Why Some Call Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren ‘Pocahontas’

President Donald Trump and his supporters often refer to U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren as "Pocahontas."

The use of the name when talking about the Massachusetts Democrat is considered disrespectful by many Native Americans. That's understandable.

So then why do they refer to her that way?

Who Was Pocahontas?

Pocahontas, a member of the Powhatan tribe, was born in Virginia. Pocahontas married English tobacco farmer John Rolfe in 1614, but the union didn't last, as she died three years later in the United Kingdom.

Elizabeth Warren's Roots

Elizabeth Ann Herring was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on June 22, 1949, and raised by her parents, Donald Jones and Pauline Louise Herring. The Herring family were Methodists.

Sen. Warren was married twice, first to Jim Warren, then to her current husband, Bruce H. Mann.

Warren taught school while attending law school and has various degrees from George Washington University, the University of Houston and Rutgers University. She taught law at the university level, including at Harvard Law School, where she was reportedly among the highest-paid professors.

Warren was elected to the U.S. Senate from Massachusetts by defeating incumbent Republican Scott Brown in 2012. She remains in the Senate today.

Throughout her political career, Warren faced allegations of cultural appropriation for pretending to be Native American, a Cherokee Nation tribal citizen. She is not.

Warren Apologized for Claiming Native Heritage

In February 2019, the Washington Post reported that Warren said "she was sorry that she identified herself as a Native American for almost two decades."

"I can't go back," Warren told the Post. "But I am sorry for furthering confusion on tribal sovereignty and tribal citizenship and harm that resulted."

The paper reported that Warren identified as "American Indian" on a registration card for the State Bar of Texas "by hand in neat blue ink and signed it."

A DNA test revealed Warren had a Native American ancestor six to 10 generations ago, so between 125 and 250 years ago.

The Post reported Warren listed her ethnicity as Native American while working at Harvard from 1995 to 2004 and previously at the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

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While Warren has apologized to the Cherokee Nation, National Review reported that not all tribal members accepted the mea culpa.

The Wall Street Journal quoted Warren as saying, "I know that I have made mistakes. I am sorry for the harm that I have caused."

In a February 2019 op-ed for the Fox News website, Bradley Blakeman wrote:

"There is only one reason a person would fraudulently make a claim to be from a racial or ethnic group not his or her own: to benefit from affirmative action or other preferential programs created for underrepresented groups that have been victims of past discrimination."