What Harvard previously claimed, on what documents, and on what evidence is not the topic here.
We are talking about a recent scientific test and the scientific evidence it established: Which is that she undoubtedly has Native American ancestry, that could indeed be as recent as her claim. As far as the byplay with Donny goes, she's called his bluff, and he's folding.
Cherokee Tribal citizenship, and the standards of genealogy used to determine it were never part of that side-bet. Even us document-dependent European-Americans have troubles with the gaps in that stuff. The folks who rely on oral histories tend to do it better, but few people keep such histories of those who have left their society for another. Then we're back to 'he said she said'. Anyway, when that's the topic, we can have at it.
Personally I don't see why anyone much gives a pinch of the usual brown gunk about this imaginary 'race' stuff, except as another bit of colour, brightening the monochrome of daily life (sleazy grey if we're talking political life). But, as one American to another, you folks in the USA section have built whole teetery houses out of these sorts of meaningless racial cards, and now there's lotsa of interests vested in maintaining the doomed things no matter what dangers and damage they threaten you with, as they constantly fall apart and collapse.
Meantime, she's proven she has as much Native American through her ancestry,
as the kid in the picture has German-American, through his proud Grandpa.
Nice pic, eh?