DNA tests

A DNA test alone doesn’t make you Indigenous

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…

Continue reading