In the end, the truth will set you free. After years of derision, Senator Elizabeth Warren has finally released her DNA results. The move is meant to solve, once and for all, whether her family folklore about having Native American ancestry was based on tangible facts or just old yarns told around the fire.
Senator Warren submitting to a (private) DNA test was done in hopes of ending years of mocking and racial bullying from President Donald Trump who sees Warren as a foe in 2020 and an enemy to his wider platform. Trump started referring to Warren as “Pocahontas” at campaign rallies during the election cycle. In July, he upped the ante by proclaiming at a rally, “I will give you a million dollars to your favorite charity, paid for by Trump, if you take the test and it shows you’re an Indian.”
Well, she did and the results are in. Donald Trump owes one million dollars.
Like many Americans, Senator Warren believed she had some modicum of Indigenous heritage way back in her ancestry but no real way to prove anything. According to her own admission, she used those family stories to partially define her character in the past — and that past caught up with her. Adversaries like Donald Trump latched on to the idea that Warren was a bold-faced liar and started using her “supposed” Native heritage as a rallying cry to defame her.
Last August, Warren took steps to refute the president and find out what really was in her family history. She submitted her DNA to an expert in the field, Carlos D. Bustamante of Stanford University. Bustamante ran the results and created a full report.
Flashback. July 5. Trump on Elizabeth Warren: "I will give you a million dollars to your favorite charity, paid for by Trump, if you take the test and it shows you're an Indian." (via Fox) pic.twitter.com/rQ8cxHGg8s
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 15, 2018
The long and the short of it is, yes, Elizabeth Warren has Indigenous American DNA in her past. Bustamante reported that “the vast majority” of Warren’s ancestry is European. However, he added that “the results strongly support the existence of an unadmixed Native American ancestor.” According to the report in The Boston Globe, that ancestor is likely “six to ten generations back” in Warren’s ancestry. Now, granted, DNA and ancestors do not equal being raised in a culture and having to deal with the ups and downs therein. Still, this DNA evidence does suggest that Warren’s family yarns were, at the very least, based in some reality. Although it seems that her DNA was matched against “samples from Mexico, Peru, and Colombia” and not Cherokee or other tribes Warren claimed to be descended from, according to a report in USA Today.
With that in mind, we thought we’d make a few suggestions for Trump’s donation. We’re picking some Native American charities the president can kick his $1 million to (though, we doubt he will). The best part: If you have an extra fiver laying around, you can donate too!
Let’s start with Dr. Warren’s own recommendation:
NIWRC is a nonprofit working to protect Native women from violence. More than half of all Native women have experienced sexual violence, and the majority of violent crimes against Native Americans are perpetrated by non-Natives.
Send them your $1M check, @realDonaldTrump.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) October 15, 2018
National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center — The money goes to help Native women and children escape and recover from systemic violence.
Crazy Horse Memorial — The money goes towards building the Crazy Horse Memorial and the attached Native American museums and a Native America College in South Dakota.
Alaska Native Science & Engineering Program — The money goes towards enabling young Alaska Natives to take part in STEM programs throughout school and into university.
Water Protector Legal Collective — The money goes to support the legal fees of those arrested in Standing Rock while protesting the extension of the DAPL pipeline.
Partnership with Native Americans — The money goes towards helping the 90,000+ Native Americans families who are homeless and in need of meals.
Native American Rights Fund — The money goes towards fighting legal battles to assure tribes and Native Americans receive equal rights in the United States and are able to legally protect their interests.
National Museum of the American Indian — The money goes towards curating the museum in Washington, DC, and offering educational support for Native American issues at the Smithsonian and across the nation.
I-Collective — The money goes to support a collection of young Indigenous chefs from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico who are redefining the pan-American food experience by re-embracing the food of the Americas.
(Via The Boston Globe)
