I know someone who decided to do a DNA test. I had already done her family tree(the paper trail)for her and a distant ancestor on the tree is supposedly Native American.
The reason she wanted to do the DNA testing was to "find" her Native American ancestry. She wanted to find that ancestry so she could apply to a tribe and be among the folks who could reap some sort of benefit(casino monies, health benefits, etc.).
First off, there is no record of this NA ancestor recorded in any tribal roles that anyone can find. The fact that she "is" NA is only through family stories-both in this person's family and I have found it attached to other family trees that this ancestor is in.
This direct ancestor is a 3 x great grandparent of the person who wants to know and she was born circa. 1810. Having a lone NA ancestor stretching back 200 or so years ago means that chances of having any of their actual DNA recombining into what got handed down over 4 generations to her is a slim chance at best.
The only sure fire(easy)way to know you have NA ancestry is if it's your Y DNA line(your father's father's father's on back line)or your mitochondrial DNA line(your mother's mother's mother's on back line)puts you into a NA haplogroup. If you are lucky enough, being male and your Y haplogroup is Q or C with certain mutations or being a female and your mtDNA haplogroup is X2 then you have proof easily of NA ancestry even if your ethnicity breakdown doesn't show any % of NA ancestry.
Ok this is getting too complicated but you get my drift(I hope).
We can narrow down(if this ancestor was indeed Native)potential tribes she could have belonged to according to where this family in question was from. Ancestor in question was born in North Carolina so she could have been Chowanoke, Croatoan, Hatteras, Moratoc, Secotan, Weapemeoc, Machapungo, Pamlico, Coree, Neuse river, Tuscarora, Meherrin, Cherokee, Cape Fear, Lumbee, Catawba, Shakori, Sissipahaw, Sugeree, Waccamaw, Waxhaw, Woccon, Cheraw, Eno, Keyauwee, Occaneechi, Saponi, or Tutelo Indians. Some of these tribes are extinct and only 8 are recognized by the state of NC(and only Eastern Band of Cherokee in NC are recognized federally).
Not being found in a tribal role means there is no way to know which tribe she belonged to either so even if her DNA test came back and found any NA ancestry there is no way to know which NA tribe she should apply to.
The only way at that point to pinpoint the ancestors tribe would be if another person was a DNA match to my friend AND they had NA ancestry too(and the match was on that line of her family)AND documentation for that other person's NA ancestor was available. Add in the fact that very few people with Eastern NA ancestry have DNA tested and it becomes a real big crap shoot to find any information that would help my friend in her NA search.
"Belonging" to a NA tribe nowadays is more cultural and not just genetic, according to your DNA markers. This friend did NOT grow up in any NA culture or on a reservation(much like Elizabeth Warren did not)so really her applying to a tribe, if she could find which tribe, to reap some sort of monetary(or other)benefit is IMHO inappropriate.
Anyway this person took a DNA test for this reason without me knowing about it until after the fact.
So I am on the phone with this person, she is, for lack of a better term, "very white" and she opens her DNA result while on the phone with me, and there is no NA DNA(but then again, it's the Ancestry company test which isn't thought to be very accurate by professional genetic genealogists).
Crestfallen, she reads off her % of each ethnicity and at the bottom she comes to an ethnicity that is 2% Benin/Togo.
Yep, I don't think she believes it even now, months later. She went looking for her inner "Indian Princess" and found out she's a "Soul Sistah". ;-)
Just a warning that if you go digging into your DNA and/or Ancestry be careful what you wish for and be prepared for anything!
Sluggy
oh geez! I can't believe someone would think that an ancestor that far back would allow them to claim tribal benefits, LOL. My DD is awaiting her DNA results. I'm anxious to see what they say :)
ReplyDeleteShe wasn't expecting that was she? I have an acquaintance who has been told she had NA in her genes too, which she checked, but by the time it reached her it was only 1/8, which isn't enough to amount to anything. SHe was looking for scholarship money.
ReplyDeleteI hate to say it but I am glad that she has no NA background, as that is totally the wrong reason for wanting it.......funny story though.
ReplyDeleteI read this article--https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22129554-400-there-is-no-dna-test-to-prove-youre-native-american/
ReplyDeleteIf it is true, the search for DNA to prove you are NA is futile. I have NA on both sides of my family tree, but I cannot prove it. I doubt it is a myth, just a truth we cannot prove so far. My paternal grandmother looked like she was NA. I would hate to think my fortunes depended on an addiction driven economy that provides so much of the monies for tribe members.
A friend's cousin found out that her Dad wasn't her Dad after doing Ancestry. Her parents are both dead so she went to her Aunts. They told her that her mom had had a brief affair when she was unable to have a child with her husband. They didn't have invitro in the 60's. She did it on her own. Crazy what you can find out.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! You gave me the biggest laugh this morning. I used to live in NC Cherokee nation and I know how people want to be on that Indian roll! 😱 We were recently contacted by a half brother, that we knew nothing about. DNA doesn't lie!!! Yep, be careful what you wish for!!! 😂😂😂
ReplyDeleteLOL! One of my friends at work did the Ancestry DNA test and it came back that her dad wasn't her dad too!! LOL! Her Mom knew it too and kept it a secret. Her Dad died years ago but we laughed and laughed as it explained why she is so different from her sister!
ReplyDeleteDeeCee
Maybe mine will tell me I am not really a twin, but an alien. Or maybe I am really your sister. I would love that.
ReplyDelete