Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) released DNA test results on Monday showing she has a token amount of Native American blood — and Cherokees are accusing her of dishonoring them with her dubious and continuing claims of tribal ancestry.
The test, which she took in August, found she was one-64th to one-1,024th Native American — or 0.09 to 1.5 percent — based on an analysis done by Stanford University geneticist Carlos Bustamante.
European Americans have, on average, “0.18 percent Native American blood,” The Washington Times reported, according to a 2014 study by Harvard University and the genetic testing company 23andMe.
This means Warren (shown above left) “may actually be less Native than the typical U.S. white person,” that publication noted.
Cherokee Nation Secretary of State Chuck Hoskin Jr. (above right) said the Massachusetts legislator is “undermining Native Americans” with her attempt to prove her tribal heritage using DNA testing, calling it “inappropriate and wrong” in no uncertain terms.
“Using a DNA test to lay claim to any connection to the Cherokee Nation or any tribal nation, even vaguely, is inappropriate and wrong,” said Hoskin in a statement.
“It makes a mockery out of DNA tests and its legitimate uses while also dishonoring legitimate tribal governments and their citizens whose ancestors are well-documented and whose heritage is proven.”
“Sen. Warren is undermining tribal interests with her continued claims of tribal heritage,” he concluded.
Related: Elizabeth Warren and the Nine Most Incredulous Twitter Reactions to Her DNA Reveal
During an appearance Monday night on CNN, Hoskin continued to dismiss the DNA results, saying, “It’s just wholly unhelpful for any national leader to cling to DNA to determine or establish that they’re Native American, in this country.” (See his comments in the video, below.)
The tribal backlash indicates Warren’s tweet announcing her results — complete with an embedded video of her receiving the results and speaking with relatives about it — is an unmistakable fumble as she looks ahead to a possible run for the White House in 2020.
My family (including Fox News-watchers) sat together and talked about what they think of @realDonaldTrump’s attacks on our heritage. And yes, a famous geneticist analyzed my DNA and concluded that it contains Native American ancestry. pic.twitter.com/r3SNzP22f8
— Elizabeth Warren (@elizabethforma) October 15, 2018
“How much? One-one thousandth?” President Donald Trump said when a reporter asked him about the results of Warren’s DNA test.
“I don’t owe her. She owes the country an apology,” he added.
Trump said he would not pay off on the bet unless he could personally verify the results, as The Washington Times noted.
“I’ll only do it if I can test her personally. That will not be something I enjoy either,” he said.
Warren appears to have a fundamental misunderstanding of what makes an individual a Native American.
“Even dogs have tested positive for Native DNA,” Cherokee genealogist Twila Barnes told The Times, referring to a Canadian lab that found indigenous ancestry in a sample taken from a canine.
“The test means nothing. An American Indian is not a race, but a status based on tribal citizenship. Warren disrespected tribal sovereignty and all tribal citizens by trying to use DNA to show she’s an Indian.”
See more in the video below.
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