A few federally-recognized tribes, such as the Mashantucket Pequot of Connecticut, have
considered using Native American DNA tests for enrollment purposes. For the Pequot, as for
other wealthy casino tribes, the financial stakes of enrollment are high: the Pequot disburse
monthly payments to each member totaling thousands of dollars. If DNA could exclude those
who cannot legitimately claim Pequot ancestry, the financial benefits for the remaining tribal
members would be great.
However, these Native American DNA tests rarely (if ever) identify genetic markers for
particular tribes. Because no tribe has been completely isolated from other human groups
throughout history, very few genetic markers are present only in the members of one tribe. In
all likelihood, genetic markers found in the Pequot also exist in many other tribes.
Consequently, adoption of a DNA-based enrollment policy might actually expand the number
of individuals qualifying for tribal enrollment because individuals without Pequot ancestry
could claim membership based on the shared genetic markers.
This example should serve as a red flag to tribes: enrollment policies based on DNA alone could
backfire. Furthermore, because individual identity is shaped by more than genetic ancestry,
other enrollment criteria might be better able to meet the needs of land-based tribal nations.
Reservation residence or tribal community involvement, for example, can help ensure that tribal
members are also culturally connected to the tribe and committed to its future.
Some companies may encourage the notion that genetic ancestry alone makes an Indian,
though, because there is a potentially lucrative market in such over-simplification. For
example, the DNA testing company DNAToday has teamed up with DCI America (a for-profit
tribal management consulting firm) to sell “genetic identification systems” to tribes. Their $320-
per-person photo ID cards sport computer chips and list specific DNA markers. DNAToday
advocates tribal-wide DNA testing, and claims that their product is “100% reliable in terms of
creating accurate answers” to questions of tribal enrollment.
considered using Native American DNA tests for enrollment purposes. For the Pequot, as for
other wealthy casino tribes, the financial stakes of enrollment are high: the Pequot disburse
monthly payments to each member totaling thousands of dollars. If DNA could exclude those
who cannot legitimately claim Pequot ancestry, the financial benefits for the remaining tribal
members would be great.
However, these Native American DNA tests rarely (if ever) identify genetic markers for
particular tribes. Because no tribe has been completely isolated from other human groups
throughout history, very few genetic markers are present only in the members of one tribe. In
all likelihood, genetic markers found in the Pequot also exist in many other tribes.
Consequently, adoption of a DNA-based enrollment policy might actually expand the number
of individuals qualifying for tribal enrollment because individuals without Pequot ancestry
could claim membership based on the shared genetic markers.
This example should serve as a red flag to tribes: enrollment policies based on DNA alone could
backfire. Furthermore, because individual identity is shaped by more than genetic ancestry,
other enrollment criteria might be better able to meet the needs of land-based tribal nations.
Reservation residence or tribal community involvement, for example, can help ensure that tribal
members are also culturally connected to the tribe and committed to its future.
Some companies may encourage the notion that genetic ancestry alone makes an Indian,
though, because there is a potentially lucrative market in such over-simplification. For
example, the DNA testing company DNAToday has teamed up with DCI America (a for-profit
tribal management consulting firm) to sell “genetic identification systems” to tribes. Their $320-
per-person photo ID cards sport computer chips and list specific DNA markers. DNAToday
advocates tribal-wide DNA testing, and claims that their product is “100% reliable in terms of
creating accurate answers” to questions of tribal enrollment.