Tlingit DNA paths studied at Celebration

Studying the ties that bind all Tlingits – genetically – was a large part of Celebration 2012 last week in Juneau.

The Sealaska Heritage Institute, in connection with the University of Pennsylvania, sponsored a study of the DNA of Natives in attendance at the event that was held June 7-9.

The university’s Department of Anthropology was at Centennial Hall to undertake their “Genographic Project: Molecular Genetic Analyses of Indigenous Populations of North America” study led by investigator Dr. Theodore G. Schurr.

According to Sealaska’s website, the program’s stated goal of the study is to better understand the migration paths that early humans took as they moved from one place on earth to another place, including the time and process by which humans entered the Americas.

According to SHI President Rosita Worl, the institute agreed to support the study only after a thorough review of the consent form to ensure that interests of tribal members are protected.

“SHI has supported DNA studies in the past because of our cultural value of ‘Haa Shago’on,’ or maintaining ties to our ancestors and obtaining knowledge for future generations,” Worl said.

“What is fascinating to me about Schurr’s work is that he was able to distinguish between members of the Eagle and Raven moieties based on their mtDNA haplogroup,” Worl added.

Worl is an anthropologist who has hypothesized that the Tlingit Eagles and Ravens emerged from different populations.

Wrangell Cooperative Association president Ernie Christian said the study is important for a number of reasons.

“They’re doing this to determine how we’re linked and how close,” Christian said. “It would be benefical to determine how our ancestors moved, who they are related to across Southeast Alaska, and it might show we have more in common with the Tahltan people than we knew before. It’s generationally and culturally important.”

Volunteers were interviewed about their genealogy and asked to allow a cheek swab for a DNA sample, said Schurr, an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania and director of the Genographic Project’s North America Regional Center.

“It’s the stories we’re able to see through the analysis of DNA, but also hear through people’s accounting of that history, and read through records, and see visibly on the ground through archaeology that really give us a very concrete sense for what’s happening, what people are experiencing, and what they’re trying to convey to us through their art, through their history and through their language,” Schurr said.

Participants’ names will be kept confidential and the DNA will be used only for this study.

Sealaska Heritage Institute is a private, nonprofit founded in 1980 to promote cultural diversity and cross-cultural understanding. The institute is governed by a Board of Trustees and guided by a Council of Traditional Scholars. Its mission is to perpetuate and enhance Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian cultures of Southeast Alaska.