In Washington, it is often the response of politicians to allegations that get them into more trouble than the original allegations themselves. Harvard Professor and US Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren appears to be reaffirming that rule as more information surfaced that casts serious questions about her veracity over the claim to being a Native American. The latest disclosure comes from the Boston Globe, a Democratic-leaning newspaper that has been criticized for downplaying the controversy in the past. I previously discussed how claiming to be a minority is a significant act for law professors due to reporting to the federal government, the ABA, and AALS. Warren has insisted that she was unaware that she was listed as a minority, but, as a law professor, I am skeptical how such listings can occur without a professor volunteering the information. Now, the Boston Globe is reporting that Harvard listed Warren for years as a minority in reports to the federal government. Obviously, this story has particular interest to law professors, but it is being played out in the Massachusetts senatorial race.
I do not share the view that anyone should be able to claim to be a minority, particularly when reporting responsibilities to the government and the ABA hold great importance for schools and academics. Warren is not a minority. She also does not meet that federal definition of a Native American.
Warren’s denial of knowledge of being viewed as a minority and a Cherokee has faced repeatedly contradiction including the recent disclosure by the New York Times of being claimed as a minority faculty member at her earlier law school, the University of Pennsylvania. There have also been smaller disclosures like her contributions to the “Pow Wow Cook Book” as a Cherokee woman.
The Globe reports on Warren’s pasts denial but reveals “for at least six straight years during Warren’s tenure, Harvard University reported in federally mandated diversity statistics that it had a Native American woman in its senior ranks at the law school.” The school notes, as we previously discussed, such statistics are based on the reporting of the professors themselves as minorities. The newspaper states the new information “further questions about Warren’s statements that she was unaware Harvard was promoting her as Native American.”
Warren is refusing to respond to the new information and her campaign insists that she has already answered enough questions.
Alan Ray, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, was the official responsible during this period for reporting at Harvard. He is now president of Elmhurst College in Illinois and says that he did not list Warren unilaterally and never encouraged an professor to report themselves as a minority.
Warren was repeatedly identified as a minority Native American in various publications for the Harvard Crimson. As previously discussed, she was called Harvard Law’s “first woman of color” in a 1997 Fordham Law Review and in 1998, Harvard published a letter to the New York Times heralding the presence of a “Native American” on the faculty. Then again in 1998, the Crimson followed up on the New York Times publication and wrote “Harvard Law School currently has only one tenured minority woman, Gottlieb Professor of Law Elizabeth Warren, who is Native American.”
I have previously said how much I respect Warren as an academic and her intellect would be clearly be an asset in the U.S. Senate. However, I remained concerned over the denials of knowledge and the years of claims to be a minority. Whether such claims assisted her career or not, the reporting of minority hiring affects myriad of different issues and rankings. To count a minority member on a faculty, reduces pressure on the school to further diversify its ranks and elevates the status of the professor. Under any reasonable definition, Warren is not a minority and there is no documentation establishing that she is even 1/32 Cherokee. Even if she were 1/32 Cherokee, would we feel it was fine for someone to claim they are black or hispanic with 1/32 connection to that minority or asian? If so, law schools could claim a multifold increase in minorities. Clearly, we cannot have reporting data if anyone is given carte blanche in self-proclaiming themselves to be minorities.
While I do not question her pride in the family claim to have Indian blood (though tens of millions have such potential claims of a small presence of Indian blood in their families), there is a big difference between such pride and claiming to be a minority or Native American. I tend not to view these stories in partisan terms. Frankly, I am a critic of both parties. I believe that story does raise legitimate questions, particularly regarding the denials of knowledge. While I do not believe that this is the most important question in the campaign, I do believe it warrants further answers from Warren.
What do you think? Do you believe Warren should respond to these latest allegations in the Boston Globe and New York Times or is this completely irrelevant to judging Warren’s character and veracity?
Source: Boston Globe
I’m in my mid-60’s.
As a boy I was told by grandparents on both sides of my family that I was 100% Irish. These grandparents went back as far as late 1800’s, for goodness sake. Okay. Good enough–got it. When the subject of heritage came up I could truthfully say: “I’m 100% Irish.”
But my brother, one of 5 brothers and 3 sisters (how affirming of Irishness can you get!) couldn’t leave well enough alone. Noooo. He had to take an interest in genealogy. My question to him: “so what’s to know, we’re Irish.” His response: “not so fast, mon frere.” Wait, what! What’s this “mon frere” stuff?
He tells me that his search shows a significant branch of the family (significant if 200-300 years ago can be considered significant) was…wait for it.. FRENCH! In fact, there’s a town in France that could possibly be named for a descendant. OMG–I hope that I’m not put on terrorist watch list!
So what has that to do with this Turley article?
Families tell stories; everybody tells stories. They give us small things to cling to and to make a tableau of our past. We love those stories and rue the day we learn them to be untrue. Warren, I expect, was like me–a romantic. My heart loved the old stories and was slow to accept to truth. C’est la vie!
Bonnie, If you have spent most of your life living with American Indians, observing our traditions and ceremonies, etc., you can be considered American Indian and of the tribe you are living with
That sounds fabulous. Is that the way everyone feels or is that the ideal?
In Indian Country, we have a joke that you just have to bump into a Cherokee Indian and you become Cherokee. However, if you read Title 25 of the CFR, you will find out that you could have no American Indian blood and still be considered American Indian if you live in or around the reservation areas as a American Indian. If you have spent most of your life living with American Indians, observing our traditions and ceremonies, etc., you can be considered American Indian and of the tribe you are living with.
We need her in the Senate because of her knowledge of the financial stuff. It’s an extremely rare commodity in Congress and is sorely needed.
Good point. We certainly need integrity. I’m not sure all members of congress are as vacuous on financial matters as they appear from speeches. They certainly know what side of the bread has butter on it.
Warren wasn’t going to get confirmed. Look what happened to Richard Cordray. She is better off running for the senate.
@Elaine M. “Obama cut her loose for a reason”
So what is the story? I did not pay much attention and thought they just decided to move on when it became apparent that she would not be confirmed, at least not in the next 4 or maybe 8 years.
I am not sure being disliked by Summers means very much. I thought he dislikes basically everybody.
My pet theory is that the WH was conducting a background check and hit upon the “Native American problem” and decided it would never get through the Senate. Or the republicans had it and told the WH privately that if she were nominated they would raise it. Either way, President Obama, always ready to pick a fight with the Republicans, voted “present” and sent in the second choice.
She is a great professor, also. My daughter’s former roommate and bff was in her contracts class. I have a great picture of them.
in the video, watch Geitner’s eyes and face. He’s spewing b…s….
I hope Warren wins and get better information where foreign policy is concerned. With good information her integrity will get her to change her mind. We need her in the Senate because of her knowledge of the financial stuff. It’s an extremely rare commodity in Congress and is sorely needed.
Here is Max Blumenthal comment on Warren’s National Security / Foreign Policy stance.
http://maxblumenthal.com/2012/03/progressive-hero-elizabeth-warren-tows-aipacs-pro-war-line/
Elaine M. The above is not aimed at you. Whatever your opinion, I know you do a lot of research to inform yourself and those who read your comments.
Can she dance?
i like Elaine’s point, if warren had posed nude and brown claimed 1/32 amerind heritage what would we be talking about.
Elaine M., hope you are right, but scrutinizing such assumptions, open discussion, and cautious skepticism are pretty reasonable wishes in contemporary politics and I wish we could have more of them particularly about serious issues such as Iran.
Brooklin Bridge,
Thank you for those two posts about the Brooklin Bridge theory.
Interesting. Thank you.
“Brooklin Bridge
1, May 25, 2012 at 6:17 pm
Because of recent findings that pre-date the last ice age by quite a bit, the theory that many Americans did come from Europe by way of island and reef hopping in near shore boats.a very long time ago is gaining in mainstream scientific credibility.
A 2004 .pdf on the subject:
http://www.allendale-expedition.net/pressreleases/AJC18earlyman.pdf
“
Brooklin Bridge,
I don’t believe that Warren IS an “Obamabot.” If she were, she would now be director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Obama cut her loose for a reason. Another thing: Geithner, Summers, Chris Dodd, too-big-to-fail banks don’t like her. In my book, that’s a point in her favor.
*****
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThlYrfDu8do&feature=related
Elizabeth Warren Questioning Timmy Geithner
Matt,
“anon,
Draw your own conclusion. It’s my understand that people of Native American, Hispanic, and European ancestry are caucasion. Perhaps you would like to discuss the land bridge crossing from the Bering Sea?”
WAT?
As I said, anthropologist and geneticists all agree that native americans are primarily Asian in origin, with only 20% or so coming from Europe.
Draw my own conclusion? I linked to one of three zillions articles on the subject.
And they got here from Asia across the land bridge across the Bering Sea.
Even Obama’s DoD has stated that Iran is not pursuing nuclear weapons (or that we have no such evidence).
Or, simply go to Warren’s own web site:
http://elizabethwarren.com/issues/national-security-foreign-policy
Here is how she describes Iran:
ran is a significant threat to the United States and our allies. Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons, it is an active state sponsor of terrorism[…]
Elaine M.,
I agree with you, but point out that it is working both ways (though certainly not by intention of Rove and company). No one is digging into either candidate on serious issues.
I realize my concerns are totally heretical, but there it is. If Warren is elected (and I hope she is) and she turns out to be an Obamabot, then I feel a strong case can be made that like Obama, she will do far more damage than her Republican counterpart. Why would she be worse? Because more Democrats would accept things coming from Warren than from Brown any day. She would be moving the goal posts of both parties irrevocably to the right, whereas Brown, and by extension any ideas he stood for, would remain the enemy.
What if she totally supports war with Iran out of loyalty to Obama? Think of the consequences. With Brown, we know it’s just more Republican war thuggery. With Warren, a lot of people would be convinced it was a necessary evil, no matter how horribly conceived it would be.
Before you say this could never happen, please look at Pelosi and her recent letter to Boehner suggesting that tax cuts for the rich be eliminated at the cut-off of 1,000,000.00. rather than at 250,000.00. That and her complete willingness to put the safety net programs on the chopping block.
“No one is digging into either candidate on serious issues.”
So exactly where does Scott Brown stand on the possibility of a land bridge across the Bering Strait and how does that fit with that great Republican innovation the bridge to no where.
Couldn’t we just extend the bridge to no where and make it a bridge to somewhere across the Bering Strait?
Or is this really a bail out keeping their heads above water, so to speak?
I don’t know. I am just looking for leadership on these important issues.
Believe it or not, I watched “Dances With Wolves” last night for the first time.
There is more to magic in us than the percentages of others in our blood.
In fact, 98% of our genetic material is “not human.”
If anyone wants 150 links to the proof of that … use the gargle … 😉
I suspect I am either more or less than 1/32 descended from Adam and Eve, but it’s just a hunch.