I receive lots of questions every day about testing for Native American DNA, ethnicity, heritage and people who want to find their tribe.
I’ve answered many questions in articles, and I’ve assembled those articles into this handy-dandy one-stop reference about Native American DNA testing.
Where to Start?
If you are searching for your Native American heritage or your tribe, first, read these two articles:
Father’s and Mother’s Direct Lines
Y DNA is inherited by men from their direct paternal line, and mitochondrial DNA is inherited by both genders from their mother’s direct matrilineal line. You can read a short article about how this works, here.
If you’re interested in checking a comprehensive list to see if your mitochondrial DNA haplogroup is Native American, I maintain this page of all known Native American haplogroups:
Information about Native American Y DNA, subsets of haplogroup Q and C:
- Big Y DNA Results Divide and Unite Haplogroup Q Native Americans
- Haplogroup C3* – Previously Believed East Asian Haplogroup is Proven Native American
- New Haplogroup C Native American Subgroups
- Native American Y Haplogroup C-P39 Sprouts Branches
How Much Native Do You Have?
Estimating how much of your Native ancestor’s DNA you carry today:
Projects – Joining Forces to Work Together
Native American DNA Projects you can join at Family Tree DNA:
Regardless of which other projects you choose to join, I recommend joining the American Indian project by clicking on the Project button on the upper left hand side of your personal page.
News and How To
Some articles are more newsy or include how-to information:
Utilizing Haplogroup Origins and Ancestral Origins at Family Tree DNA:
I’ve written about several individual Native haplogroups and research results. You can see all of articles pertaining to Native American heritage by entering the word “Native” into the search box on the upper right hand corner of my blog at www.dna-explained.com.
Ancient Native Remains
Which Tests?
Family Tree DNA is the only vendor offering comprehensive Y and mitochondrial DNA testing, meaning beyond basic haplogroup identification. However, there are several levels to select from. Several vendors offer autosomal testing, which includes ethnicity estimates.
These articles compare the various types of tests and the vendors offering the tests:
Additional Resources
My blog, Native Heritage Project is fully searchable:
For other DNA related questions, please check the Help page, here.
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Disclosure
I receive a small contribution when you click on some of the links to vendors in my articles. This does NOT increase the price you pay but helps me to keep the lights on and this informational blog free for everyone. Please click on the links in the articles or to the vendors below if you are purchasing products or DNA testing.
Thank you so much.
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- Family Tree DNA
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- Legacy Tree Genealogists for genealogy research