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

On the same day that U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren released DNA results that she says prove her Native American heritage, the Cherokee Nation called DNA tests useless for determining tribal citizenship.

"Using a DNA test to lay claim to any connection to the Cherokee Nation or any tribal nation, even vaguely, is inappropriate and wrong," said Chuck Hoskin Jr., the tribe's secretary of state.

"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."

Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat and possible 2020 presidential candidate, has been dogged in recent years by accusations that she may have exaggerated her claims of Native American heritage. Warren, who was raised in Oklahoma City, has said her connections to the Cherokee and Delaware tribes are part of family lore.

The test was performed by Stanford University professor Carlos D. Bustamante. The DNA results "strongly support" the existence of a Native American ancestor, it found.

The Cherokee Nation has been hesitant to wade into the debate, making Monday's rebuke a rarity. The tribe's chief, Bill Baker, is a Democrat.

"A DNA test is useless to determine tribal citizenship," Hoskin said in the statement Monday, which was released by the tribe. "Current DNA tests do not even distinguish whether a person's ancestors were indigenous to North or South America.

"Sovereign tribal nations set their own legal requirements for citizenship, and while DNA tests can be used to determine lineage, such as paternity to an individual, it is not evidence for tribal affiliation."

Warren's release of the DNA results Monday was seen as a rebuke of President Donald Trump, her possible 2020 opponent, who has mockingly and offensively called her "Pocahontas." After the Cherokee Nation released their statement Monday afternoon, Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son, called it "awkward."

"Seems like Elizabeth Warren has lost the Cherokee Nation," Trump Jr. said.