DNA - Again

A recent comment on the DNA of the Lumbee Indians prompts me to once again emphasize that DNA cannot prove race or ethnicity.   Anonymous wrote;

"THE LUMBEE HAVE SHOWN OVERWHELMINGLY AFRICAN BLACK AND EUROPEAN DNA TYPES WHAN TESTED THE NATIVE AMERICAN IS VERY LOW TO NON-EXISTANT" 

I am going to guess anonymous found this on the LUMBEE TRIBE DNA PROJECT found here. I printed out the 6+ pages of results and found the Sub Saharan DNA consists of 1 single page out of 6. Of those reported in this grouping we have; 

Henry A Revels - Country of Origin - Spain
Teixelra - Country of Origin - Portugal
Bertrand deLuc Lucas - Country of Origin- France
Wm M. Ivy - Country of Origin - France
Maximo Salas (Hernandez)  - Country of Origin - Spain

The majority of the rests of the results are R1b, coincidentally the same Haplogroup found among the Tribal Cherokee that have been tested so far. 


As I went through the names I recognized many *Melungeon Surnames* and a few others listed as Lumbee Indians that quite surprised me, such as; Champ Gibson, Valentine Collins, Thomas Goins, Roark Lawson, Thomas Dodson, Thomas Helton and others.  There are no genealogies attached to these names that I could find and as many *exxperts* have stated; "DNA without genealogy is worthless.'


I suppose there are probably good reasons some of these names are found among the Lumbee Tribe but I have a hard time with;

James Donahue born 1839 Cork, Ireland
James Campbell born 1800 Belfast, Ireland
Richard Rose Morgan born New London, CT
Hans Jorgenson born 1818 Denmark
James Park born 1818 PA
Alfred Craddock born 1876 Logan County, WV
Buster Thrasher born 1929 Las vegas, NM
William Morgan born 1808 Herkimer County, NY

I suppose these men may have married into the Lumbee at some point but they hardly represent the tribe as they were found living there in the 1750s.


Back to the DNA


An excerpt from "THE HUMAN GENOME PROJECT"

One of the major concerns of DNA testing and cataloging was the risk to privacy. There was a fear that unscrupulous individuals could use DNA information to prove not only heredity, but also things such as race or ethnicity. It was thought that DNA could be used to prove claims of people to such things as Native American, or African American ancestry. Many feared that a new set of Hitler type dictators would be able to use the new scientific knowledge to identify and isolate individuals based on racial background. Debates raged on the possible ethical conflicts that might develop as a result of this new technology. A recent incident involving the possible slave offspring of a long dead president did a great deal to stir up the debate. However DNA testing is not a definitive answer in all cases. While DNA can prove direct ancestry or linage, it can't prove race or ethnicity.  Read the rest here

As I posted last month in WHAT COLOR ARE YOUR GENES this is an excerpt from "Council for Responsible Genetics" 

"But in examining less than 1 percent of a person's genetic background, these companies often overstate their tests' ability to say anything significant about a person's heritage, giving the impression that social categories of race and ethnicity are somehow genetically verifiable." Read the rest here

There was much contact with the Native tribes prior to 1608.  Check the routes of deAyllon, deSoto and Pardo, all here in the 1500s with documentation they mixed with the Native tribes.  One can only imagine how many of those tribes were carrying European and African DNA before Jamestown was even settled.


Ancestry.com has created an ancestry for President Barack Obama based on John PUNCH who is found in only one record. Punch stepped out of a court room in 1640 and into oblivion.  John Punch was not a slave, he was a servant, his transportation paid for by Hugh Gwyn. 


There is as much evidence to prove John Bunch, whose DNA shows his ancestry goes back to Africa, and ancestor of the President Barack Obama, descended from the first slaves in America that came with deAyllon in 1527 and mixed with the Native Americans.