Elizabeth Warren Commemorates ‘Indigenous Peoples’ Day’

SIOUX CITY, IA - AUGUST 19: Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA)
Hannah Knudsen

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) on Monday commemorated “Indigenous Peoples’ Day” in place of Columbus Day and claimed America has a “long and painful” history of mistreating Native Americans.

The DC Council approved of the “Indigenous Peoples’ Day Emergency Declaration Act of 2019” last week, which temporarily replaces Columbus Day with “Indigenous Peoples’ Day” in the city this year. However, it is not a permanent measure:

Council member David Grosso said last week:

“Columbus Day was officially designated as a federal holiday in 1937, despite the fact Columbus did not discover North America, despite the fact millions of people were already living in North America upon his arrival to the Americas, and despite the fact Columbus never set foot on the shores of the current United States.

…

Columbus enslaved, colonized, mutilated, and massacred thousands of Indigenous People in the Americas.

Warren, who falsely claimed Native American heritage throughout her academic career, embraced the temporary replacement.

“The story of America’s mistreatment of indigenous peoples is long and painful. And yet, Native communities have proven resilient,” Warren wrote.

“We owe them our respect—and we must honor our government’s commitments and promises to them,” she added with the hashtag, “#IndigenousPeoplesDay”:

Warren also provided a link to her extensive plan focused on “honoring and empowering tribal nations and Indigenous peoples”:

The presidential hopeful unveiled her comprehensive plan to “empower” tribal nations in August, which included key pieces from her other plans. She promised to expand federally protected land, sign a “set of executive orders to hold private contractors accountable for pay equity,” and provide Medicare for All.

Warren has faced scrutiny for falsely claiming Native American heritage in the past. The results of her DNA test made public last year showed that she possessed between 1/64th and 1/1,024 Native American ancestry (or between 0.1 percent to 1.56 percent). The results called her past claims of Native American heritage – Cherokee heritage, specifically – into question.

Not only had Warren identified as a minority professor for years, she also claimed Native American heritage on her Texas Bar registration card and once cited her high cheekbones as proof of her native roots. A clip of an interview from 2012 shows the presidential hopeful telling a reporter that she had pictures proving her Native American family history, but she refused to show them.

“I have plenty of pictures. They’re not for you,” Warren told the reporter:

As Breitbart News reported, Warren’s DNA results did not show a direct association with Native American tribes in the U.S., further debunking her claims of Cherokee heritage.

Warren has failed to explain why she went so many years claiming minority status without checking her family history, but she has since admitted that she is “not a citizen of a tribe” and issued a general apology for making what she described as a “mistake.”

“Like anyone who’s been honest with themselves, I know that I have made mistakes,” Warren said at the Native American Presidential Forum in Sioux City, Iowa, in August. “I am sorry for harm I have caused.”

Warren will join 11 other candidates on the debate stage at Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio, on Tuesday evening. The Massachusetts senator’s false claims of Native American heritage have yet to become a topic of conversation at any of the primary debates.

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