'Let's talk about Pocahontas,' Elizabeth Warren tells tribal leaders, addressing Native heritage claims
![Elizabeth Warren addresses tribal leaders](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/EDAyBvzdbdYBkpdMXRJcek-415-80.jpg)
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) gave a surprise speech at the National Congress of American Indians in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, and she started by taking a whack at the elephant (not) in the room. "I've noticed that every time my name comes up, President Trump likes to talk about Pocahontas," Warren said. "So I figured, let's talk about Pocahontas." And she did.
Accusations that Warren misled people by claiming Cherokee heritage, based on family lore and not other evidence, did not prevent Warren from being elected to the Senate in 2012, but they are a cloud over her possible presidential run. Trump didn't start "our country's disrespect of Native people," she said:
But now we have a president who can't make it through a ceremony honoring Native American war heroes without reducing Native history, Native culture, Native people to the butt of a joke. The joke, I guess, is supposed to be on me. I get why some people think there's hay to be made here. You won't find my family members on any rolls, and I'm not enrolled in a tribe. ... I understand that tribal membership is determined by tribes — and only by tribes. I never used my family tree to get a break or get ahead. I never used it to advance my career. [Elizabeth Warren]
Warren affirmed her belief that she has Native American heritage, a common notion in her native Oklahoma. "My mother's family was part Native American, and my daddy's parents were bitterly opposed to their relationship, so in 1932, when Mother was 19 and Daddy had just turned 20, they eloped," she said. "The story they lived will always be a part of me. And no one — not even the president of the United States — will ever take that part of me away." She got a standing ovation. The Republican National Committee, which had criticized "Fauxcanhontas" for not being scheduled to speak, also criticized her for speaking.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Ukraine's Olympians: going for gold in the line of fire
Under the Radar Hundreds of the country's athletes have died in battle, while those who remain deal with the psychological toll of war and prospect of Russian competitors
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Democrats now have a chance to present a vigorous, compelling case'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
What has Kamala Harris done as vice president?
In Depth It's not uncommon for the second-in-command to struggle to prove themselves in a role largely defined by behind-the-scenes work
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Menendez convicted of bribery, fraud, and extortion
Speed Read The New Jersey Democratic Senator was found guilty in a federal corruption trial
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Florida judge dismisses Trump documents case
Speed Read Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that special counsel Jack Smith was improperly appointed
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
How could J.D. Vance impact the special relationship?
Today's Big Question Trump's hawkish pick for VP said UK is the first 'truly Islamist country' with a nuclear weapon
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Hamas says military chief survived Israeli strike
Speed Read An Israeli bombing failed to hit its intended target, military commander Mohammed Deif, but killed at least 90 Palestinians
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden, Trump urge calm after assassination attempt
Speed Reads A 20-year-old gunman grazed Trump's ear and fatally shot a rally attendee on Saturday
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
First Israeli report on Oct. 7 finds 'severe mistakes and errors' in IDF response
Speed Reads Israeli military admits failures in response to deadly Hamas attack that triggered Gaza war
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Biden saw neurologist during physicals
Speed Read Following his bad debate performance, many are asking questions about the president's brain
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Russia bombs Kyiv children's hospital
Speed Reads The daytime barrage interrupted heart surgeries and killed at least 40 people
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published