Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has apologized to the Cherokee Nation for her decision to take a DNA test to prove her Native American ancestry, the tribe said on Friday.
“Senator Warren has reached out to us and has apologized to the tribe,” Julie Hubbard, the executive director of Cherokee Nation Communications, said in a statement to NBC News. “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.”
The apology comes as the Democrat is reportedly eyeing a 2020 presidential contest.
In October, Warren was widely criticized for her decision to release the results of a DNA test after she was taunted by President Donald Trump, who has often referred to the senator as “Pocahontas,” and persistently questioned her Native ancestry.
The Cherokee Nation also panned the move, saying the test does not give her any claim to a tribal nation.
“I am not a person of color. I am not a citizen of a tribe,” Warren told a crowd in Sioux City last month. “I grew up in Oklahoma, and like a lot of folks in Oklahoma, we heard stories about our ancestry. When I first ran for public office, Republicans homed in on this part of my history, and thought they could make a lot of hay out of it. A lot of racial slurs, and a lot of ugly stuff. And so my decision was — I’m just going to put it all out there.”
