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---
title: Elizabeth Warren: DNA Test Shows Native American Ancestry
description: Sen. Elizabeth Warren, whom Trump has called the &quot;Fake Pocahontas,&quot; revealed a DNA test she says shows her Native American ancestry.
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author: Billy Perrigo
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article:published_time: 2018-10-15T12:01:49.000Z
article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T21:44:46.660Z
article:section: Politics
og:title: Elizabeth Warren DNA Test Shows Native American Ancestry
og:description: Trump has dubbed Warren the &quot;Fake Pocahontas&quot;
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twitter:title: Elizabeth Warren DNA Test Shows Native American Ancestry
twitter:description: Trump has dubbed Warren the &quot;Fake Pocahontas&quot;
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# Elizabeth Warren Just Shared a DNA Test Showing She Has Native American Ancestry

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by 

[Billy Perrigo](https://time.com/author/billy-perrigo/)


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## Billy Perrigo


Correspondent

Oct 15, 2018 12:01 PM UTC

![Democratic National Convention: Day Four](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blte2f6aee8fe8538e0/69893c9e4ee262f7a03131c2/gettyimages-584266220.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=3:2)

JULY 28: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) delivers remarks at the Democratic National Convention

JULY 28: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) delivers remarks at the Democratic National Convention Alex Wong—Getty Images

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by 

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## Billy Perrigo


Correspondent

Oct 15, 2018 12:01 PM UTC

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren published a DNA test on Monday that she says shows that her claims to Native American ancestry have a basis in fact.

President Donald Trump has alleged that Warren, seen as a potential [presidential competitor](http://time.com/5389522/elizabeth-warren-25th-amendment-trump/) in 2020, used false claims about her heritage to advance her career as a lawyer. He has dubbed Warren the “[fake Pocahontas](http://time.com/5038848/donald-trump-elizabeth-warren-response-pocahontas/).”

“She used the fact that she was Native American to advance her career,” Trump has said. “Elizabeth Warren is a total fraud. I know it. Other people who work with her know it.”=

> [](https://twitter.com/elizabethforma/status/1051783184390664192)

“I will give you a million dollars to your favorite charity, paid for by Trump, if you take the test and it shows you’re an Indian,” Trump said in July. “I have a feeling she will say no.”

Warren shared [a video and a website](https://elizabethwarren.com/fact-squad/heritage/) of testimonials from her colleagues at Harvard University and elsewhere saying her ancestry had no impact on her hiring. Those testimonials support an [investigation](https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2018/09/01/did-claiming-native-american-heritage-actually-help-elizabeth-warren-get-ahead-but-complicated/wUZZcrKKEOUv5Spnb7IO0K/story.html) done by The Boston _Globe_ which concluded, “At every step of her remarkable rise in the legal profession, the people responsible for hiring her saw her as a white woman.”

Dr. Carlos Bustamante, a professor of genetics at Stanford University, said an analysis of Warren’s genome turned up evidence of Native American ancestry.


“In the senator’s genome, we did find five segments of Native American ancestry, with very high confidence, where we believe the error rate is less than one in 1,000,” Dr. Bustamante says in a video shared by Warren on Twitter.

“This isn’t just about casual racism,” said Warren. “Native communities have faced discrimination, neglect and violence for generations. And Trump can say whatever he wants about me, but mocking Native Americans or any group in order to try and get at me? That’s not what America stands for.”

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