NCAI

Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren apologized for claiming Cherokee ancestry, saying she has since listened and learned a lot.

Democratic Presidential Candidate Elizabeth Warren took a moment at a presidential candidate forum to address Indian Country issues to apologize for claiming Cherokee ancestry, an issue that almost derailed her campaign.

"Like anyone who has been honest with themselves, I know that I have made mistakes," Warren said. "I am sorry for harm I have caused. I have listened, and I have learned a lot." Warren had already apologized privately to the tribe.

New Mexico Congresswoman Deb Haaland, who belongs to the Pueblo of Laguna tribe, has endorsed Warren and prior to the forum the two co-sponsored legislation that would make good on treaty promises.

The first-of-its-kind presidential candidate forum to address Indian Country issues kicked off Monday in Iowa.

The candidates were each given an hour to answer questions about washed-out roads, crumbling schools, law enforcement challenges and missing and murdered indigenous women.

Warren told the audience if elected she would change a Supreme Court ruling that prohibits tribes from prosecuting non-natives who commit crimes on the reservation.

Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar also addressed law enforcement in Indian Country saying she and other women in Congress refused to vote on a weaker version of the Violence Against Women Act. She said, "when every single woman senator says it won't budge, the world changes."