Elizabeth Warren, Pretendian

Some time back I created the word "Pretendian" to describe people who claim Native American heritage but can't prove it.  Looks like Massachusetts Democrat and challenger to Sen. Scott Brown fits the description:

Elizabeth Warren said yesterday she is “proud” of her Native American heritage and indicated she had no problem with Harvard Law School using her roots to claim her as a diversity hire, but her campaign still could not produce documents proving her lineage.

“I am very proud of my Native American heritage, thank you,” said Warren when asked if she disapproved of the school counting her as a minority woman on the faculty. “These are my family stories ... This is our lives and I am very proud of that.”

The Herald reported yesterday that Harvard Law School officials listed Warren as Native American in the ’90s, when the school was under fierce fire for their faculty’s lack of diversity.

Warren, who will likely face off with U.S. Sen. Scott Brown this fall, said she didn’t know the school has counted her as a minority faculty member until “I read it on the front page of the Herald.”

Her campaign said yesterday it is still working to produce documents proving that the 62-year-old Oklahoma native, whose maiden name is Herring, is a descendent of the Delaware and Cherokee tribes.

They said the Delaware Tribe that Warren is from had become assimilated, and because of that there is lax record-keeping.

Warren, who said she was told through family lore that her maternal parents were from the Cherokee and Delaware tribes, said she could not “recall” ever listing her Native American background when applying for college or a job.

Chris Miller, a secretary with the Delaware Tribe in Oklahoma, said he could not find Elizabeth Herring or Elizabeth Warren listed in the tribe’s official records.

I guess if she loses to Brown she can always open one of those Indian casinos.