Native American Family Relationship Testing
In addition to parentage testing, other family relationship tests are available to help verify biological relationships. For example, testing can be performed to determine whether or not an enrollee is a sibling, grandchild, or other relative of a tribal member. These tests are usually performed when the tribal member who is an alleged parent is no longer available for testing.
Grandparentage Test
A grandparentage DNA test determines whether a couple could be the biological grandparents of a child. In the test, the child’s DNA profile is compared with the DNA profiles of the tribal member’s biological parents. Since a child inherits half of his/her DNA from the mother (maternal side) and half from the father (paternal side), the half contributed by the missing tribal member should match DNA passed down from the tested grandparents. Genetic Reconstruction
In genetic reconstruction, a series of DNA tests is conducted to determine whether or not a child is related to the tribal member’s close relatives. In the test, the child’s DNA profile is compared with the DNA profiles of at least two of the tribal member’s close relatives (a full sibling or a biological parent). Each person’s DNA profile is unique, but close relatives will share a significant portion of their DNA profiles because of the hereditary nature of DNA. Due to the complex analysis required, the enrollee’s surviving parent is required to participate in a genetic reconstruction test.
Siblingship Test
A siblingship test is a DNA test conducted to determine the likelihood of two individuals sharing one or both parents (i.e., if they are half or full siblings). By testing this relationship, the tribal members can evaluate if an enrollee can be considered for membership by virtue of the half-sibling or full-sibling relationshp. We encourage the participation of any known parents on both sides, if they are available.
Y-STR Paternal Lineage Test
The Y-STR paternal lineage test is used to determine whether two or more males are related through the paternal/male line. The Y chromosome is passed from father to son relatively unchanged through many generations. Males who are related through their fathers will have the same or similar Y-STR profiles.
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) Maternal Lineage Test
The mtDNA maternal lineage test is used to determine whether two or more individuals are related through the maternal/female line. Mitochondrial DNA is inherited through the mother, and those in the same maternal line will have similar mtDNA sequences.
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