Congress

Cherokee Nation to Elizabeth Warren: You’re Undermining Tribal Interests

YIKES

“Using a DNA test to lay claim to any connection to the Cherokee Nation or any tribal nation, even vaguely is inappropriate and wrong.”

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The Cherokee Nation on Monday said Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s DNA test to prove her Native American ancestry is “undermining tribal interests.” “Using a DNA test to lay claim to any connection to the Cherokee Nation or any tribal nation, even vaguely, is inappropriate and wrong,” read a statement by Cherokee Nation Secretary of State Chuck Hoskin Jr. “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.” The statement also called DNA tests “useless” for determining tribal citizenship or tribal affiliation. Warren released the results of her DNA test on Monday, proving she has Native American heritage, months after President Trump said he would donate $1 million to a charity if she could provide evidence of her ancestry. Warren said she wanted the money to go to the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center. Trump said that he would only donate if he could “personally” test Warren’s DNA.