Two Simple Questions Elizabeth Warren Cannot, or Will Not, Answer About Her 'Native American' Fiasco

Earlier this week, Elizabeth earned plaudits from her most devoted fans -- denizens of elite coastal newsrooms -- for apologizing to Native Americans at a forum she attended.  The Massachusetts Senator acknowledged that she'd made "mistakes" and caused "harm," but failed to detail what, specifically, those harmful mistakes actually were.  

Her campaign also memory-holed her disastrous DNA stunt video, which had been hailed by some in the press as brilliant when it was first released, only to slide into the "problematic" column when (once again) genuine Native Americans strongly objected to the nature of her supposed "proof."  Out: This dodgy evidence shows I was (1/64th to 1/1,024th) right all along!  In: I'm really sorry for unspecified errors.  And so, for the umpteenth time, Warren is trying to put this nagging controversy behind her.  She can't do so, however, until she persuasively and compellingly addresses two fundamental questions.

(1) Is she a Native American -- as in still, to this day?  Her response to this has been to deflect, instead answering different but related questions.  She asserts that she is not a member of a tribe, an about-face from her longtime claims of being a Cherokee, and that she is not a woman of color.  She was bludgeoned into the first reversal under harsh criticism from real Cherokees.  The second point is more perplexing.  Are Native Americans...not people of color?  A Native American candidate forum attendee seemed understandably and suitably confused during an appearance on MSNBC:

“Is Elizabeth Warren going to be a woman of color?” a Native American woman asked during an interview with MSNBC at the Sioux City forum. “She says she is not,” an MSNBC reporter replied. “How can she say she’s not when she took a DNA test stating she is?” the woman fired back. “So she’s either one of us or she’s not.”
Warren recently told a liberal podcaster that her supposed Native American identity is "what I believe," but quickly emphasized the tribe and person of color caveats. But setting those caveats off to the side, the core issue remains: Does Warren still consider herself a Native American?  Like, now, today.  If so, based on what actual evidence?

And how does that square with saying that she's not a person of color? If she says she no longer considers herself a Native American, that's a costly admission that she exploited an inaccurate identity, either out of calculating malice or insulting ignorance.  If she says she is a Native American, we're back to the glaring problem of, you know, evidence.  So there's a reason why she is avoiding this seemingly simple question.  She knows it's a trap, and that she set it for herself.