nation

On February 1st, 2019, The New York Times^[9] reported that Warren had privately apologized to a Cherokee Nation leader for releasing a DNA test to prove her Native American ancestry.

Texas Bar Registration

On February 5th, 2019, The Washington Post^[7] published an article containing a 1986 registration card for the State Bar of Texas, in which Warren identified herself as an "American Indian" (shown below).

That evening, Twitter published a Moments^[8] page highlighting various reactions to the article on the social media platform. Meanwhile, several posts about the registration card reached the front page of the /r/The_Donald^[10]^[11]^[12] subreddit. The following day, YouTuber Timcast uploaded a video reacting to the story, which gained more than 40,000 views and 1,200 comments within four hours (shown below).

Also on February 6th, RNC national spokesperson Kayleigh McEnany tweeted that she received a warning from Instagram for posting an image of the registration card (shown below).

Donald Trump's "TRAIL" Tweet

On February 9th, 2019, Trump posted a tweet^[13] responding to Warren's official 2020 presidential run announcement, in which he referred to her as "Pocahontas" and joked about her running as "our first Native American presidential candidate" before signing off with the line "See you on the campaign TRAIL, Liz." Within 48 hours, the tweet garnered upwards of 188,000 likes and 38,700 retweets. Following the tweet, many criticized Trump for posted what they considered to be a mockery of the Trail of Tears, referring to forced relocations of Native Americans during the 1800s. In response, author Michael Malice replied^[14] to the tweet with "The Native American genocide continues with another murder by the president." Shortly after, Donald Trump Jr. posted a screenshot of Malice's response to his father's tweet to Instagram,^[15] along with the message "Savage!!! Love my President." (shown below).

1/1024

1/1024 is a fraction used in jokes mocking reports that a DNA test for Elizabeth Warren determined that she was between 1/64th and 1/1,024th Native American.