The Boston Globe had to issue a second embarrassing correction to their story claiming that Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is Native American, admitting that the newspaper made “a math error.”
Buried at the very bottom of the report, the newspaper issued the following correction:
Due to a math error, a story about Elizabeth Warren misstated the ancestry percentage of a potential 6th to 10th generation relative. The generational range based on the ancestor that the report identified suggests she’s between 1/64th and 1/1,024th Native American.
The embarrassing report from Annie Linskey even noted that the analysis of Warren’s genetic ancestry was based not on Native American DNA, but on Mexican, Peruvian, and Colombian DNA.
Even more embarrassing, a comprehensive study by geneticists estimated that the average European-American has 0.18% Native American DNA, which may be higher than Warren.
Warren’s gamble of desperately trying to prove her Native American ancestry appears to have backfired as she was widely mocked online.
James Woods was quick to brand her as “Señorita Warren”:
Jim Messina, the campaign manager for President Obama’s 2012 campaign, was left confused by Warren’s move:
Rich Lowry, editor of National Review, noted:
Donald Trump Jr. slammed Warren:
James Taranto, editor at the Wall Street Journal:
Sports analyst Clay Travis:
Ann Coulter:
Michelle Malkin:
The Onion added:
“So today, baited by Trump’s gibes, Elizabeth Warren rushes headlong into self-parody with a lavish rollout of a DNA test that suggests that she may be (checks notes) 1/1,024 Native American,” Charlie Sykes wrote at the Weekly Standard. “The DNA test, notable for its imprecision, suggests that Warren may have a Native American ancestor somewhere “in the range of 6-10 generations ago.” (Which reminds me that I have an ancestry report around here somewhere suggesting that in addition to my Russian Jewish ancestors, I am also descended from Scottish kings.)”
Cherokee Nation responded to Warren’s DNA test result by noting that “A DNA test is useless to determine tribal citizenship”:
A 2012 report from The Atlantic noted that Warren was not a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, was not enrolled in the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and was not one of the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee, “Nor could she become one, even if she wanted to.”
To qualify for the Eastern Band of the Cherokee, Warren would need to be “at least 1/16 Cherokee to enroll — and also to have “a direct lineal ancestor” on ‘the 1924 Baker Roll of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.'”
Warren is, at most, 1/64 Native American, thus she does not qualify.
To qualify for the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee, Warren would need “a minimum blood quantum requirement of one quarter (1/4) degree Keetoowah Cherokee blood.”
Again, Warren does not qualify.
Warren’s maximum 1/64 Native American would not appear to be a barrier to her joining the Cherokee Nation, but she would be disqualified based on her inability to name a direct ancestor. The Atlantic reports:
And while many have pointed out that the current principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, Bill John Baker, is only 1/32 Cherokee, his background is not like Warren’s; he was “born and raised in Cherokee County” and is a direct descendant of “Nancy Walker Osage, an early Tahlequah business owner and Cherokee Healer” listed on the Dawes Rolls.
The difference between him and Warren is he has a direct-line ancestor clearly documented as a Cherokee whom he can name. So far, Warren has only been able to point to family lore.