Warren unveils Native American policy plan

Presidential contender Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) unveiled a number of policy proposals on Friday aimed at benefitting the Native American community.

The unveiling comes just days before she is set to address Native American advocacy groups in Iowa. Warren’s previous identification as having Native American ancestry had come under intense scrutiny, though she did not address the controversy in her proposal.

The plan unveiled on Friday, which was first posted by Warren’s campaign on Medium, calls for criminal justice reform on tribal lands, and specifically calls on the Department of Justice “to investigate the epidemic of sexual assaults and murders committed against Native women and prosecute offenders.”

{mosads}Warren also proposed setting up a system comparable to the Amber Alert system for when children go missing, which would send notifications out for Native Americans.

The senator’s plan also seeks to improve the financial and physical infrastructure of Native American communities, including by legalizing marijuana on tribal property and improving access to electricity and clean drinking water. 

Warren’s intended legislation was drafted with one of the first two Native American women elected to Congress last year, Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.).

Warren said the bill, dubbed Honoring Promises to Native Nations Act, will head to the floor after tribal leaders and Native American communities are able to offer their own input about the proposed legislation. 

Warren stirred controversy after having previously said she had Native American ancestry, though media reports have shown it had no role in her advancement through her academic career.

She has since apologized repeatedly for the confusion caused when she publicly identified herself as Native American.

President Trump has taken aim at the incident, referring to Warren multiple times as “Pocahontas.” 

Warren’s plan comes before she’s slated to attend the Frank LaMere Native American Presidential Forum, hosted by Native American advocacy group Four Directions, in Sioux City, Iowa, next week.