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I know everyone has been tempted by the commercials at one time or another to track their lineage through the revolutionary technology to trace DNA! So many of us American, Black or otherwise, are a hodgepodge of cultures we have never known or forgotten. So I got to thinking how how can I be expected to stand on the shoulders of my ancestors if I don't KNOW my ancestors!? The next time I got a it of extra money I sent for a kit!
Some people have asked how did I know which one to try and ..trust. Well, I really didn't know who to trust, but I had already tried Ancestry.com by signing up for a free trial and eventually paying some extended membership fees to find and verify the information my grandmother, Mama Phil, had imparted to me.
Y'all who read my book, featured on the Home page, already know Mama Phil. She was my grandmother who's grandmother was full blooded Blackfoot Native American who married, or was given to, however you chose to see it, an escaped African slave who nearly died, barefoot, in the snow, but was found by the tribe. The story goes lived among them and shared farming techniques. In return the Chief was said to have given him his daughter. So yeah, I got royal blood, peeps! We're proud of that heritage in my family! Through the Ancestry.com website, I was able to track her parents and grandparents to Hammond, Louisiana just as she had reported. I found and printed census documents verifying their lives and deaths. Getting further back had been a challenge that I hadn't surmounted yet.
So what the heck?! I caught a good Ancestry Groupon for 40% off and did the damn thang!
So here are my results...after six weeks of waiting.. I TORE OPEN THE RESULTS to find...
OH HELLLLLLL NAW!!! WHERE IS My NATIVE AMERICAN SHIT!!!!!!!!
OH HELLLLLLL NAW!!! WHERE IS My NATIVE AMERICAN SHIT!!!!!!!!
I'm African and VIKING???!!
I'm African and VIKING???!!
To be continued... I gotta have a drink on this shit...........
Now everyone that knows me, knows I only drink El Jimador Tequila, but this might call for something more drastic!
Now everyone that knows me, knows I only drink El Jimador Tequila, but this might call for something more drastic!
So it took a couple days, yes, days to wrap my mind around the new knowledge that I am almost completely devoid of Native American DNA...and damn near ten percent Scandinavian. Now being from West and West Central Africa was not very world altering considering the history of the Slave Trade and the Diaspora. So I was expecting that. I knew I probably had some Caucasian DNA strands. Most Americans do. But it was my Native American Heritage that had been passed down through the oral tradition of my families history. And I had LESS THAN ONE PERCENT Native American DNA.
So it took a couple days, yes, days to wrap my mind around the new knowledge that I am almost completely devoid of Native American DNA...and damn near ten percent Scandinavian. Now being from West and West Central Africa was not very world altering considering the history of the Slave Trade and the Diaspora. So I was expecting that. I knew I probably had some Caucasian DNA strands. Most Americans do. But it was my Native American Heritage that had been passed down through the oral tradition of my families history. And I had LESS THAN ONE PERCENT Native American DNA.
So after a bit of soul searching and some net searching I eventually came to realize a few things. 1) My DNA companies say they don't have a vast sample of North American DNA pool. They suggest sending the results to other labs for more definitive testing. Of course, you have to pay more too. So if you are planning on seriously planning on tracking your roots, there will be significant cost incurred. You have to purchase access o records and further testing as you go along. 2) All sites concur that the DNA testing should be a resource on your Genealogy Quest but NOT your only source. Just one of several. 3) Open your mind and your heart. One cannot hide from light when seeking truth. Ancestry Response Different Source
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