Elizabeth Warren Mocked for Celebrating ‘Indigenous Peoples’ Day’

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 15: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) speaks during a press conference ou
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Paul Bois

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) prompted scores of mockery on Monday when she celebrated “Indigenous Peoples’ Day.”

“On #IndigenousPeoplesDay, we celebrate the contributions, the extraordinary resilience, and the rich cultures of tribal nations and Native communities. Today and every day, the federal government must recommit itself to honoring its promises to Native peoples,” Warren tweeted.

Since Warren famously claimed Native American ancestry for years until that was eventually debunked, conservatives and anti-Warren critics immediately pounced on the tweet, advising her to sit this one out.

After former President Trump relentlessly trolled her with the moniker “Pocahontas,” Warren famously released a DNA test showing she is somewhere between 1/64 and 1/1,024 Native American in her ancestry. At the time, Warren seemed to hope that releasing the DNA test would silence President Trump from using it as an attack against her if she were to win the 2020 nomination; to her grave misfortune, it backfired immensely. Even the Cherokee nation, from whom Warren claimed to be a descendant, publicly called her out on it.

“A DNA test is useless to determine tribal citizenship,” said Cherokee Nation Secretary of State Chuck Hoskin, Jr. in a statement at the time. “Current DNA tests do not even distinguish whether a person’s ancestors were indigenous to North or South America. Sovereign tribal nations set their own legal requirements for citizenship, and while DNA tests can be used to determine lineage, such as paternity to an individual, it is not evidence for tribal affiliation.”

“Using a DNA test to lay claim to any connection to the Cherokee Nation or any tribal nation, even vaguely, is inappropriate and wrong,” Hoskin continued. “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. Senator Warren is undermining tribal interests with her continued claims of tribal heritage.”

Warren apologized to the Cherokee Nation for releasing the DNA test almost immediately.

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