Elizabeth Warren's Blunder

Elizabeth Warren has been at the center of a media storm this week after releasing the results of a DNA test supposedly proving her Native American ancestry. She has come under fire on both sides of the aisle with many calling the release a political stunt in preparation for a 2020 presidential run. Many opinion pieces have been published about her decision to release the DNA test and on Monday the Cherokee Nation released an official statement saying that Warren "is undermining interests with her continued claims of tribal heritage." It is interesting that Warren had to explicitly state that she did not get special treatment because of her supposed ethnicity. The juxtaposition of Warren's claim of native heritage to bolster her resume and career and the violent mistreatment of native people for centuries has not gone unnoticed by her critics. She has shifted the conversation away from a marginalized group who already have very limited media exposure onto herself, which speaks to her privilege as an affluent white woman. What she has really done is highlighted the symbolic annihilation of Native Americans in this country.