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For the Cherokee Nation, Elizabeth Warren's 'Pocahontas' issue is still a problem
by Kaylee McGhee
| February 26, 2020 12:37 PM
Democratic voters have by and large forgotten about Elizabeth Warren’s “Pocahontas” moment. But the Cherokee Nation has not.
In an open letter to Warren, hundreds of Cherokee citizens said that Warren’s “history of false claims to American Indian identity” is still disturbing, even if the media no longer cares.
“For Native Americans, this moment is more than an annoyance; it represents the most public debate about our identity in a generation. In a country where Indigenous people are mostly invisible, what Americans conclude from this debate will impact Native rights for years to come,” they wrote. “Whatever your intentions, your actions have normalized white people claiming to be Native, and perpetuated a dangerous misunderstanding of tribal sovereignty.”
The debate about whether Warren is Native American or white is largely one of identity politics. What’s significant, however, is that Warren, in an attempt to check the boxes, committed an unforgivable deed: cultural appropriation. That misstep still haunts her campaign.
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Democratic voters seem to care much more about Warren’s unrealistic proposals than her ancestry. After all, her poll numbers continued to rise despite criticism from Republicans and liberals, and they didn’t tank until after she released her “Medicare for all” proposal.
But the Cherokee Nation’s letter to Warren proves she’s still vulnerable to charges of dishonesty and opportunism. “Accountability is not just admitting you made a mistake, but working to correct the harm it caused,” the letter states, urging Warren to take this “unique opportunity to turn this controversy into a needed learning moment.”
To Warren’s credit, she has tried to do just that. She rolled out a sweeping plan to expand tribal nation sovereignty and create new social programs geared toward Native American communities, and she has vowed to be more mindful of the “harm” her actions have caused.
But this wasn’t enough to put the Cherokee Nation’s minds at ease. And that’s because the “Pocahontas” debacle cuts to the core of Warren’s campaign, as Politico's Bill Scher explained. She has presented herself as a straight shooter, a liberal running against a flawed, rigged system, and a candidate who can take on President Trump’s dishonesty and win. But by falsely claiming Native American ancestry — not just during her presidential campaign, but on her Harvard Law application and on her Texas state bar exam — Warren committed the very sins she’s campaigning against, forcing voters to question her character.
Trump’s “Pocahontas” nickname was never more than a sly joke. But it points to an underlying concern about Warren’s personal integrity and the integrity of her campaign. So perhaps the Cherokee Nation has a point, after all.
For the Cherokee Nation, Elizabeth Warren's 'Pocahontas' issue is still a problem
Well if you had to pull that from Wikipedia then it's not common knowledge.
