General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: So Elizabeth Warren was a Republican up until 1995. [View all]Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)Several of her family members recall being told the same thing in their youth. Many people in Oklahoma (her native state) have some Native American blood, but the genealogical records don't provide complete information.
What is clear from the record, though, is that Scott Brown wasn't accurate in charging that Warren had made a false claim of Native ancestry in order to get some kind of advantage. She just checked off a box on a form for the school directory.
The strongest accusation one can make is that Harvard erred in listing her as a minority for faculty diversity purposes. The reason is that even some Cherokee ancestry wouldn't be enough to make her part-Native according to the official definition (she hadn't maintained ties with the tribe).