Herschel Walker's Mom Rebuts His Claim His Grandmother Was 'Full-Blood Cherokee' - The Daily Beast

In January, astatine a run lawsuit astatine the University of Georgia, Republican Senate campaigner Herschel Walker boldly announced that helium had conscionable recovered retired done his parent that helium is “40 percent Native American.”

In the pursuing months, the erstwhile NFL prima would repetition the assertion respective times, with somewhat antithetic twists, though each clip helium said helium had conscionable learned the news.

HuffPost’s Jennifer Bendery reported that Walker said helium had conscionable learned his ma is “a large portion Native American” astatine 1 run lawsuit successful May, described himself arsenic “other” and said helium recovered retired “a twelvemonth and a fractional ago” astatine different May event, and astatine a southbound Georgia meet-and-greet the aforesaid period claimed helium is “proud to beryllium Black but... I whitethorn not beryllium Black” due to the fact that helium had conscionable learned “my parent is portion Native American.” At a June 20 run event successful College Park, helium made akin claims but added that helium made the find utilizing a 23andMe ancestry test. “I don’t attraction what colour you are,” Walker said aft stating helium wanted to “acknowledge each of my family.”

His latest, boldest announcement came astatine a run lawsuit past month, but this clip helium claimed his grandma was “full-blood Cherokee.”

“My ma conscionable told me… truthful I’m Native American. I was like, ‘Oh, hello,’” helium said, describing himself arsenic a “super mutt.” Speaking connected signifier to his supporters astatine the Sept. 28 lawsuit successful Forsyth, helium said: “I don’t cognize what I am, but this was truthful funny. This was truthful funny. I said, ‘Mom, wherefore you ne'er said thing to us?’ She said, ‘Back successful my days, a batch of the Native Americans were treated worse than Blacks.’”

Walker and his run person provided nary grounds for his claims, and immoderate digging by Bendery has shown nary links to Walker and the Native American assemblage truthful far.

Cherokee Nation, the largest of 3 recognized tribes successful the U.S., told HuffPost it had nary grounds of Walker successful its database. The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the United Keetoowah Band of Cherokee Indians did not respond to HuffPost’s petition for comment.

Walker’s mother, Christine, spoke to the tract and said “she has nary thought if an contiguous ancestor was full-blooded Cherokee.”

She said she grew up proceeding stories astir her father’s parent being “kin” to the tribe, clarifying that “her grandma was believed to beryllium related to Cherokee peoples successful immoderate way, but she didn’t cognize how.” She told HuffPost that “I don’t cognize however acold back” the family’s Cherokee practice went. “See, my grandmother, she passed erstwhile I was rather young. I don’t cognize excessively overmuch astir however she was connected.”

Walker’s run did not respond erstwhile contacted with a follow-up petition for comment.