Politics

Native American Forum Attendee Wants To Know If Liz Warren Is Going To Be A Woman Of Color Now

MSNBC

Amber Athey Podcast Columnist
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A Native American candidate forum attendee in Sioux City, Iowa questioned on Monday if Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren will be classified as a woman of color after releasing her DNA test.

Warren has repeatedly stated that she does not consider herself a person of color since releasing a DNA test to prove that she has Native American ancestry, but at least one forum attendee did not buy Warren’s flip-flop. Warren apologized at the forum for any “harm” she may have caused with her actions. (RELATED: Elizabeth Warren Kicks Off Policy Speech to Native Americans With Apology)

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“Is Elizabeth Warren going to be a woman of color?” a Native American woman asked during an interview with MSNBC at the Sioux City forum.

“She says she is not,” an MSNBC reporter replied.

“How can she say she’s not when she took a DNA test stating she is?” the woman fired back. “So she’s either one of us or she’s not.”

Warren released the DNA test last year after a barrage of attacks on her alleged Native American heritage by President Donald Trump, who mockingly calls the Democratic presidential candidate “Pocahontas.” Warren’s test showed that she has between 1/64th and 1/1024th Native American DNA, but it led to backlash from Native Americans who accused her of trying to fraudulently claim tribal citizenship.

Warren claimed that her family was Native American for years and even described herself as a “minority” and “American Indian” on various forms related to her legal career.

“It never had anything to do with my getting a job,” Warren said in an interview with David Axelrod in March. “Even so, I shouldn’t have done it. I’m not a person of color, I am not a citizen of a tribe.”