DNA Testing for Native American Ancestry
How to Discover Indian Genealogy through Genetic Testing
May 6, 2009
Americans whose families have been in the United States for many generations can reasonably expect to have some Native American blood somewhere in their genealogies. Some may have heard stories about an Indian ancestor or a distant affiliation with a certain tribe. If traditional genealogical research fails to turn up any conclusive proof, DNA testing may be the next step.
What DNA Testing Can Reveal
DNA tests can be performed to determine two of a person’s many lineages. The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) test traces mutations along the maternal line – the genetic lineage of a person’s mother’s mother’s mother and so on. A Y chromosome DNA test traces the paternal line – someone’s father’s father’s father and so on. While either sex can have their mtDNA traced, only males can have their Y chromosome tested.
A person has many more than just two lineages, however. A family historian who wants to have more of his or her lineages traced genetically will need to ask appropriate relatives (the daughter of a paternal grandmother or the son of a maternal grandfather, for example) to get tested instead.
How DNA Testing Reveals American Indian Ancestry
A DNA test can determine someone’s haplotype, a set of genetic markers that are inherited as a unit. Different haplotypes correspond to different haplogroups. “One way to think about haplogroups is as major branches on the family tree of Homo Sapiens,” writes Family Tree DNA on its website. “Haplogroups are usually associated with a geographic region.” There are several haplogroups specific to Native American populations that can be tested with either Y chromosome or mtDNA testing
Limits of DNA Tests for Native American Backgrounds
Haplogroups are like a mammoth family tree extending back for hundreds or even thousands of years. “We usually can’t tell you what group of modern-day Indians you might belong to, except in a general way,” advises DNA Testing Systems on its website. “With some tests, we can identify what ancient lineages your Y-chromosome or mtDNA matches are and provide you with an analysis of the gene frequency for you in modern-day tribes.”
DNA Tribes compares a person’s DNA profile with geographic regions where a similar profile is common. “A match with a particular ethnic or national population sample does not guarantee you or a recent ancestor (parent or grandparent, for instance) are a member of that ethnic group,” they caution in their FAQ section. A DNA match to a Native American population may be a useful supplement to genealogical research and documentation when confirming Native American ancestry, however.
Native American Ethnicity: Genetic and Social
Some people may be content to discover that their mtDNA profiles mark them as Haplotype X, common among the Ojibwe, and add their discovery to the family tree. Others, however, may want to pursue tribal membership. DNA results alone will not grant someone tribal membership – much more genealogical research will have to be done to build a claim.
“To tribes, what matters is not whether or not you're related by blood to a tribe member, but whether you are socially a member of the tribe,” writes Lisa Shea on Family Tree DNA’s American Indian DNA Project page. “Many tribes feel that tribal law is what determines the status of an individual in a tribe, not DNA test results.”
Many Americans have mixed ancestry, even if it occurred far in the past. Read DNA Testing for African Ancestry to learn more.
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