200+ Native Americans Sign Letter Urging Elizabeth Warren to Retract Ancestry Claims

For Native Americans, Warren's "Pocahontas" issue is still a problem.

Warren has used her supposed-ethnicity to advance her academic and political careers.

Harvard Law School touted Warren as "Native American" in the 1990s. 

She had listed herself as a mimnotirty in an Association of American Law Schools directory, according to CNN.

Warren took a DNA test that revealed the highest potential amount of Native American in her is 1/64th, but the actual percentage may actually be lower.

Business Insider has more details on the letter sent to Warren:

More than 200 Cherokees and other Native Americans signed a letter condemning Senator Elizabeth Warren's past claims about her heritage as "dangerous," and demanded she renounce her family's claim to Cherokee and Delaware ancestry.

The letter, organized by Cherokee Nation citizens Joseph M. Pierce, Daniel Heath Justice, Rebecca Nagle and Twila Barnes, says Warren's actions "have normalized white people claiming to be native, and perpetuated a dangerous misunderstanding of tribal sovereignty."

It was signed by 143 members of the Cherokee Nation, United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians, and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. More than 70 members of other tribes also signed.

The letter comes as Warren's campaign enters a critical stretch ahead of Super Tuesday as she seeks the Democratic nomination for president.

Warren has not won any of the early states, and the letter breathes new life into an issue that nearly halted her campaign before it even began and created a liability that Warren has worked for months to overcome.

Criticisms that Warren inaccurately claimed Native American ancestry have existed since at least 2012. President Donald Trump has ridiculed Warren with the nickname "Pocahontas".

Reaction on Twitter was swift and fierce:

The letter sent to Warren is 12 pages long.

Within the letter, Cherokees and Native Americans demand Warren to apologize for her past actions.

Though Warren is a Massachusetts Senator, she is an Oklahoma native.

Oklahoma is set to vote in the Democratic presidential primaries on Super Tuesday.

The state also happens to be home to 38 federally recognized tribes.

The Oklahoman has more details on the letter and its importance in the state:

Warren, an Oklahoma native running for the Democratic presidential nomination, responded with a 12-page letter apologizing for her past actions, describing her efforts to help Indian Country and promising to continue to “listen and learn from tribal citizens.”

Warren said she understood “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.”

The letter from tribal members was sent to Warren at a crucial point in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, with Oklahoma and 13 other states voting in primaries on Tuesday. It was written by citizens of the Cherokee Nation, the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Signatories include members of several other tribes.

The Cherokee Nation and United Band are based in Oklahoma, and a majority of the signatories from those tribes live in the state. Oklahoma is home to 38 federally recognized tribes.

The controversy over Warren’s claims dates back to 2012 when she first ran for the Senate in Massachusetts. Warren claimed connection to the Cherokee and Delaware tribes and said being Native American had been part of her life story. Warren is not an enrolled member of a tribe.

The Warren campaign has yet to respond.