Company says it can determine Cherokee ancestry with DNA test

Thursday, January 20, 2011  

A company says it can determine whether someone is of Cherokee ancestry through a DNA test.

DNA Consultants has collected samples from people who say they are Cherokee. The Cherokee DNA Project says the results show a link to Middle Eastern populations, a claim dismissed by one Cherokee Nation leader.

"This is one of six ‘wannabe’ groups that have been seeking Tennessee state recognition, which the Cherokee Nation has been aggressively opposing, both legislatively and in the courts," council member Julia Coates told The Tahlequah Daily Press, noting that the company is linked to a group in Tennessee that claims to be Cherokee.

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Tracing tribal heritage through DNA questioned (The Tahlequah Daily Press 1/20)