More on Genetics, Me, and the Lumbee

February 7, 2020

In 2016 Rachel Waters published a critical article on the use of DNA tests to establish Native American identity with emphasis on the Lumbee Tribe. Her article, “Bloody Lies: The Dangerous Frontier of Genetic Ancestry in the Battle to Prove Indigenous Identity.” The article was originally published at www.facebook.com, and was written as part of her M.A. in International Affairs at the New School for Social Research. Her article includes an historical survey of issues surrounding Lumbee identity and concludes with a critique of the problems with the genetic approach. The excerpt below is her discussion of the genetics:

Down the Test Tube: The Emerging Use and Abuse of Genetic TestingThough the government does not regard DNA evidence alone as admissible proof of tribal affiliation, for those like the Lumbee whose history and ethnicity as determined by outsiders has failed to conclusively confirm their racial makeup as even being Indigenous at all, the development of The Lumbee Tribe Regional DNA Project in 2002 renewed hopes that their long-standing claims could be objectively validated (Estes, 2009, p. 1-2). By demonstrating their racial indigeneity with DNA proof, many Lumbee believe they can bolster their case before the Federal Government as a distinct tribal entity (p. 2). This is grounded in the idea that since geneticists have found certain variations, or “markers,” in human genes that tie back to “original” indigenous populations, then if a person’s DNA reveals one of these markers, it can be assumed that certain ancestors of said person were Indigenous American (Weiss & Long, 2009). This has been done by other tribes with some preliminary success, such as in the case of the Western Mohegan tribe. The tribe submitted to genetic testing in order to “prove” their entitlement to legal status as a federally recognized tribe in the state of Vermont, as they had little documentation or other supporting ethnographic evidence, such as treaties, and thereby lacked the information necessary to make a case under the FAP (Schmidt, 2011). Through genetic testing, members of the tribe were able to use these markers to establish a connection to an existing tribe in Wisconsin, and legislation is currently pending in Congress with the inclusion of this new genetic information (2011). However, the results of genetic testing on almost 2,000 Lumbee to date have only presented more heartache for the tribe, seemingly confirming claims that they have little racial Indigenous heritage. The figure of 96 percent European and African DNA has been maintained by Lumbee critics, politicians and scholars, as one of the strongest pieces of evidence against what they perceive as a fraudulent tribe (Estes, 2009, p. 2-4). However, this figure is not only numerically inaccurate, but is also deeply misleading from a genetic standpoint. In order to apprehend why, it is crucial to first understand how genetic ancestry is traced through DNA. Modern-day genetic lineage studies typically use mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) or Y-chromosome DNA as the unit of analysis due to uniparental inheritance (maternal for mtDNA and paternal for Y-chromosome) (Schmidt, 2011). That is, in the case of mtDNA and Y-chromosomes, lineages can easily be traced through the mother or father using either of these two methodologies because of the non-recombining nature of their genetic makeup (2011). Still others at the most cutting edge, like those studies performed by The National Genographic Project, have begun to use whole exome sequencing (WES) which tracks all variations in the parts of our DNA that comprise genes, taking into account all ancestors both male and female, providing a more nuanced and complete picture of lineage (Truong, 2016). Or at least, that is the eventual intent of this technology, because even the most current science has limits, particularly when it comes to indigenous North American populations. For each of these three genetic testing methods, genetic information from each individual DNA sample is grouped according to specific markers, which on mtDNA and Y-chromosomes are known as haplotypes (Schmidt, 2011). On the mitochondrial DNA, there are a total of five different haplotypes that researchers documenting Indigenous American populations look for: A, B, C, D and X. These have often been called “Native American markers,” as they are believed to be a genetic signature of the founding ancestors (2011). On the Y-chromosome, there are two primary haplogroups that are seen in modern indigenous groups, these are M3 and M45 (2011). However, none of these markers are exclusive to Indigenous American populations‚ and thus can be found in populations around the world, they’re simply seen more frequently in the Indigenous American populations on whom data have been collected thus far (2011). For WES genetic testing, the markers there are known as Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs), and these track the frequency of mutations at a certain place along the gene of those in various geographic populations (Truong, 2016). For instance, the genetic mutations (SNPs) which cause epicanthic eye folds as well as black hair will be found in the same location along the gene more frequently in East Asian populations than in, say, Northern European populations. Thus, when these markers are found within a person’s DNA, it can be a reasonable assumption that said individual is likely to have some East Asian lineage. In the case of The Lumbee Tribal DNA Project, which uses both mtDNA and Y-chromosome marker testing, it is true that paternal, Y-chromosome ancestry (which, thus far, have been the only results grouped by geographic location) that was of sufficiently matched origin was 96 percent African or European (Lumbee Tribe Regional DNA Project, 2008). However, the oft-cited result that this percentage accounts for all the results of the tested individuals is profoundly misleading. In a calculation I made of the available data, I discovered that of the 944 Lumbee males whose Y-chromosomes were tested overall, 547 of them showed a result which came back as “Unknown Origin,” meaning that these genetic markers could not be matched to any European, African or other populations accounted for within the database (2008). Thus, the total percentage of Lumbee males whose results came back as either Indigenous American or of Unknown Origin (unlikely European or African) was actually 62 percent, meaning only 38 percent of those men tested were highly likely to have had an African or European paternal ancestor. Furthermore, it’s essential to remember that this test accounts only for male ancestors. A Lumbee man could have a mother, grandmother and so on who were exclusively Indigenous and this would not be visible using Y-Chromosome testing (Truong, 2016). The opposite is true of women whose mtDNA was analyzed, as no paternal lineage will be accounted for. To understand just how profoundly this limits the accuracy of mtDNA and Y-chromosome testing for determining total lineage, consider the following: Individuals inherit mtDNA only from their mother with the line of inheritance stopping at each male, so if you consider your 4 great-grandmothers, you and your siblings have inherited mtDNA only from your maternal grandmother’s mother (2016). This means that your remaining seven great-grandparents (and their lineage) are completely invisible in mtDNA testing. If all your other great grandparents were indigenous, and your mother’s mother’s mother was not, then you are unlikely to carry any of the “Native American” mtDNA haplotypes (2016). In Y-chromosome testing, the limitations are similar in that the test only “sees” one line of ancestry and misses the remainder in a type of genetic tunnel vision. A man might have virtually all indigenous relatives, but if his father’s father’s father’s father was non-Native, the man’s result will come back as non-Native (2016). Moreover, the reliability of these assumptions of lineage based on markers such as haplotypes and SNPs rests within the size of the sample population against which an individual’s DNA results are compared. Currently, the largest genetic databases against which all DNA tests are evaluated and matched according to patterns in various geographic populations consist of roughly 700,000 individuals, virtually none of whom are indigenous to the United States and Canada (National Genographic Project, 2016). The only statistically significant (and thus easily matched) genetic data from Indigenous American populations currently comes from Mayan, Peruvian and Amazonian peoples (2016). In the US and Canada, very few indigenous groups have submitted their DNA to these databases, meaning that the genetic profiles – which most scientists agree are very regionally diverse – have not been mapped for most North American peoples (2016). Thus, these tests which seek to match haplotypes and SNPs of indigenous peoples without Mayan, Peruvian or Amazonian ancestry will frequently return with a result showing “Unknown Origin” (Truong, 2016). Even when an origin is shown, this is because the algorithm sought the most similar match (Truong, 2016). Unfortunately, when a sample is either too small or simply does not exist within the database, the accuracy of the match is exceptionally low (2016). Since some of the haplotypes attributed to Indigenous Americans are also found in people from other parts of the world, a database with a larger portion of non-Natives which have perhaps the A or X haplotype will be presumed by the algorithm to be the most probable match (2016). The same is true in the case of WES testing in which the algorithm is matching the position of SNPs along the gene. As such, it is entirely possible that the results of a person who is fully Lakota (or even Lumbee or Cherokee) with no other ethnic admixture might come back as European, Middle Eastern or Central Asian because 90 percent of the markers were in a similar position to those groups or, in a genetic test with higher specificity, the individual’s results might simply show as “Unknown Origin” (2016). Finally, since there is no biological classification of race, even the most sophisticated techniques will never be able to quantify it. Biological differences tend to group geographically, not racially, and in the case of ancestry testing, we see geography become a surrogate for race (Kahn, 2006).ConclusionAs it stands, current genetic testing cannot even account geographically for US and Canadian indigenous populations nor will it ever be able to do so without large groups of Native peoples from various regions around the continent submitting their DNA for analysis. However, this is by no means an argument they should do so, as for many Indigenous nations, submitting DNA runs deeply contrary to traditional practices, customs and beliefs, and for any entity to force or coerce them into doing so would represent an egregious violation of their rights as human beings. Furthermore, the racialization of indigenous groups is itself a colonial construct which works to undermine and invalidate traditional means of tribal identity and lineage such as clan affiliation, traditional adoption or the use of certain common maternal or paternal ancestors who may or may not share mtDNA or Y-chromosomes with an individual (Schmidt 2011). However, given that we exist within the broader settler-colonial context, it is simply not enough to disavow lineage-seeking genetic testing on the grounds that it is immoral, unethical and culturally inappropriate.When laypersons, politicians, lawyers and social scientists who place value on racialized notions of indigeneity take the results of these tests at face value, the implications for granting or denying heritage based on DNA evidence carry far more potential to devastate than to validate. Even as the Lumbee and other unrecognized tribes turn to genetic testing in a desperate bid to supplement their claims for recognition and/or social legitimacy, some leaders of recognized tribes have turned to the simplest form of genetic testing in order to disavow their own people. Over the last ten years, DNA maternity and paternity tests have been used to disenroll thousands of Native people because they have been unable to meet updated tribal criteria (Taylor, 2011). In California, the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians adopted a DNA-testing ordinance in September 2011 which tribal leaders claimed would streamline their enrollment process (2011). That same year in Wisconsin, a Ho-Chunk woman named Daria Powless was also tested as part of the tribe’s own DNA ordinance (2011). During this process, Powless learned that the man she’d always believed to be her father was, in fact, not. Worse, because this man was not Ho-Chunk, her blood quantum was now deemed too low to qualify her for tribal membership (2011). As a result, Powless who had been raised her whole life within Ho-Chunk culture in a Ho-Chunk home was disenrolled from the only people she’d ever called home (2011).As more tribes adopt DNA paternity and maternity testing, companies have begun marketing more comprehensive mtDNA, Y-chromosome and WEC tests to tribes with the promise of providing deeper insight into the lineage of their members. One company in particular, DNA Tribes, which markets both parental DNA and genetic ancestry testing states the following on their website under a special section entitled “For Tribal Enrollment Officials:” “DNA testing can provide enrollment officials with a tool to screen applicants on the basis of genetic kinship to a tribal nation. If tribal data are available, test results can provide a TribeScore that indicates whether a person biologically fits in the tribal population. If a person’s DNA does fit, this indicates a biological kinship that might reflect an ancestor from the tribe. If a person’s DNA does not fit, this indicates their biological ancestry is outside the designated genetic range for the tribal nation.” (DNA Tribes, 2015)Considering how groups like the Lumbee and the Mohegan have already adopted genetic ancestry testing as a way to prove indigeneity and given the growing number of tribes that are turning to genetic testing to determine membership, it is not a stretch to imagine that others might begin to use these in place of or in addition to paternal/maternal DNA tests, expanding their enrollment (and disenrollment) criteria to embrace the dubious practice of ascertaining the social construct of race through the geographical science of population genetics. If this proves to be the case, it is probable that many more families will be torn apart and more individuals will be left homeless or set adrift as flawed faith in the colonial standard of “objective” science to determine indigeneity infiltrates Native communities in ways the minds behind the concept of blood quantum only dared dream.

Water’s complete article can be found on the Main Menu of this website under Resources.