Cherokee Nation faults Sen. Elizabeth Warren on DNA test
A Cherokee Nation official says Sen. Elizabeth Warren “is undermining tribal interests with her continued claims of tribal heritage.”
Cherokee Nation Secretary of State Chuck Hoskin Jr. said Monday that DNA tests are useless to determine tribal citizenship and don’t distinguish whether a person’s ancestors were indigenous to North or South America.
He said “using a DNA test to lay claim to any connection to the Cherokee Nation or any tribal nation, even vaguely, is inappropriate and wrong.”
Warren on Monday released DNA test results providing some evidence of a Native American in her lineage.
The Massachusetts Democrat, who said she was told her mother was “part Cherokee and part Delaware,” acknowledged that DNA and family history have nothing to do with tribal affiliation or citizenship, which is determined by tribal nations.
She said she respects that distinction and doesn’t list herself as Native American in the Senate.
