I recently found out that from certain genetic indicators I have some some Jewish blood (1/16th? 1/32? it’s unclear), so do I now get to tout my Jewish ancestry? I don’t see how, I wasn’t raised with this knowledge, I wasn’t surrounded by any Jewish culture growing up. Warren was raised hearing stories about her Cherokee ancestry, and even though it may be false, does she now have to erase a part of her upbringing to satisfy someone’s demand? It’s like asking her to publicly call her parents and grandparents liars, and there are valid reasons for not doing that. Does an adopted kid have to renounce his family once he finds out he’s adopted?
The obvious irony here is that conservatives are using this as a weapon against Warren, when they don’t actually give a shit about Native Americans or Native issues at all. It’s like Warren’s confused genealogy is a bigger sin than their blatant racism.
(This comment’s responsive to some-guy’s reply to me.)
Anyone who does care about what a Cherokee citizen feels and thinks about Warren falsely claiming their identity and telling how she endured racism because of her bloodlines… the opportunity exists. That’s been the purpose of my posts to point out such fact should folks not know (of the great research work done).
One of my main hobbies (it’s one of the main hobbies in the U.S. in general) is genealogy. Specifically, I work with DNA testing in combination with documentation and other records to help people with brick walls in their family tree.
The quickest way to make a genealogist’s eyes roll is to say “The DNA test is wrong; my great-grandmother was a Cherokee princess and here’s a photo to prove it.”
The truth is, in most cases the claim (many generations ago) came about because someone was trying to explain away their coloring in a racist society, choosing the lesser of two ‘evils’. Both documented descendants of native tribes in the southeastern part of the U.S., and those who have the family lore of being such descendants, discover when doing DNA testing that there is almost always some sub-Saharan African in their genes. Occasionally it’s MENA instead (Middle Eastern/North African…usually Jewish in these cases).
So the funny thing is, were Warren to do a DNA test, she might well discover that part of her heritage is a different minority group that has been on the receiving end of prejudice in this country.
This would be a good time to point out, as well, that in about 5% of cases, DNA testing shows that the person’s family tree ISN’T what they’ve been lead to believe. Usually it’s that one or both parents or grandparents are not biologically related to them, but also oftentimes the ethnic heritage claimed by one or more ancestors turns out to have been more expedient than accurate.
tl;dr…one person’s research into Warren’s apparent family tree neither proves nor disproves her genetic heritage. A real genealogist will tell you that. Someone who goes to that much trouble in trying to prove their point about one particular public figure sounds like they have an axe to grind.
Did Warren claim she personally endured racism because of being part Cherokee? I looked and I didn’t see evidence of this, she only talked about the racism her ancestors would have endured. The degree to which she claimed aboriginal and minority status is another matter, that does look pretty hard to justify on her part.
Still I’m not convinced the genealogical research disproves her claim since there’s many ways such a union could go unrecorded.
I’m curious, I assume you’re Cherokee, how did you feel about Trump’s nickname? Do you find it racist or do you think it only insults Warren?
As far as I can tell “the degree to which she did so” was limited to “mentioning some stories passed down through her family.” She never claimed minority status on a job or college application, for example.
No but she did list herself as a minority or aboriginal in professional directories. I don’t think she did it for professional advancement but I can see why actual Cherokee would get pissed off that a white person with a possibly fictitious 1/32 of Cherokee ancestry would go around claiming to be native.
Racism is very much based on appearance and as long as you don’t look native you probably won’t experience it. I expect that a lot of minority people resent other people claiming the identity without having paid that particular price to earn it.
Keep in mind that the concept of racial “appearance” has changed over the decades. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, my mixed heritage was constantly remarked upon. Whites had a tendency to include me in their in-group only if they felt outnumbered by blacks or if they saw me with my at-the-time family, which was white. Nowadays, nearly everyone automatically assumes 100% white.
The reason I point this out is because I – and possibly Warren, although obviously I don’t know – grew up with some racial prejudice, even though neither of us experiences it now. Don’t assume you know what kind of prejudice she grew up with, or her family experienced over the last few generations. Your insistence that she’s somehow taking away the truth of racism as it has been applied to others seems to be more about cutting her down than truly supporting those who have had (and continue to have) to deal with racial prejudice in their lives.
Trust me, there’s more than enough prejudice being doled out to all sorts of people. You don’t have to save it up for only certain special ones.
