Sen. Elizabeth Warren is joining a lineup of Native Americans who support Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day.
A message from the Massachusetts senator was included on the Biden campaign events program on Monday, a virtual gathering headlined by Reps. Sharice Davids of Kansas and Deb Haaland of New Mexico. Davids and Haaland made history in 2018 when they became the first Native American women elected to Congress.
Warren has been mercilessly mocked by President Trump and his Republican allies after she took a DNA test to prove she had Native American heritage. She has faced unfounded criticism since her inaugural Senate bid in 2012 that she professionally benefited from claiming to have Cherokee and Delaware Indian lineage based on family folklore.
The test, taken in 2018, showed the former Harvard Law School professor and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau founder had a Native American ancestor six to 10 generations ago.
Fellow former 2020 White House candidate and two-term South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg will also address Monday’s digital audience.
Warren, who spoke at the Democratic National Committee’s Native American Caucus during this summer’s quadrennial convention, made her first in-person swing for Biden last weekend. She returned to primary stomping ground New Hampshire on Saturday, hosting what was billed as a socially distanced rally.
There, she warned Democrats not to be complacent, especially after 2016 Democratic standard-bearer Hillary Clinton lost to Trump, despite a significant polling lead heading into Election Day.
“I know some of us are looking at the polls and starting to feel good,” Warren told the crowd. “I look at those polls, and all I think is, ‘I thought I felt good at this time four years ago.'”
