By: Dani Carmack, News Writer
Since 2019, the MIT Technology Review notes that “more than 26 million consumers had added their DNA to four leading commercial ancestry and health databases,” including AncestryDNA and 23andMe. The increased popularity of DNA testing means more people are likely to take a DNA test, discover they have Indigenous genetic markers, and claim an identity they have no connection to or have no lived experience of.
Many Indigenous communities in Abya Yala (the Americas) understand belonging to an Indigenous community goes beyond genetic ancestry. According to Kim Tallbear, Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate scholar, Indigeneity is a “political status and biological and cultural kinship constituted in dynamic, long-standing relations with each other and with living landscapes.”
Connection with people and the environment is a determining factor when considering if an individual can identify themselves as Indigenous.
Indigenous identity is often not only about connection, but about active reconnection.
Many Indigenous Peoples and their descendants are forced to assimilate into the settler-colonial state through tactics such as residential schools or the Sixties Scoop. Like residential schools, the Sixties Scoop aimed to erase Indigenous cultural identities by taking Indigenous children from their communities, and putting them for adoption “into predominantly white, middle class families.” As a result, Indigenous identity, over the past few decades, has been made to be about active reconnection, not only about connection.
Many Indigenous governments do not accept DNA tests that determine ancestry as proof for enrollment purposes, including First Nations, Métis, and Inuit governments in so-called “Canada” and Tribal governments in the “US.” To register for First Nations status in “Canada,” at least one of your parents, a person in your immediate, or extended family (which includes grandparents and great-grandparents) must be registered or entitled to register under the Indian Act.
Métis Nation BC, as well as other Métis governments, including Manitoba Métis Federation, Métis Nation Saskatchewan, Métis Nation of Alberta, and Métis Nation of Ontario, require genealogical documentation of Métis ancestry for enrollment. To register as an Inuit beneficiary under Nunavut Tunngavik, you must be a Canadian citizen, be Inuk according to Inuit customs and usages, and identify as Inuit.
Tribal governments in the “US” typically rely on demonstrable genealogical connections to ancestors. This is because DNA tests that determine ancestry have a lack of Indigenous DNA data, which can make them inaccurate when determining Indigenous genetics.
In my own case, I am Tsalagi (also known as Aniyvwiya which means “Principal People” in the Tsalagi language or more commonly and legally recognized as Cherokee) on my grandfather’s side. My grandfather’s mother was Aniawi (Deer Clan) and her last name, Thompson, is a communally recognized family name. Besides the knowledge that was passed down to me orally, my family is documented in multiple historical tribal census rolls. This preservation of genealogy is a deep rooted tradition in Tsalagi history. I am not an enrolled member of any US tribal entity though, which would legally mean I am considered a “descendant” and not a legal tribal member. We can have an entirely different but similar conversation about blood quantum, its role in colonization and Indigenous identity. Despite this, I was raised knowing where my family comes from and where my roots are.
According to Indigenous Women & Inclusive Communities, a digital initiative run by the Whitehorse Aboriginal Women’s Circle, aspects of Indigenous cultural identity can include “history of the community and region of origin,” “Indigenous languages spoken,” and “artistic and sacred expressions of culture in art.”
Many Indigenous Peoples place their claim to Indigeneity within a particular family, clan, band, or nation. For context, many Indigenous Nations and communities refer to themselves by traditional names (usually in their nations’ languages), which differ from the names commonly or legally used to refer to their nations outside of their communities. Traditional names show the importance of knowing where you come from when claiming Indigenous identity.
As mentioned before, many Indigenous people in the past were victims of forced assimilation and cultural genocide enacted through the Indian Act, residential schools, and child welfare agencies. Forced assimilation still happens today, but in different ways, such as with the selective funding and withholding of inherent international rights included in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Consequently, many families are left disconnected from their communities and their cultures. This disconnection opens up a conversation about reconnecting Indigenous Peoples and their claims to Indigenous identity.
Dylan Jenkins, “Cree (Ininew/Omushkegowauk) member of York Factory First Nation, a respected Two-Spirit Knowledge Carrier,” said, “For me, reconnecting with my identity means becoming whole.”
Inn from the Cold reminds us that reconnecting, for many Indigenous people who themselves or their ancestors face forced assimilation, is a “transformative journey that holds profound importance for Indigenous Peoples on their path toward healing.” Many Indigenous individuals reconnect in a variety of ways, including verifying their genealogy, re-engaging with their nation’s culture and community, and re-learning traditional knowledge.
As previously explored, Indigenous communities in the North of Turtle Island see themselves, their communities, and their relatives beyond genetic testing. Indigeneity is not a matter of a DNA test that says something like “25% Indigenous,” but a matter of cultural and communal connection, active efforts to reconnect, political identity, and kinship with the land.
