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Dear Concerned Citizens of the Cherokee Nation, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and Other Tribal Nations

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Dear Concerned Citizens of the Cherokee Nation, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and Other Tribal Nations Dear concerned citizens of the Cherokee Nation, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and other Tribal Nations, Thank you very much for your letter. I have worked very hard to listen to Indian Country, and that has taken the form of more than 100 calls, meetings, and events with Native activists, advocates, and tribal leaders. A few days ago, I had a meeting with more than a dozen tribal leaders in Seattle. I recently had similar roundtables in California and Oklahoma with tribal leaders. These are just recent examples of my years of dialogue with Indian Country. I have learned a great deal from all of them, and it is in that spirit of learning and listening that I welcome hearing from you in the form of this letter. I am not a person of color; I am a white woman, and that is how I identify. In addition, I am not a tribal citizen. Tribal Nations—and only Tribal Nations—determine tribal citizenship. It’s their right as a matter of sovereignty, and they exercise that in the ways they choose to exercise it. I have said very publicly1—and I will continue to say—that DNA does not determine tribal citizenship. This is no small point because of the long history of colonialism and violence perpetrated against Native communities, people, and identity by this country. And I understand that the confusion my actions propagated around tribal sovereignty and citizenship caused real harm to Native people and communities. I was wrong to have identified as a Native American, and, without qualification or excuse, I apologize for the harm I caused. Through the many conversations I’ve had with tribal leaders, advocates, and others from across Indian Country, I’ve listened and I’ve learned—a lot. And I’m grateful for the generosity, grace, and labor that it took for community members to have these conversations with me—to call me out and to call me in. While I am grateful for this work, I apologize that it was needed. It is not the responsibility of the Native community to educate me on the harm they suffered as the result of my actions, and I pledge to be worthy of the friendship and trust that they showed to me in these moments. I’m also grateful for the opportunity many in Indian Country have given me to be a partner in their work, as I’ve worked hard to do as a Senator and will work hard to do as President. I appreciate that my incorrect identification as Native was loaded given the history, as your letter describes, of the injustice of “white members of fake ‘tribes’”—which “rely solely on family stories and commercial DNA tests”—“hav[ing] been awarded over $800 million in no-bid federal contracts set aside for minority business owners.” Importantly my situation differs from these cases because I never benefited financially or professionally. As The Boston Globe’s exhaustive ​ ​ ​ ​ investigation concluded, none of this ever played a role in my hiring.2 The article states about me, “at every step of her remarkable rise in the legal profession, the people responsible for hiring her saw her as a white woman.”3 I make this point for clarity, not as justification. Even without any financial or professional benefit, it was wrong for me to identify as Native American. 1 WBZ, U.S. Senate Debate, October 19, 2018, ​ ​ https://boston.cbslocal.com/video/3955823-watch-complete-wbz-senate-debate-from-october-19-2018/. ​ 2 Annie Linskey, “Ethnicity not a factor in Elizabeth Warren’s rise in law,” Boston Globe, September 1, 2018, https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2018/09/01/did-claiming-native-american-heritage-actually-help-eliza beth-warren-get-ahead-but-complicated/wUZZcrKKEOUv5Spnb7IO0K/story.html. See also Annie Linskey, ​ “What Harvard professors who were part of Elizabeth Warren’s hiring say about it,” Boston Globe, September 1, 2018, https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2018/09/01/what-harvard-professors-say-about-elizabeth-warren-hiri ng/iLiqqJezD67gPmFplGtMSN/story.html. ​ 3 Annie Linskey, “Ethnicity not a factor in Elizabeth Warren’s rise in law.” 1 I had the chance to make this apology personally to the Cherokee Nation’s then-Principal Chief Bill John Baker over a year ago;4 I made it in front of hundreds of people at the Native presidential forum convened in honor of the late Frank LaMere,5 whose support I was deeply honored and humbled to have;6 I have made it in numerous conversations with tribal citizens;7 I have made it publicly on several other occasions;8 and I extend it to each of you as well. I appreciated the Cherokee Nation’s statement after I spoke with then-Principal Chief Baker: “We are encouraged by this dialogue and understanding that being a Cherokee Nation tribal citizen is rooted in centuries of culture and laws not through DNA tests. We are encouraged by her action and hope that the slurs and mockery of tribal citizens and Indian history and heritage will now come to an end.”9 I also appreciated similar sentiments expressed by others. Cherokee Nation citizen and former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Human Rights Council Keith Harper wrote, “Senator [W]arren has apologized to the Cherokee Nation and the Nation has expressed gratitude for it. As a Cherokee citizen, as far as I’m concerned, this closes the matter especially in light of the Senator’s pro-tribal stances. Onward.”10 Choctaw Nation citizen and community leader Kalyn Free said, “She’s apologized for that, and I don’t speak for tribal leaders, but in my mind that is no longer an issue at all.”11 Frank LaMere’s son, Manape LaMere, “said he accepted the apology and that he was not interested in discussing it further: ‘We all make mistakes and if we’re able to hold ourselves accountable to people, that’s fine. That’s what we’re supposed to be doing.’”12 But just as Indian Country is incredibly diverse, I recognize that Indian Country’s opinions on most matters, including my apology, will be diverse too. Your letter put it well: “We do not think with one mind or speak with one voice on this issue—or any other.” My apology at the Frank LaMere Forum prompted Blackfeet commentator Gyasi Ross to write, “It’s good she acknowledged that. It’s healthy to apologize. After that, it’s up to the recipient of the apology to decide whether it was 4 Michael Brice-Saddler, “Sen. Elizabeth Warren called Cherokee Nation chief to apologize for DNA test, tribe says,” Washington Post, February 1, 2019, https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/02/01/sen-elizabeth-warren-called-cherokee-nation-chief-apologi ze-dna-test-tribe-says/. ​ 5 Four Directions, “Frank LaMere Native American Presidential Forum 2019 Day 1 - Part 1,” August 19, 2019, https://vimeo.com/354646088. ​ 6 Elizabeth Warren, “Carrying on Frank LaMere’s Legacy,” August 25, 2019, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBj1VVTHRBE. ​ 7 MJ Lee and Gregory Krieg, “Inside Elizabeth Warren's courtship of Native American leaders,” CNN, August 18, 2019, https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/18/politics/elizabeth-warren-native-american-leaders/index.html. ​ ​ 8 See, e.g., Marina Pitofsky, “Warren gets asked about Native American identification at town hall,” The Hill, July 19, 2019 https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/453884-warren-gets-asked-about-native-american-identification-at-town -hall; William Cummings, “‘An apology from the heart’: Sen. Elizabeth Warren sorry for identifying as Native ​ American,” USA Today, February 7, 2019, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/02/07/elizabeth-warren-apology-native-american-identificatio n/2799395002/. ​ 9 Ryan Grim, “Elizabeth Warren Will Make Her Presidential Bid Official in February,” Intercept, January 31, 2019, https://theintercept.com/2019/01/31/elizabeth-warren-2020-campaign-announcement/. ​ 10 Keith Michael Harper, tweet, February 1, 2019, https://twitter.com/ambharper/status/1091476313666396160. ​ ​ 11 Sean Murphy, “Warren, back in Oklahoma, sees tribal leaders in private,” Associated Press, December 22, 2019, https://news3lv.com/news/nation-world/warren-back-in-oklahoma-sees-tribal-leaders-in-private. ​ ​ 12 Gregory Krieg and MJ Lee, “‘I have made mistakes’: Elizabeth Warren apologizes, turns to policy talk at tribal forum,” CNN, August 19, 2019, https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/19/politics/elizabeth-warren-native-american-forum/index.html. ​ 2 sufficient or not. There are no wrong answers to that. Personally I’m focused on who’s gonna be the best for Native communities moving forward.”13 My apology is one from the heart—but, just as Gyasi noted, I recognize it’s up to you whether to accept it, and I know that not everyone will. Mark Trahant, Indian Country Today’s editor, said, “There is a significant group, mostly on Twitter ​ ​ but significant nonetheless, who will never take any apology from [me].”14 I understand, with humility, that this is your right. Regardless of whether you forgive me—and again, that is up to you and you alone—I will continue to try my hardest to be the best champion for Indian Country I can be. I am committed to an accountability model of partnership, and I realize that an apology is only a first step. Trust must be earned in order for forgiveness to be granted. So I commit to you to continue to do the work, and I know that only time and my actions can show if I will. I have worked very hard for Indian Country, so I sincerely appreciate your acknowledgment that I “have done some good things for Indian Country during [my] time in political service.” I am especially determined to continue my efforts to promote tribal sovereignty, to move the federal government toward honoring its trust and treaty obligations, and to respect the unique nation-to-nation relationship between the federal government and Tribal Nations.
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