God, I'll never understand Democrats. This does matter, it proves her point. Better, it makes Brown look like an ass for his eyeball ancestry call.

fortunately she doesn't have to fake anything, unlike Romney.

Elizabeth Warren is an exemplary American. I think she'll run for President in four years

I totally agree with your statement, she is indeed a exemplary American. I also hope she'll run for POTUS in '16. She would be a wonderful leader for this Nation.

Here's an essay from novelist Rilla Askew that perfectly sums up what it is like to be what the fullbloods call a White Indian:

http://bit.ly/Kt59tb

it's just nuts to let the meme that she lied go without real challenge. She heard the stories growing up because they were true. It's simple.

The article you posted is four and a half months old. The issue as framed by Brown is not if she is or is not Native American. Brown has made the issue about whether or not she claimed the heritage for purposes of affirmative hiring/employment/advancement. She has been put in the position of needing to prove a negative. IOWs the issue is not as simple as you seem to think it is.

You know, that's what I've done in the past to "prove" my Native heritage if doubted--whip out the old family photos.

But as any part-Indian Okie knows, if your family is not on the rolls, you're not considered a real Indian, no matter the actual degree of Indian blood (and that's the correct term, by the way). There are a great many socialism-hating Okies who would give their eyeteeth to have a CDIB (Certificate of Degree of Indian Blood) card, in order to get that socialized health care.

Another factor in hazy family histories regarding Indian blood: whether one's family is from Eastern or Western Oklahoma. No kidding. Those on the Eastern side, I have found, where the "Five Civilized Tribes" were assigned, have a certain degree of pride in their heritage. On the Western side of the state, where Plains Indians were looked upon as little better than animals, many families were shamed by Indian blood. These divisions are still quite strong.

It's complicated. I think we should cut Ms. Warren some slack, and move on. She can most likely no more prove her heritage than can I. All we have are family stories.

And she's certainly been more than trustworthy on many subjects important to the nation.

years of genealogical research hasn't uncovered any actual evidence. If it's there, it's back in the 1700s, or somebody's birth record somewhere isn't completely truthful.

I was trying to get it last night but it wouldn't come up for me on google.

It's interesting to me that her grandfather was Harry Reed even though it's not spelled like Harry Reid's. He does look Native American.

Scott Brown acted like he was in kindergarten last night when he aggressively, rudely said.."Look at her, clearly she's not Native American."

sure does (to me). Her eyes, cheekbones.....

Many people of Native American ancestry cannot prove their ancestry because of very poor, or deliberately inaccurate, record keeping by non-Native American officials throughout American history.

Some Native Americans do not like people claiming undocumented Native heritage, especially those who do so clearly for some type of material gain. Nevertheless, there are more than a few people who actually are part Native American, who are aware of their Native heritage through family tradition, but cannot prove their Native Heritage with historical documentation.

The requirements to prove Native American heritage in the United States vary based on to whom or which organization one is appealing. To join a Native American cultura organization, all that is typically required is a person's word. To register with the federal government, one must document one's descent from a member of a federally-recognized Native American group within the United States.
For example, imagine that William Sanchez knows that his great-great-great-grandfather was a mission Indian in California. (Mission Indians were those Native Americans who converted to Catholicism and lived inside or near the early Spanish missions in the American Southwest.) William would have to secure birth certificates, mission lists, and other documents which trace his heritage back to his mission Indian ancestor. Sadly for many of Native American descent, such records can be difficult to locate, if they exist at all. The good news is that one need prove the existence of only one Native American ancestor to receive Indian status. For help in the documentation process, contact your tribal agency or the Bureau of Indian Affairs at: www.doi.gov

From the BIA: A Guide to Tracing Native American Ancestry pdf

Most of us naturally trust that our parents and grandparents tell us the truth about our ancestry; why wouldn't we?

I was recently trying to do some family research and found someone I believe to be my ancestor but I was unable to verify by checking siblings, parents, etc. because he was shown to be living at an address with 508 other people. iows - the records are totally screwy.

She isn't claiming the privilege that comes with a card. She has not benefited from the claim, it is simply documented that her ancestry is such. She checked the box honestly, which is the only true issue in dispute.

I'm blond with green eyes.

I'm sorry I don't "look" NA enough, but frankly, most of America has Native American blood. That doesn't mean that Elizabeth Warren isn't smart as a whip, earned her way to where she is, and didn't trounce Scott Brown on his own terms though her wit, courtesy and intelligence.

Because she did.

EDIT: I trust my parents when they say my great-grandmother was a Native American. I can't prove it. I was born in OK, though.