The Truth Behind Elizabeth Warren’s Native American Ancestry

Elizabeth Warren, a prominent figure in American politics, has often been questioned regarding her claim to Native American ancestry. This article delves into the details of her genetic background and the accuracy of such claims.

Understanding the Application of Genetic Testing

Most likely, Elizabeth Warren has zero Native American ancestry. What is often cited are possibilities derived from distant ancestors. According to Warren herself, there is a mere possibility of one ancestor about 9-10 generations back. However, this does not translate to certainty. Genetic testing, as it stands, claims an accuracy of between 99.8% to 99.9%. This means that if there is any Native American ancestry within her line, it would need to be recent and genetic tests can likely detect it.

Mathematics of Genetic Inheritance

To better understand the concept, consider the inheritance of DNA. Assuming there is no inbreeding at 9 generations back, one would have 512 ancestors, each contributing 1/512 of their DNA. At 10 generations back, this increases to 1024 ancestors, each contributing 1/1024 of DNA. Since 1/512 is roughly 0.195 and 1/1024 is about 0.098, genetic tests can only detect ancestry that is significantly recent. Therefore, saying "you might have a Native American ancestor 9 or 10 generations back" essentially means, "to the limits of the accuracy of your test, you have no Native American ancestry."

Availability of DNA Testing and Its Extent

It is indeed possible to find out about ancestry through commercial DNA tests. A commercial test can go back as far as 10 generations and can reveal whether one has Native American ancestry. If Elizabeth Warren had any ancestors who were Native American from the past 300 years, it would have shown up in such a test. Also, specific tests that go back to ancient times are available, as was the case with the test my mother underwent on YourDNAportal. My mother's ancestry traces back to a grandparent who lived in the early 1800s, but the test went much further back, revealing the contributions from ancient tribes.

Prevalence of Native American Ancestry in America

Most people in the United States have no Native American ancestry, since most people are descended from immigrants who came to America in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Genetic tests usually can only detect more than one ancestry, and mitochondrial DNA tests are not commonly done. Only a few regions in the United States, such as Oklahoma, North Dakota, New Mexico, and parts of Louisiana, show a higher percentage of Native American ancestry among whites. Overall, whites have under 2% Native American ancestry.

African-Americans, on the other hand, have about 8% Native American ancestry, contributing around 13% of the population. However, this is mostly due to their incorporation of elements from the broader American population, including those of mixed heritage. Latinos make up about 15% of the U.S. population, and many of them probably have some South-of-the-Border Native American ancestry. The specific percentage can vary widely by the individual's county of origin.

Elizabeth Warren’s Case

According to studies, Elizabeth Warren’s ancestry could suggest she has one Native American ancestor in the sixth generation, living around the mid-1800s, or possibly a dozen or more ancestors back to the 10th generation, around 250 years ago. Her results are consistent with a single ancestor, indicating she has more Native American ancestry than most white people, although she has very little of it.

Conclusion

The evidence from genetic testing shows that despite the claims and family lore, Elizabeth Warren’s Native American ancestry is minimal. The application of genetics and the limitations of current testing methods provide clarity to the claims made about her ancestry.