Simon Moya-Smith: DNA research and the Bering Strait Theory

Tuesday, July 31, 2012  

"It’s not every day that you get a revered professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School to publicly confirm that the Bering Strait theory is “not a fact.”

Well, today I did and later I’ll celebrate over fluffy frybread, powdered sugar and rivers of bottled honey. And why not? That’s American Indian soul food, folks. Consume in moderation? Not today.

David Reich, the aforementioned professor of genetics at Harvard, called me a few minutes ago to chat about his recently published research which promulgates that American Indians immigrated in three subsequent waves to North and South America from Asia via the Bering Strait land bridge starting about, oh, 15,000 years ago.

According to GlobalPost.com, Reich and his team of “60 experts analyzed the genetic data of more than 500 individuals from 52 Native American and 17 Siberian groups looking for similarities and differences.”

What Reich and his team found, as written in the article, is that there’s a good possibility that some American Indians are the direct descendants of—wait for it—Han Chinese."

Get the Story:
Simon Moya-Smith: Harvard Professor Confirms Bering Strait Theory Is Not Fact (Indian Country Today 7/31)

DNA research points to at least three major indigenous groups (7/12)