<p>White people can’t claim to be African Americans whatever country they are from. This question comes up periodically from a South African white kid. The answer is “forget it.”</p>
<p>Native Americans are a more complicated issue, because there is the issue of whether a tribe is recognized, whether the person is registered with the tribe, etc. If Elizabeth Warren was registered with a tribe, then she has every right to indicate that on forms. Whether it was ultimately prudent for her to do that is debatable.</p>