Warren’s obligation to Native Americans
With the controversy of Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s claims to be part Native American still swirling through the political atmosphere, it is important that we hear the voices of actual Native Americans.
They’re not too thrilled. Native American groups say they’re tired of being a “political football” in the back and forth over Warren’s heritage claims.
“It’s problematic in the sense that the general American imagination has this fascination with native people, but overlooks what’s been done to them,” Raquel Halsey, the head of the North American Indian Center of Boston, told the Herald. “They think they’re honoring native people, but the real way to do that would be focusing on the issues that face native people,” like land rights, treaties, economic development and education, she said.
According to Kim TallBear, a Canadian researcher on Native Americans, Warren’s DNA drop comes “despite her historical record of refusing to meet with Cherokee Nation community members who challenge her claims.”
Elizabeth Warren should meet with those Cherokee Nation members and have a robust discussion about their needs and challenges.
Monday night Warren tweeted, “At the end of the day, I trust the people of Massachusetts to look at the facts about who I am and how I’ve lived my life and make their own judgment about me.”
But who she is is still in question. An overture to the Native American community would give her a fresh slate with which to build a legacy and serve to clearly define her..
According to 2015 statistics from the Kaiser Family Foundation, “The rate of drug-related deaths among American Indian and Alaska Native people has almost quadrupled since 1999, according to the Indian Health Service. It’s now double the rate in the U.S. as a whole. Oklahoma — home to the 120,000 citizens of Cherokee Nation — leads the country in prescription painkiller abuse.”
As a whole, the total U.S. jobless rate among American Indians and Alaska Natives was 8.9 percent in 2016. That is compared to 4.9 percent for the U.S. as a whole, according to a Bureau Of Labor Statistics report.
The Indian Health Service, which falls under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, reports that “American Indians and Alaska Natives born today have a life expectancy that is 5.5 years less than the U.S. all races population (73.0 years to 78.5 years, respectively).”
Sen. Warren, Native Americans need help. You are a powerhouse in Washington. You have an obligation to use your talents to improve their lives. Since you resurrected the DNA issue for political gain, the opportunity for a good faith gesture presents itself: Senator, we call on you to draw upon your own personal wealth and make a substantial contribution to the cause of Native Americans.