Elizabeth Warren Entries in Pow Wow Chow Cookbook

On April 27, 2012, The Boston Herald reported that in the late 1990s Harvard Law School had touted Elizabeth Warren as being a Native American faculty member.

On May 1, 2012, according to a Boston Herald article,[1] the Warren Campaign offered two pieces of evidence [2] it said supported Ms. Warren’s claim of Native American ancestry.

The first piece of evidence was a statement by genealogist Chris Child of the New England Historic Genealogical Society that Warren might be 1/32 Cherokee.  That claim, based on a type of documentation[3] which did not exist at the time in question, later was withdrawn as lacking any evidence.

The second piece of evidence the Warren Campaign offered reporters was an undated article from the Muskogee Phoenix about the contributions of Elizabeth Warren’s first cousin, Mrs. James P. Rowsey, to the Five Civilized Tribes Museum in Muskogee, Oklahoma as proof of Ms. Warren’s Native American ancestry:

The campaign also hastily produced an undated newspaper clip last night from the Muskogee Sunday Phoenix detailing a “Mrs. James P. Rowsey” — who they said is Warren’s cousin — and her involvement with the Five Civilized Tribes Museum, which is dedicated to preserving Native American art.

“Mrs. James P. Rowsey was Elizabeth’s first cousin — shared the grandparents in question,” a campaign official said in the statement.

Investigative reporter Michael Patrick Leahy[4] traced Ms. Rowsey to a book titled Pow Wow Chow: A Collection of Recipes from Families of the Five Civilized Tribes: Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek & Seminole[5].

In the Pow Wow Chow cookbook were recipes allegedly authored by Warren, as reported by Daily Mail[6]:

The allegedly Cherokee recipes included[7] Cold Omelets with Crab Meat[8], Crab with Tomato Mayonnaise Dressing,[9] Herbed Tomatoes,[10] and Mexican Oatmeal Soup[11]:

Boston Radio host Howie Carr discovered that three of Warren’s recipes appeared to be plagiarized[12]:

The two recipes, “Cold Omelets with Crab Meat” and “Crab with Tomato Mayonnaise Dressing,” appear in an article titled “Cold Omelets with Crab Meat,” written by Pierre Franey of the New York Times News Service that was published in the August 22, 1979 edition of the Virgin Islands Daily News, a copy of which can be seen here.

Ms. Warren’s 1984 recipe for Crab with Tomato Mayonnaise Dressing  is a word-for-word copy of Mr. Franey’s 1979 recipe.

Mrs. Warren’s 1984 recipe for Cold Omelets with Crab Meat contains all four of the ingredients listed in Mr. Franey’s 1979 recipe in the exact same portion but lists five additional ingredients. More significantly, her instructions are virtually a word for word copy of Mr. Franey’s instructions from this 1979 article. Both instructions specify the use of a “seven inch Teflon pan.” …

Ms. Warren’s instructions are word-for-word copies of Mr. Franey’s 1979 instructions for this recipe, with one exception. Ms. Warren says, “Let cook until firm and lightly brown…” and Mr. Franey says “Let cook until firm and lightly browned…” [emphasis added] …

The third potentially plagiarized recipe, “Herbed Tomatoes,” appears to be copied from this 1959 recipe from Better Homes and Garden.

Other family members[13] of Warren submitted recipes, none of which appeared to be authentically Native American or Cherokee.

Warren’s husdand, Bruce Mann[14], who never has claimed to be Native American, also listed himself as Cherokee and provided a recipe[15] for Oriental Beef Stir-Fry:

Mann’s recipe previously appeared — word for word — in the Oswego (NY) Palladium Times[16] on January 24, 1983, the year before Pow Wow Chow was published.

References

  1. ^ Hillary Chabot, Elizabeth Warren’s embattled campaign: Cherokee tie found 5 generations ago, The Boston Herald, May 1, 2012
  2. ^ Michael Patrick Leahy, Warren Campaign Offered Cousin’s Cookbook as Proof of Native American Ancestry, Breitbart, May 13, 2012
  3. ^ Michael Patrick Leahy, Warren's Cherokee Claim Based on Family Newsletter; No Marriage License Application to Be Found, Breitbart, May 11, 2012
  4. ^ Michael Patrick Leahy, Warren Campaign Offered Cousin’s Cookbook as Proof of Native American Ancestry, Breitbart, May 13, 2012
  5. ^ Candy Rowsey, Pow Wow Chow: A Collection of Recipes from Families of the Five Civilized Tribes: Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek & Seminole, 1984
  6. ^ Daily Mail, Elizabeth Warren claimed Native American heritage in 1984 cookbook called Pow Wow Chow, Daily Mail, May 17, 2012
  7. ^ Michael Patrick Leahy, BREAKING: Elizabeth Warren Contributed to 'Pow Wow Chow' (Ancestry Proven!), Breitbart, May 17, 2012
  8. ^ Pow Wow Chow, Cold Omelets with Crab Meat, Breitbart, 1984
  9. ^ Pow Wow Chow, Crab with Tomato Mayonnaise Dressing, Breitbart, 1984
  10. ^ Pow Wow Chow, Herbed Tomatoes, Breitbart, 1984
  11. ^ Pow Wow Chow, Mexican Oatmeal Soup, Breitbart, 1984
  12. ^ Michael Patrick Leahy, Did Elizabeth Warren Plagiarize Her 'Pow Wow Chow' Recipes?, Breitbart, May 18, 2012
  13. ^ Michael Patrick Leahy, BREAKING: Elizabeth Warren Contributed to 'Pow Wow Chow' (Ancestry Proven!), Breitbart, May 17, 2012
  14. ^ Harvard Law School, Bruce Mann elected to historical council, Harvard Law School
  15. ^ William A. Jacobson, Elizabeth Warren’s husband also claimed to be Cherokee (Update: Another plagiarized recipe?), Legal Insurrection, July 7, 2012
  16. ^ William A. Jacobson, Elizabeth Warren’s husband also claimed to be Cherokee (Update: Another plagiarized recipe?), Legal Insurrection, July 7, 2012
Last Updated: October 29th, 2019