After a month of organizing, over 200 Cherokee citizens and Native voices published an open letter to calling on her to refute her claims to Cherokee heritage bc it normalizes White ppl appropriating our identity.
#StepUpWarren #CherokeeTruth
Conversation
Warren and her supporters claim she is the right candidate because she listens, responds and changes to criticism. Today, we'll see if that virtue holds true.
If you're part of I hope you stop, listen to Cherokee voices, and hold your candidate accountable.
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We asked to publicly state 3 things:
- like many White families, the story she grew up w/ of Cherokee heritage is simply false and it was wrong to repeat it.
- using DNA tests to claim Native identity is dangerous.
- Native ppl alone determine who is and who isn't Native
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. responded with a 12 page letter the made made available online here: documentcloud.org/documents/6786
The response mostly restates her policy platform on Native issues and quotes about a dozen Native people who have said positive things about her in the past.
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To her credit, Warren addressed 2 of our 3 demands: that only Native people determine who is and who is not Native American, and her choice to equate the results of a DNA testing to Native identity was wrong bc it undermined the foundation of tribal sovereignty.
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Its a step in the right direction, but our 1st point--that her family story of Cherokee and Delaware ancestry is false--was not addressed.
To correct the misunderstanding Warren caused, the public doesn’t need a lengthy policy statement, they need an example.
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Warren could be that example by admitting that her family story of Cherokee ancestry--like hundreds of thousands of other white ppl--is simply false. It would be a needed learning moment in a country where appropriating Cherokee identity is widely seen as acceptable.
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We've responded to the campaign's letter with a request for further dialogue. So far, they have not responded.
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I have a friend who grew up falsely believing she was of Native American descent. It happens, a lot. All it takes to rectify is a quick explanation and an apology. That’s it. Oral histories can be wrong.
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How could you possibly know it’s false? Based on what evidence?
You know her ancestry better than her own family?
You’re making assertions you can’t back up.
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I thought the ask of the first paragraph was to affirm that she was white and not Cherokee, which she does state clearly. I read that and the following paragraphs as a clear denunciation of her and others using family stories to claim native ancestry. Glad you’re pushing though.