Dear Senator Warren:
As concerned citizens of the Cherokee Nation, United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians,
and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, we recognize our responsibility to stand up for our
communities: to those we claim and those who claim us.
Senator Warren, as you seek the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, your
history of false claims to American Indian identity and the defense of these claims with a highly
publicized DNA test continue to dog your political career. For Native Americans, this moment is
more than an annoyance; it represents the most public debate about our identity in a generation.
In a country where Indigenous people are mostly invisible, what Americans conclude from this
debate will impact Native rights for years to come.
Whatever your intentions, your actions have normalized white people claiming to be Native, and
perpetuated a dangerous misunderstanding of tribal sovereignty. Your actions do not exist in a
vacuum but are part of a long and violent history. The Los Angeles Times recently reported that
white members of fake “tribes” have been awarded over $800 million in no-bid federal contracts
set aside for minority business owners. Rather than using evidence of Native ancestry, these fake
tribes rely solely on family stories and commercial DNA tests. When you still defend yourself by
stating you believed what you heard growing up, you set a harmful example for these white
people stealing Native identity and resources with stories very similar to your own.
While the average American thinks of Native Americans as a racial category, we are actually
political groups. Our rights are based on citizenship in sovereign Nations and those Nations’
treaty relationship to the United States. But that hasn’t stopped opponents to tribes from arguing
that laws defending Native rights treat us differently based on race and therefore should be
declared unconstitutional. If they win, it could be the end of tribes as we know them. By publicly
equating race and biology with Native identity, your DNA test promoted the exact same logic the
Right is currently using to try and destroy Native rights.
You have yet to fully address the harm you have caused. While your apologies are a step in the
right direction, they have been vague and inadequate. Accountability is not just admitting you
made a mistake, but working to correct the harm it caused. A recent collective statement by
Cherokee scholars makes clear that any person who publicly identifies as Cherokee has initiated
an open discussion about their identity. As a Harvard professor and U.S. Senator, you have the
unique opportunity to turn this controversy into a needed learning moment.
As Native community members, academics, activists, scientists, writers, organizers, aunties,
uncles, young people, and tribal citizens concerned about the future of Native rights, we call on
you to make a clear public statement that includes the following:
•

Like many other white families, your family story of Cherokee and Delaware ancestry is
false and it was wrong for you to repeat it as an adult. You have had the genealogical
evidence since 2012. Stating you do not qualify for citizenship is not enough; the truth is
you and your ancestors are white.

 •

•

Equating Cherokee identity with the results of a DNA test was more than a misstep—it
was dangerous. Your supporters and the public need to understand why. We ask that you
explain that only tribal affiliation and kinship determine Native identity, and that
equating Native identity with race and biology erodes the foundation of Indigenous
sovereignty.
Claiming Native identity without citizenship, kinship ties, or recognition from Native
communities undermines Indigenous self-determination. As the most public example of
this behavior, you need to clearly state that Native people are the sole authority on who
is—and who is not—Native.

Native Americans come from over 574 different nations, each with our own unique histories,
languages, cultures, and politics. We do not think with one mind or speak with one voice on this
issue—or any other. However, Cherokee citizens are the most impacted not only by your actions
but by the growing epidemic of white people claiming to be us. If you truly want to listen and
change, then you need to hear all Native voices on this issue—whether or not they serve you.
You have done some good things for Indian Country during your time in political service. You
have also done real harm. Right now, you have the platform and the opportunity to stand firmly
on the side of justice. This is not about politics or your career. This is about the well-being of our
nations. The time has come for you to show true leadership and make this right.
Signed:
(Tribal affiliations listed for identification only)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.

ᏥᏍᏆ
ᏣᎳᎩ, ᏥᏍᏆ ᏣᎳᎩ/ O-gah-pah/ Wa-zha-Zhe
ᏩᏕ ᎦᎵᏍᎨᏫ Ryan Brandon Mackey ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ Cherokee Nation
ᎢᏯ ᏗᎯ Candessa Tehee
Cherokee Nation
Adam Reese
Cherokee Nation
Adrienne Keene
Cherokee Nation
Ahyoka Youngdeer
Cherokee Nation
Alan Harrover
Cherokee Nation
Andrea L. Rogers
Cherokee Nation
Angi Harrover
Cherokee Nation
Austin Holt
Cherokee Nation
Benjamin Holt
Cherokee Nation
Betty Smoke
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians
Bill Davis
Cherokee Nation
Bill Mann
Cherokee Nation
Billie Jo Rich
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
Billy Jack Shotpouch
Cherokee Nation
Brandon Morris
Cherokee Nation
Brandon Scott
Cherokee Nation
Brian Barlow
Cherokee Nation
Brian K. Hudson
Cherokee Nation
Bryan Pollard
Cherokee Nation

 22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.

Callie Benoit
Carabeth Muskrat Samuels
Cassandra Lynn Cariker
Cassie Snell
Catherine Foreman Gray
Charles Smith
Charmaine Mankiller
Cheryl Nichols Brown
Chris Bacon
Christopher Whitmire
Clara McCown
Cole Hogner
Courtney Logan Green Espy
Courtney McCoy
Cynthia Thompson
Daniel Heath Justice
Daryll Mouse
David Cornsilk

40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.

David Montgomery
Deborah Fritts
Deboraugh Rogers
Dennis G. Dye
Dillard Pullium
Elissa Lyons
Forrest Stokes
Gayle Samuels
Geneva Brixey
Grant Linihan
Gunnar Hatfield
Harry Styron
Herb Wolf

53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.
60.
61.
62.
63.
64.
65.

Jade Day
James Armontrout
James Gilmartin
Janet Foreman-Green
Janet Kaye Backwater
Jared Evans
Jeff Corntassel
Jeffrey Girty
Jen Deerinwater
Jennie Wilson
Jennifer Anderson
Jennifer Barger Johnson
Jennifer Kate Thiessen

Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation and Pomo
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation

 66.
67.
68.
69.
70.
71.
72.
73.
74.
75.
76.
77.
78.
79.
80.
81.
82.
83.
84.
85.
86.
87.
88.
89.
90.
91.
92.
93.
94.
95.
96.
97.
98.
99.
100.
101.
102.
103.
104.
105.
106.
107.
108.
109.
110.
111.

Jenny Flippo
Jeremie Fisher
Jeremy Hamilton
Jerid Miller
Jerrid Grimmett
Jesse Sexton
Jo Ann Tidwell
Jonathan Radocay
Joseph M. Pierce
Katie Jones
Kevin Sac
Kirby Brown
Kristie Bradley
Krystal Ann William
Kurt West
Lianna Costantino
Linda Easter
Linda Sacks
Mandy Adair
Marcus L. Thompson
Mariah Gary
Mariah Gladstone
Marissa Jane Cundiff
Mark DeMucha
Mark Downing
Mary Aboud
Mary Brown
Mason Hudson
Matthew Anderson
Melissa Duggins
Michael C. Lambert
Michael Nephew
Miranda Harris
Mitch McClain
Pam Coodey-York Fox
Patricia St. Peter
Patricia Wilson
Patsy Edgar
Paul Braun
Rachel Peters
Raymond Pettit
Rebecca Nagle
Rhonda Lee Earp
Richard D. Teel
Robert Crossno
Robert Easter

Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians
Cherokee Nation
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation and Shawnee Tribe
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation and Creek Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation

 112.
113.
114.
115.
116.
117.
118.
119.
120.
121.
122.
123.
124.
125.
126.
127.
128.
129.
130.
131.
132.
133.
134.
135.
136.
137.
138.
139.
140.
141.
142.
143.

Robin McLain Smith
Roldan Sack
Ron Collett
Ryley Bunch
Sandee Tidwell Lovado
Sasha Walker Hudson
Shanda Attika Secondi
Shauna Amezcua
Shea Vassar
Sheila Holmes
Shellie Shankle
Sherri Kay Hattori
Sherrie McElwee
sky babela wildcat
Snow Matthews
Sugar Ali
Taylor Keen
Thomasenia Johnson
Tracey M. Keith
Tricia Wickliffe
Tsianina Neel
Twila Barnes
Valerie Leann Kagan
Verna Bates
Vicki Creighton
Victoria M. O’Keefe
Virginia Drywater-Whitekiller
Wayne Divelbiss
William Curtis
William Lossiah-Bratt
Wynona Burwell
Zac Russell

Cherokee Nation
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation and Delaware Tribe of Indians
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation
Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
Cherokee Nation
Cherokee Nation

The undersigned Native citizens stand in solidarity with our Cherokee relatives, friends, and
colleagues who face a unique epidemic of non-Natives claiming their identity. We recognize that
while the problem most often targets Cherokee identity, the public misunderstanding of what it
means to be Native American threatens all of our rights. We hope that this long controversy will
end, and Senator Warren will do the right thing and set the record straight that Indigenous selfdetermination comes before unsubstantiated family stories and DNA testing.
144.
145.
146.
147.
148.
149.

Ali Watson
Amanda Blackhorse
Amber Starks
Ashley Fairbanks
Ashley McCray
Audra Simpson

Oglala Lakota
Diné (Navajo) Nation
Muscogee Creek Citizen
White Earth Anishinaabe
Absentee Shawnee Tribe/ Oglala Lakota
Kahnawà:ke Mohawk

 150.
151.
152.
153.
154.
155.
156.
157.
158.
159.
160.
161.
162.
163.
164.
165.
166.
167.
168.
169.
170.
171.
172.
173.
174.
175.
176.
177.
178.
179.
180.
181.
182.
183.
184.
185.
186.
187.
188.
189.
190.
191.
192.
193.
194.

Candi Brings Plenty
Oglala Lakota Sioux Tribe
Carole Lindstrom
Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe
Charitie Ropati
Native Village of Kongiganak
Christine Brown
Delaware Tribe of Indians
Cole DeLaune
Kiowa Tribe
Cori Taber
Muscogee (Creek) Nation
Debbie Reese
Nambé Owingeh
DeLesslin George-Warren
Catawba Nation
Desi Rodriguez-Lonebear
Northern Cheyenne Nation
Dina Gilio-Whitaker
Colville Confederated Tribes
Emmy Scott
Spokane and Winnebego Nations
Erica Tremblay
Seneca-Cayuga Nation
Erin Thomas Anhalt
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
Eryn Wise
Jicarilla Apache/Laguna Pueblo
Eva Coyote
Delaware Tribe of Indians
Iakowi:he'ne' Oakes
Mohawk, Snipe Clan, Rotinoshonni
J. Kēhaulani Kauanui
Kanaka Maoli
Jacqueline Keeler
Diné/Dakota
Jean M. O'Brien
White Earth Ojibwe
Jen Hubbard
Muscogee (Creek) Nation
Jennifer Billlie Chadwick
Seminole Tribal of Florida
Jennina Rose Gorman/Katsistioasta St Reggis Mohawk Tribe
Jesse Wente
Ojibwe, Serpent River First Nation
Jessica Lambert
Choctaw Nation
Jodi Byrd
Chickasaw Nation of Oklahoma
Jodi Voice Yellowfish
Creek Nation
John Little
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
Johnnie Jae
Otoe-Missouria/Choctaw
Jordan Marie Daniel
Kul Wičasa Oyaté, federally known as the Lower
Brule Sioux Tribe
Joseph Clift
Cowlitz Indian Tribe
Jukari Davis
Navajo Nation
Julia Coyote
Delaware Tribe of Indians
Kaitlin Curtice
Potawatomi Nation
Kat Redding
Powhatan (Pamunkey) and Choctaw/Chickasaw
Kawennakenre Shirley Meloche Mohawk of Kahnawake Canada
Keely Toledo
Navajo Nation
Kim TallBear
Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate
Krystal Tsosie
Diné (Navajo) Nation
Larissa Nez
Navajo Nation
Lindsey Naegeli
Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma
Lucas Brown Eyes
Oglala Lakota
Mahayla Perryman-Matthews
Seneca-Cayuga Nation
Mariah Greenwood Adair
Chickasaw Nation
Marla Striped Face-Collins
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
Martie Simmons
Ho-Chunk Nation of Wisconsin

 195.
196.
197.
198.
199.
200.
201.
202.
203.
204.
205.
206.
207.
208.
209.
210.

Mary Coyote
Megan Red Shirt-Shaw
Michelle Cook
Natalie Diaz
Nicholas Galanin
Nick Courtney
Nick Estes
Renee’ Frerichs
Sandy Grande
Shannon Speed
Sheldon Beach
Summer Wesley
Tanaya Winder
Tara Houska
Tara Moses
Taté Walker

211. Tiffany Midge
212. Trudie Jackson
213. Twyla Baker
214. Valerie Lambert
215. Yvonne Perryman-Matthews

Delaware Tribe of Indians
Oglala Lakota
Navajo Nation
Gila River (Akimel O’odham)
Tlingit/Unangax̂
Makah
Lower Brule Sioux Tribe
Qawalangin Tribe of Unalaska
Quechua
Chickasaw Nation
Chickasaw Nation
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
Duckwater Shoshone
Couchiching First Nation Anishinaabe
Seminole Nation of Oklahoma
Mniconjou Lakota & citizen of the Cheyenne River
Sioux Tribe
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
Navajo Nation
Three Affiliated Tribes (Mandan, Hidatsa, &
Arikara Nation)
Choctaw Nation
Seneca-Cayuga Nation

The letter was organized by four citizens of the Cherokee Nation: Joseph M. Pierce, Daniel
Heath Justice, Rebecca Nagle, and Twila Barnes. Media inquiries can be sent to the following
email address: ewarrenisnotcherokee@gmail.com.