Proving Native American Ancestry Using DNA,,,,

[Cryptoad]

knowledge is power,,,,,, a very good article explaing DNA testing

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Every day, I receive e-mails very similar to this one.

“My family has always said that we were part Native American. I want to prove this so that I can receive help with money for college.”

The reasons vary, and not everyone wants to prove their heritage in order to qualify for some type of assistance. Some want to find their tribe and join to reclaim their lost heritage. Some want to honor their persecuted and hidden ancestors, undoing some of the wickedness of the past, and some simply seek the truth. Regardless of why, they are all searching for information lost to them.

I’d like to talk about three topics in proving Native Ancestry. First, I’d like to do some myth-busting. Second, I’d like to talk a little about conventional research and third, I’d like to discuss what DNA can, and can’t, do for you.

As you read this blog, please click on the links. I’m not going to repeat something I’ve already covered elsewhere.

Myth-Busting

Myth 1 – Free College

There is no free college for Native Americans. There are sometimes scholarships and grants available, mostly by the individual tribes themselves, for their official members.

Myth 2 – Joining a Tribe

Many people think that if they can only figure out which tribe their ancestor descends from, they can join. This is untrue. Each tribe is a sovereign nation, and they get to determine their criteria for membership. Most tribes require a specific percentage of Native “blood,” called blood quantum, in addition to being able to document which tribal member you descend from. Some tribes require as much as 25% Native heritage, and most require at least 1/16th Native heritage, which is one great-great grandparent. If you don’t know who in your family was a tribal member it’s unlikely that you would be able to meet the blood quantum requirement.

Myth 3 – DNA Testing Will Reveal my Tribe

Generally, DNA testing does not provide us with the information needed to determine a tribe, although it can clearly tell, using y-line or mitochondrial DNA testing, whether your direct paternal or maternal line was or was not Native. Sometimes you will be able to infer a tribe based on your matches and their documented history, but the definition of tribes, their names and locations have changed over time. We are working on improving this ability, but the science simply isn’t there yet and the number of Native people who have tested remains small.

Simply put, most federally recognized tribes aren’t interested in more tribal members. More members mean a smaller piece of the pie for existing members. The pot of resources, whatever resources you’re discussing, is only so large and it must be shared by all tribal members.

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Read more at:https://dna-explained.com/2012/12/18/proving-native-american-ancestry-using-dna/

[akraven]

1. My ancestry is literally up for grabs - who knows??

There are a few Native Alaskan tribes who need new members, but I'm positive this old white chick ain't one of them, even though I love 'em all. I simply won't stick my blood out there, period.

It doesn't matter who you are if your neighbors happen to be Athabaskan, Eskimo, Inuit, Inupiak, etc. They're neighbors.

[Cryptoad]

5. Mitakuye Oyasin,,,,,,,

we are all kin folks,,,,,

[akraven]

8. She/He has that right - the UAF museum here documents that.

[LexVegas]

2. Why do some white people hate just being white?

[Codeine]

7. I discovered my own family

made up all kinds of stupid shit about our ancestry. I was told we had Native American heritage, which was bullshit. Seems like a lot of that happened in the 60s and 70s.

I was also told one of our family names was McDiarmid, but it turned out we’d actually corrupted the Portuguese name Madeira because Scottish heritage was more socially acceptable than Portuguese.

People are goofy.

[Cryptoad]

12. I know of at least 14 million reasons

why my indigenous genes dont like my White colonist genes,,,,,!

That's the number of indigenous genocide victims,,,,,

[Aussie105]

3. DNA tests

For those thinking of doing theirs, rest assured that it will prove you are 100% human, with all the benefits and privileges that entails.

Do it out of interest, do it out of curiosity, but don't do it for any imagined personal gain flowing from it.

Australia has a similar distorted view. Apparently refugees who arrive here get bucket loads of cash from the government even a new car thrown at them?

As if!

EDIT: Thanks for the heart, whoever sent that! Made my day!

[McCamy Taylor]

4. DNA tests do not always reveal Native ancestry.

Especially from the eastern states were interbreeding has gone on so long that it can be hard to tell European from American. Remember, Vikings came here a long time ago.

[Cryptoad]

9. Just as they do not always disprove Native ancestry.....

it all explained in the article.

[hauckeye]

6. Family stories

Family stories said an ancestor was a full-blood Shoshone. This would have made me 1/32 native. But my DNA test says my ancestry is 100% European. So alas, the stories were wrong.

[Cryptoad]

10. Its may be according to type DNA test u had and ur sex....

plus the fact as to how far off u are relative to this ancestor......

[Thomas Hurt]

11. Fort Lewis College in CO offers free tuition if you are a qualified Native American.

https://www.fortlewis.edu/flc-scholarships/NativeAmericanTuitionWaiver.aspx

[Ms. Toad]

14. Not the only mistake in the article.

I don't think it was written by someone well-versed in tribal enrollment.

Three of my siblings are native from two separate nations. One requires blood quantum (the smaller nation). The other requires enrollment of a parent - which means that as long as a each enrolled parent continues to enroll their children, their blood quantum could be infinitessimally small a few generations out.

Since my siblings are adopted - establishing parental enrollment so far has proven impossible for the one actively seeking enrollment. The other (in the blood quantum nation) was born before the requirement began - and was likely enrolled at birth.

[KT2000]

13. a friend thought she was half Native American

she investigated through family and learned that her mother and uncle were left on the side of the road when they were toddlers. Their parents probably could not afford them. The two were sent to an Indian orphanage, even though they were not Native American.

Also, things get really messed up and that contributes to misinformation. Years ago, a local tribe conducted a census where people on the reservation were listed as tribal members or not. The tribal members were marked in black and non-members were marked in red. The original went into the file cabinet and photocopies were used in subsequent years. Everyone showed up with a black mark and treated as tribal members. That is, until someone running for office in the tribe, suspected their opponent was not really a tribal member. An investigation revealed the mistake of using photocopies.