Warren on taking DNA test to prove Native American heritage: I know who I am

[Soph0571]

She was questioned during an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press" about an editorial in a Massachusetts newspaper, "Warren must resolve debate on heritage, which said a DNA test would "permanently resolve the issue."

“Look, I do know. I know who I am. And never used it for anything. Never got any benefit from it anywhere," Warren said.

"But what I did a couple of weeks ago is I went to talk to the leaders of the native tribes across the country,” she added.

“And I talked about the fact that President Trump can't seem to hear my name without trying to throw a racial slur into it. Can't seem to make it through a ceremony honoring Native American war heroes without trying to make something else out of it.”
President Trump has poked at Warren over the claim, referring to the senator as “Pocahontas.”

[link:http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/377812-warren-on-taking-dna-test-to-prove-native-american-heritage-i-know-who-i-am|

[Gabi Hayes]

1. Hmmmmm.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100210340293

[Iliyah]

2. OK this is petty bullshit

[democratisphere]

3. This is another drumpf birther issue. Why should anyone need to lower themselves

to drumpf's level to prove who their ancestors were? NO ONE! F'em!

[Squinch]

9. Absolutely. Also another example of how the republicans, though they only use them for evil, have

amazing messaging skills.

No one will ever forget this. This nothing will always be made into something by them whenever Liz's name comes up. It is nothing but it DOES damage her.

We need to get us some of that and use it for good rather than evil.

[Vogon_Glory]

4. Would Some Native American Nation Please Kneecap Right-Wing Attacks By

Adopting her? I realize that it's probably not PC to make such a suggestion, but adopting Elizabeth Warren would shut down a lot of that right-wing meme.

[yellerpup]

5. She's like most Oklahomans whose family was here before the railroads came through Tulsa 1884

I grew up listening to my great-grandmother's stories of Territorial Days, which were vehemently denied by my father as 'old wives tales'. Any standard DNA tests may or may not pick up traces of Native ancestry. The Cherokee tribe has its own dna testing section now, with far more verified samples than coupon one might offer but DNA won't get you into the tribe. It took 5 years of research and document gathering before I could join the tribe. Tribal recognition is only granted to descendants of Dawes Rolls, the only census in the US where people declared their blood quantum. Obviously there was resistance to signing up, so the Dawe's Resisters, most of whom were full-bloods at the time, did not sign up. She may or may not be Cherokee. I've never heard a Tribal person refer to her as Pocahontas.

[Drahthaardogs]

6. You know what is really bullshit?

Imagine an engineer lead for the Army Corps of Engineers calling a team member with Native blood "Pocahontas" every morning. Can you say EEO hostile workplace.

The President is STILL a federal employee. This is bullshit.

[poboy2]

7. This is a great point. Bring a workplace suit on his ass.

[Squinch]

10. .... oooooohhhhh! Wouldn't that make all our days!!!

[CBHagman]

11. Thank you. That gets right to the heart of the issue.

And we need to point out again that Trump used an event meant to honor the few surviving code talkers to make a cheap shot at a political opponent, and he used a racist slur to do it. That alone is evidence not only of Trump's bad moral character but his lack of social skills and outright refusal to behave in a manner suitable for any employee of any entity, government, nonprofit, or for-profit. Competent people don't do things like that. Moral people don't do things like that.

[WePurrsevere]

8. I don't think she should publicly test for a few reasons...

But here's one of my main ones... Science.

The problem is that while the DNA matching part is very accurate, especially for second cousins and closer, the 'admixture' (ethnicity/heritage) aspect of DNA testing simply isn't as accurate as DNA testing companies tend to promote it to be and Native American is one of the hardest to prove 'partially' because there just aren't enough samples yet.

Here are two very good articles that help explain how the 'Admixture' part works...
Admixture:Not Soup Yet
NATIVE AMERICAN DNA Is Just Not That Into You

Anyway, her taking a test wouldn't necessarily prove she has NA ancestors but it could open her up to yet more remarks by those, like Trump, who don't have even rudimentary knowledge of, nor a desire to learn, how DNA works and its limitations with ethnicity/heritage.

[Gabi Hayes]

13. Thank you for that! Unfortunately, it will be drowned out by the right wing shout machine,

which will concentrate only on the accusation, not the substance, and the libmed will follow along slavishly, as they did the Swiftboaters, and all the BS Gore myths

[WePurrsevere]

14. You're welcome & absolutely correct! These are the types...

that believe that if they can't understand something immediately than it must not be real or true and unfortunately too many in our media choose to cater to and even encourage the delusions of the deliberately ignorant instead of doing what our forefathers saw as the job of a free press and reporting the facts.

[Wwcd]

12. Sure. Right after we see Melania's American Citizen status papers

He's so full of shit