More than 200 Native Americans wrote a letter to Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren urging her to address her past claims of Native American heritage.
“As concerned citizens of the Cherokee Nation, United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, we recognize our responsibility to stand up for our communities: to those we claim and those who claim us,” they wrote on Medium.
The Native American activists also added that while Warren has done some “good things” for Native Americans, her past heritage claims cloud those things. (RELATED: Flashback: Elizabeth Warren Became Rich By Defending The Rich)
“You have done some good things for Indian Country during your time in political service,” they wrote. “You have also done real harm. Right now you have the platform and the opportunity to stand firmly on the side of justice.”
(Screenshot CBS News)
Warren responded to the group Tuesday night with a ten page letter of her own, apologizing for her past claims.
BREAKING: More than 200 Cherokees and other Native Americans have signed a letter urging Sen. Elizabeth Warren to fully address past claims to being Native.
They want her to help dispel widespread beliefs by whites that they have Native heritagehttps://t.co/V4q7txro1I
— Adam Elmahrek (@adamelmahrek) February 26, 2020
“I am not a person of color,” Warren wrote. “I am a white woman, and that is how I identify. In addition, I am not a tribal citizen.”
“I was wrong to have identified as a Native American, and, without qualification or excuse, I apologize for the harm I caused,” she continued.
Warren has been attacked over past claims of Native American heritage, including by President Donald Trump who frequently refers to the senator as “Pocahontas.”
Warren took a DNA test in 2018 in an attempt to prove her heritage, but the test found that she was just 1/1024th Native American. Warren later scrubbed the results from her campaign website.