Ancestry DNA and the Manipulation of Afro-Indian Identity Arica
L. Coleman, Ph.D. Post Doctoral Fellow Johns Hopkins University
2006. All rights reserved
Slide 3
Henry Louis Gates, W.E.B. Du Bois Professor African American
Studies Department, Harvard University I ask each of my guests if
they thought they had a significant amount of Native American
ancestry, and to a person, they said, oh, yeah, my great
grandmother, my grandmother, my cousin once removed, straight hair,
high cheekbones. When we did the DNA analysis, only two of the nine
had any significant amount of Native American ancestry. This is a
myth. -- Henry Louis Gates, Jr., NPR All Things Considered,
Feb.2006. I ask each of my guests if they thought they had a
significant amount of Native American ancestry, and to a person,
they said, oh, yeah, my great grandmother, my grandmother, my
cousin once removed, straight hair, high cheekbones. When we did
the DNA analysis, only two of the nine had any significant amount
of Native American ancestry. This is a myth. -- Henry Louis Gates,
Jr., NPR All Things Considered, Feb.2006.
Slide 4
Carter G. Woodson, the pioneer of African American History One
of the longest unwritten chapters of the history of the United
States is that treating of the relations of the Negroes and
Indians. One of the longest unwritten chapters of the history of
the United States is that treating of the relations of the Negroes
and Indians. The Relations of Negroes and Indians in Massachusetts.
The Journal of Negro History, Journal of Negro History, 1920.
1920.
Slide 5
Jack D. Forbes (Powhatan), preeminent scholar of African Native
American Intersections There is no denying but what the image of
the Great White Fornicator is a popular one, exalted (as it were)
by a vast folklore and accepted as valid almost without seeking
proof. There is no denying but what the image of the Great White
Fornicator is a popular one, exalted (as it were) by a vast
folklore and accepted as valid almost without seeking proof. The
Manipulation of Race, Caste and Identity: Classifying
AfroAmericans, Identity: Classifying AfroAmericans, Native
Americans and Red-Black People. The Journal of Ethnic Studies 17.4,
1990.
Slide 6
Wilma Mankiller, Former Principal Chief Cherokee Nation One of
the things that struck me in going to the South... was that I saw
people who appeared to be African-American, who I could absolutely
look at and say that person is Creek, or that person is Cherokee.
Society tends to accept tribal people when mixed with white people,
without any problem whatsoever.... But, if you find someone who
says I am half black and half Oneida, Yakama, or Cherokee, people
have more difficulty with that. One of the things that struck me in
going to the South... was that I saw people who appeared to be
African-American, who I could absolutely look at and say that
person is Creek, or that person is Cherokee. Society tends to
accept tribal people when mixed with white people, without any
problem whatsoever.... But, if you find someone who says I am half
black and half Oneida, Yakama, or Cherokee, people have more
difficulty with that. Exploring the Legacy and Future of
Black/Indian Relations, National Congress of Indians 57th Annual
Conference, 2000. Transcript.
Slide 7
Lakota artist Francis Yellow titled his 2000 depiction of the
first encounter between Africans and Indians in the Carolinas,
First They Made Prayers and They Sang and They Danced and Then They
Made Relatives. [I] wanted to depict historical African-Indigenous
relations from a perspective that todays indigenous peoples and
Africans and African Americans could recognize, and relate to, as
our truth. [I] wanted to depict historical African-Indigenous
relations from a perspective that todays indigenous peoples and
Africans and African Americans could recognize, and relate to, as
our truth. Quoted in Julie Harris,The Black-Indian Quoted in Julie
Harris,The Black-Indian Connection in Art: American Portraits,
Soulscapes and Spirit Works, The International Review of African
American Art 1:17, 2000.
Slide 8
Sara Lawrence Lightfoot Daughter of Charles City County,
Virginia Lightfoot, who appeared as a guest on Gatess PBS
documentary, African American Lives, was told her DNA results
showed that she possessed no Native American ancestry ; however,
the history of Charles City tells a different story. For over three
centuries peoples of African, Indian and European descent
commingled, and cohabitated in Charles City. Lightfoots ancestral
roots in Charles City date back to the American Revolution. It
would be a miracle if she didnt have Native American ancestry.
Slide 9
Genetic Testing Mitochondril DNA Traces mothers line going back
as far as we can locate the genetic material Y-Chromosome DNA
Traces fathers line going back as far as we can locate the genetic
material Admixture Mapping examines groups' relative sharedness of
genetic markers found on the autosomes the nonsex chromosomes
inherited from both parents.
Slide 10
Limitations of Ancestry DNA Mitochondrial and Y Chromosome DNA
represents less than one percent of your entire genetic make up.
When tracing ones ancestry back six generations, one must obtain
genetic material for all sixty-four relatives who equally
contributed to ones DNA make up. The current technology only allows
for two of those sixty- four to be traced. Admixture DNA attempts
to identify Ancestry Information Markers which frequently appear in
designated populations to demonstrate group affiliation such as
Native American, Sub-Sahara African, etc. However, patterns which
scientists identify as Native American or African, can be found in
peoples all over the globe. Hence a person from Sweden may possess
the same genetic pattern as a Native American or Sub-Sahara
African, yet have no direct ancestral link to either. Admixture DNA
attempts to identify Ancestry Information Markers which frequently
appear in designated populations to demonstrate group affiliation
such as Native American, Sub-Sahara African, etc. However, patterns
which scientists identify as Native American or African, can be
found in peoples all over the globe. Hence a person from Sweden may
possess the same genetic pattern as a Native American or Sub-Sahara
African, yet have no direct ancestral link to either. The guess
work involved in the ancestry DNA enterprise is enormous in that a
contemporary small sample population is used to stand in for a
tribal or ethnic group which may or may not have existed centuries
before. Also, in order to declare someone to be 50 % sub-Saharan
African, 40% Native American and 10% European, one must assume
he/she knows who is 100% African, Native American or European. Such
a conclusion can not be based on scientific fact, but on
assumptions based on social constructions on race. The guess work
involved in the ancestry DNA enterprise is enormous in that a
contemporary small sample population is used to stand in for a
tribal or ethnic group which may or may not have existed centuries
before. Also, in order to declare someone to be 50 % sub-Saharan
African, 40% Native American and 10% European, one must assume
he/she knows who is 100% African, Native American or European. Such
a conclusion can not be based on scientific fact, but on
assumptions based on social constructions on race.
Slide 11
Troy Duster Professor of Sociology Instead of asserting that
someone has no Native American ancestry, the most truthful
statement would be: It is possible that while the Native American
groups we sampled did not share your pattern of markers, others
might since these markers do not exclusively belong to any one
group of our existing racial, ethnic, linguistic, or tribal
typologies. Instead of asserting that someone has no Native
American ancestry, the most truthful statement would be: It is
possible that while the Native American groups we sampled did not
share your pattern of markers, others might since these markers do
not exclusively belong to any one group of our existing racial,
ethnic, linguistic, or tribal typologies. Deep Roots Tangled
Branches. The Chronicle Review Online. 3 February 2006.
Slide 12
Patricia Williams Professor of Law It behooves us to be less
romantic about what all of this DNA swabbing reveals. I worry about
the cravings to go back to Africa, to connect with our Yiddishness
or to feel like new doors have been opened if we have an Asian
ancestor. The craving, the connection, the newness of those doors
is in our heads, not in our mitochondria. Rather, it is the process
of superimposing the identities with which we were raised upon the
culturally embedded, socially constructed imaginings about the
Other we could be. The fabulous nature of what is imagined can be
liberating, invigorating- but it is fable. If we read the story
into eternity of our bloodlines, if we biologize our history, we
will forever be less than we can be. It behooves us to be less
romantic about what all of this DNA swabbing reveals. I worry about
the cravings to go back to Africa, to connect with our Yiddishness
or to feel like new doors have been opened if we have an Asian
ancestor. The craving, the connection, the newness of those doors
is in our heads, not in our mitochondria. Rather, it is the process
of superimposing the identities with which we were raised upon the
culturally embedded, socially constructed imaginings about the
Other we could be. The fabulous nature of what is imagined can be
liberating, invigorating- but it is fable. If we read the story
into eternity of our bloodlines, if we biologize our history, we
will forever be less than we can be. Emotional Truth. The Nation,
March 2006.
Slide 13
Tiya Miles Assistant Professor of African American Studies and
American Culture DNA should not be used as a foolproof kind of
truth that trumps oral histories, origin stories, cultural
connections etc.. about self and family [that] obscures other kinds
of knowledge.... DNA should not be used as a foolproof kind of
truth that trumps oral histories, origin stories, cultural
connections etc.. about self and family [that] obscures other kinds
of knowledge.... Re: Ship Gates and Red/Black People. Email to the
author. 19 February 2006. Email to the author. 19 February
2006.
Slide 14
Peter N. Jones Molecular Anthropologist Due to its [ancestry
DNA] serious limitations it should be used with caution.... these
studies should be viewed as inchoate and requiring further
investigation and support from other fields....Because of the
claimed authoritative validity of these studies there is a great
danger that they will convince non-specialists of the hypothesized
associations [or disassociations] between American Indian groups
[and African Americans].... DNA analysis should offer a discourse
among our often disparate fields offering a greater understanding
of American Indian [and African American] cultural, affiliation and
demographic history. Due to its [ancestry DNA] serious limitations
it should be used with caution.... these studies should be viewed
as inchoate and requiring further investigation and support from
other fields....Because of the claimed authoritative validity of
these studies there is a great danger that they will convince
non-specialists of the hypothesized associations [or
disassociations] between American Indian groups [and African
Americans].... DNA analysis should offer a discourse among our
often disparate fields offering a greater understanding of American
Indian [and African American] cultural, affiliation and demographic
history. American Indian Demographic History and Cultural
Affiliation: A Discussion of Certain Limitation on the Use of mtDNA
and Y Chromosome Testing. AnthroGlobe Journal, 2002.
Slide 15
The End For questions or Comments about this presentation, you
may contact the author, Dr. Arica L. Coleman at [email protected].
L. Coleman at [email protected]@jhu.edu Ulali. All My
Relations. Mahk Johi. CD. Thrush, 1997.