Just found out my grandfather was half black, have native american. However... (DNA tests)?

Question

I don't know his name, tribe his native american half belongs to, and where his african american half is from. I thought of getting a DNA test, but the ones I've seen are around $200-$250. That's expensive for me.

has anyone ever had a DNA test? Do you think a University student, or like a Graduate student would do this test for me cheaper?

Answer 1

DNA is not very well studied.  Even the ambiguity rate between Europe and Africa is significant if you don't test enough.  They are getting better all the time, so this may be starting to fade away.  However, data is slim for newer stuff.

As yet, you probably couldn't find the tribes... however I don't know much about all the kinds of dna tests.

Answer 2

before you do anything like this, make sure you REALLY ARE partially native american, because there are a lot of fakes goin around, especially with blacks claiming to be natives.

here, this is an EXCELLENT video you should watch which will shed light on the subject for you includes DNA testing.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=wWzsSg4TUMw

also, the writer above named coolrogu is very wrong.

the fact is that africans were taken from all over africa, indeed zulus as well, africans captured other africans to be sold to the white man as slaves.

and here is a video providing proof of this from experts

http://youtube.com/watch?v=IKjuu1ZOF-o

Answer 3

It depends on what you want out of the test. The only thing it could actually do is prove that yes he was Indian and black. If that is the goal it could be worth it. If however you are hoping it could tell you what tribe, I wouldn't waste the money because it can't.

Answer 4

Even if you did that...I don't know that it would tell you anything.

My great grandmother was half Native American but told people she was Italian as being Native American had a stigma at that time.  All I know is that she came from OK.  I've not been able to determine tribe and I've spent a lot of time checking.  Even in the census she reported being born in "America" rather than a state like everyone else.  Probably because OK was mostly "Indian land" at that time.  At any rate, good luck.  It's fun to research.

Answer 5

a DNA test will NOT tell you what tribe he was from. So I say it's a waste of money.

The only way you can do this is obtain a copy of your birth certificate, than your biological parents.  Trace your family tree.  If you can find the birth place of your grandparents, a general search will tell you what tribes were dominate to that area.  Then you can call the local tribe and ask if they have such a person enrolled.    Its a long and lengthy process, but most families are at some point filling in the blanks on their family trees.

Answer 6

First of all NO a university or graduate student can't do the test.

Second, the only thing a DNA test can confirm is that you have genetic markers in common with known Native and/or African samples in the database.  The test cannot tell you which tribe or specific geographical area your ancestors came from....

I always use Oprah Winfrey as an example...she had a DNA test done and was told she was descended from the Zulu tribe in Africa.  Well sorry but known FACTS tell us that can't be right.  Fact 1: she is indeed the descendant of slaves.

Fact 2: No Zulu were ever taken as slaves, the slave traders did not go far enough into Africa to take Zulu.  So you can see from the facts that Oprah can't be descended from the Zulu tribe....

I have done alot of research on DNA testing and published the results on my webpage you can see then at:

http://www.coolrogue.net/genealogy/dnate...