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Cherokee Nation slams Sen. Elizabeth Warren DNA test as 'inappropriate and wrong'

'It makes a mockery out of DNA tests and its legitimate uses while also dishonoring legitimate tribal governments and their citizens,' said Cherokee Nation Secretary of State Chuck Hoskin Jr.
Credit: Paul Zimmerman
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., speaks onstage at the Democratic National Convention at Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts on July 27, 2016 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Paul Zimmerman/Getty Images For EMILY's List)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., released the results of a DNA testMonday that found she had Native American heritage in her background, but the Cherokee Nation – which represents the tribe Warren claims she is descended from – is far from embracing her as a new member.

"A DNA test is useless to determine tribal citizenship," Cherokee Nation Secretary of State Chuck Hoskin Jr. said in a statement. "Current DNA tests do not even distinguish whether a person’s ancestors were indigenous to North or South America."

Indeed, the genetic analysis report released by Warren concedes that because there are not samples available from many North American groups, the senator's DNA was compared against samples from Mexico, Peru and Colombia. Most Native American groups in the U.S. have declined to participate in recent genetic studies, the report said.

In addition to the lack of specificity and the fact that DNA tests do not meet the existing legal standards set by the tribal nations to determine citizenship, Hoskin Jr. said that using "a DNA test to lay claim to any connection to the Cherokee Nation or any tribal nation, even vaguely, is inappropriate and wrong."

"It makes a mockery out of DNA tests and its legitimate uses while also dishonoring legitimate tribal governments and their citizens, whose ancestors are well documented and whose heritage is proven," he said. "Senator Warren is undermining tribal interests with her continued claims of tribal heritage."

President Donald Trump, who has attacked Warren's claims to Native American heritage for years, at first responded to the results by saying, "Who cares?" Later, he dismissed the results, saying, "How much? One one-thousandth?"

When asked if he thinks he owes Warren an apology, he said Warren "owes the county an apology."

Warren's colleague, Sen. Orrin Hatch, poked fun at the DNA report in a tweet.

"These DNA tests are quite something," the tweet reads, posted with a photo of the Utah Republican checking his phone for his own genetic analysis.

The results for the retiring 84-year-old lawmaker: "1/1032 T-Rex; The rest: other dinosaurs."

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