In an MSNBC’s Headliners special on the life of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), narrator Joy Reid delves into Warrens yet unproven claim of Native American ancestry and said it “will likely dog her” in her future campaigns until it is resolved.
Warren’s claim dates back to the 1980s when she informed law school administrators at both the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard that her family’s roots included Native Americans. Her claim is based on stories about both grandparents on her mother’s side having some Cherokee or Delaware blood.
There has never been any genealogical evidence that she has Native American ancestry and has repeatedly rejected calls to take a DNA test.
“Every time somebody wants to talk about my family or attack or throw out some kind of racial slur, I’m going to use it as a chance to lift up more awareness of what’s happening in native communities across this country,” Warren said on Headliners.
“It’s a question that will likely dog her, whether in her campaign for re-election to her Senate seat, or something even bigger,” Reid said.
That something bigger could be a run for the White House in 2020, but she’ll have to take a DNA test first if she wants to avoid being repeatedly called Fauxcahontas by her opponent.
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