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Project Background

The AmerIndian Ancestry Surname Project enables participants to actively engage in our unique and exciting heritage by adding and comparing DNA test results and family lines, sponsoring the purchase of DNA test kits, and discovering more about our earliest ancestors.

The Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia Family Tree DNA Project results reflect the diverse heritage of our earliest Nova Scotia ancestors. Our ancestors include AmerIndians (mostly Mi’kmaq) and the intrepid settlers who arrived in Nova Scotia in the 16th and 17th centuries and intermarried with the AmerIndians of the area, whose families would become pioneers of the New World. Numbering among our project participants are those who possess European surnames, but have been found (through Y DNA testing) to be of Amerindian ancestries, through paternal family lines.

Our family lines have extended well-beyond the original boundaries of what was known to the French as Acadia, but to our AmerIndian ancestors as Mi’kma’ki, as our ancestors settled the outer-reaches of Nova Scotia, including Cape Breton, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Quebec. Our family lines continue to extend, traversing the entire North American continent and beyond. Many who live in the United States trace their genealogies back to the first Acadian AmerIndian immigrants who arrived in Louisiana after being deported from Nova Scotia by the British in 1755 (in the "Grand Deportation') -- and belong to a "Cajun" community known worldwide for its food, flair, fun, and love of all things French.

Group participants are at once intrigued, mystified, and challenged by our AmerIndian heritage; some of us have completed our quest for our earliest AmerIndian ancestors; other searches are still in progress, with participant DNA testing helping us solve some of our greatest family riddles. One participant describes how she employed her own mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) test results in her quest for her earliest maternal AmerIndian ancestor in the story,  Finding Anne Marie.

A companion article, Confirmed C3b Y DNA Results Test the Heritage of Cajun Cousin Keith Doucet details a participant's experience with Y DNA testing, with an outcome that leads him, and others, to re-assess the origins of his established Acadian surname. 

The AmerIndian Ancestry Surname Project assists participants in their search for their earliest AmerIndian ancestors, at times contributing to the purchase of DNA test kits for descendants whose maternal line traces to a “Person of Interest” (For a list of names, click on Goals Tab) and employing DNA test results to validate family lines.

It is incredibly exciting to have found that so many of our study participants share the same ancient AmerIndian family lines and have the same exact DNA mutation strings appearing in their test results. By comparing DNA test results with known genealogical lines and establishing "Family Clusters" among surnames, we enhance the traditional paper-based genealogical search methods with the study of our common genetic characteristics (markers) so that we may discover and verify our Acadian AmerIndian ancestor’s earliest origins.

We welcome you to
join the AmerIndian Ancestry Surname Project and become part of our study. YOUR DNA may be the key to unlocking somes of the mysteries surrounding our ancestors as well as proving the AmerIndian origins of some of our earliest mothers. There may even be surprises with regards to the origins of some Founding Fathers.  Email the Project Administrator if you have any questions.


QUESTION: How do I order my DNA test kit from the Amerindian
Ancestry out of Acadia Family Tree DNA Project?


ANSWER: It's easy! Follow these steps:

  1. Click the "REQUEST TO JOIN THIS GROUP" link on the left nav bar of the Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia Family Tree DNA Project Page.
  2. Click the button labelled, "I want to purchase a test to join the project."
  3. Complete the order form as directed and submit it.
QUESTION: I've already received my test results from Family Tree DNA and I'd like to join the Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia Family Tree DNA project. How do I join your project so that my results appear along with your other project information?

ANSWER: It's easy! Follow these steps:

  1. Using your FTDNA kit ID and password (that you were issued when you first ordered your test kit from Family Tree DNA), logon to your Family Tree DNA home page.
  2. Click the button labelled, "Join Projects."
  3. Locate the "Search by Surname" section on the page and enter the term, "Amerindian" in the search window provided -- then, click the "Search" button.
  4. You will see the link to the "Amerindian Acadian Ancestry" project in your results. Click the link.
  5. Click the "Join" button on the lower right hand corner of the project page that follows.

Note: If you need assistance in joining our project, please Email the Project Administrator.

Click to view latest Y DNA Results for paternal line ancestries.  Click to view latest mtDNA Results for maternal line ancestries.
Facts and Genes: Native American Ancestry and DNA Testing

Many contacting the administrators of the Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia project have questions about how to determine Native American ancestry through DNA testing -- especially if there are "crossed lines" in the participant's lines of descent -- a typical issue for genealogists. "Facts and Genes," Volume 8, Issue 1: Family Tree DNA, has this authoritative recommendation that may be referred (with proper citation as provided at the end of the article):
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Both a Y-DNA test and a mtDNA test will indicate if there is Native American ancestry in the direct line tested, either the direct male line or the direct female line.

The typical problem is that the Native American ancestry has crossed a direct line. For example, your father's mother's father is the direct male line for Native American ancestry. In that case, if your father's direct male line or direct female line was tested, neither would show Native American ancestry, unless these direct lines had unknown Native American ancestry.

To test the Native American lineage from your father's mother's father, you would need to find a direct male descendent of this man, such as from his sons or his brothers.

If it is not known which direct line is Native American for your father's mother's father, testing both his direct male line and his direct female line would tell you if either were of Native American ancestry.

Native American ancestry is determined by the haplogroup of the Y-DNA or mtDNA test results, and represents the ancestry of either a direct male line (Y-DNA) or a direct female line (mtDNA). Both males and females inherit mtDNA, though only females pass it on. Therefore, a male will have his mother's mtDNA.

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Facts & Genes. Copyright (c) 2009 Family Tree DNA. All rights reserved.
 
 

Established in 2006, the Amerindian Ancestry Out of Acadia DNA Project mission is to research and publish the mtDNA and Y chromosome genetic test results of site participants who descend from persons living in Nova Scotia and surrounding environs in the 17th and 18th centuries, focusing specifically upon the early population of l'Acadie. As part of the mission, the Project develops a database of published mtDNA and Y Chromosome test results and encourages the sharing of this information among other similarly focused studies for the purposes of comparison and the advancement of science and research.

Project Goals

Research Native Unions: To obtain mtDNA information from maternal line descendants of recorded Native unions occurring in this geographic locale during the 17th and 18th centuries.

Research Maternal-line Ancestors of Unknown Surname: To obtain mtDNA results of participants who trace their maternal-line ancestries to women of 17th and 18th century Nova Scotia, for whom surnames cannot be established through traditional records research.

Complete Surname Study: To obtain mtDNA results and Y chromosome DNA test results of participants who trace their maternal-line and paternal-line ancestries to persons living in Nova Scotia in the 17th and 18th centuries, focusing specifically on the population of l'Acadie.

Research Amerindian Haplogroups: To compile and research Amerindian haplogroup test results of participants whose family lines may not include Acadians  but whose ancestors originate from the same geographical region.

Research Statistically Rare Haplogroups: To compile and research statistically rare haplogroup information discovered among project participant mitochondrial and Y chromosome test results.

Sponsorship of DNA Tests: The Project provides financial support of mitochondrial and Y chromosome DNA testing at the discretion of its members.

Note:

Please check the mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome test result tabs for updates as participant DNA test results are added frequently. The DNA group is open to any Acadian descendant or Native descendant of the Maritimes and Gaspé regions and we welcome your participation.

We extend invitations to our friends and relations from all across North America -- including the United States (especially the East Coast, Louisiana and Texas) Nova Scotia, PEI, New Brunswick, the Gaspe Region, Quebec, and surrounding areas to join our Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia Family Tree DNA project.

Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia project members research deep ancestry through extended Y DNA and mtDNA tests -- and here are the newly released permanent prices for the Full Mitochondria Sequence:
• New kit (mtDNA Full Sequence) … $279
• Upgrade from HVR1 … $229
• Upgrade from HVR2 … $209
• mtDNA Full Sequence after testing Y-DNA … $249

Click Order Your Test Kit from Family Tree DNA to view all Family Tree DNA products and prices.

Thank you for your continued support. We appreciate your contribution to the sustained growth of the Family Tree DNA matching database, the best genealogical matching tool of its kind.

To join our project, click the following link:

Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia Family Tree DNA Project

As always, thank you for your continued support!

Project Trends

Recent surname studies within the Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia Family Tree DNA Project have revealed surprising Amerindian origins, discovered through DNA testing. Please visit our mtDNA and Y DNA results tabs for updated results.

All About Haplogroup X

The Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia Family Tree DNA Project, in addition to hosting the DNA results of participants who trace their earliest ancestries to Nova Scotia, the Gaspe region of Quebec, and surrounding areas, has become the home of several statistically rare haplogroups, including "X." After reviewing the results we have on file for haplogroup X in the mtDNA section, please click the following link to review recent research results compiled by Ian Logan (2009):

Haplogroup C3b-P39 Subclade in North America

The C3b-P39 subclade is of interest with regards to the "North American - Amerindian" project scope of the Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia Family Tree DNA Project -- and our ancestry. We continue to research these results and compare our participants' results with others in the Family Tree DNA project studies. 

The latest Family Tree DNA C3 P39 subclade test results do in fact show that three of our Y DNA project participants belong to the North American-Native American C3b (P39) subclade.   View recent results for the C3b haplogroup types, with associated surnames of earliest ancestors reported by project participants, by clicking the Y DNA tab on the Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia project site.  Read
the article, " Confirmed C3b Y DNA Results Test the Heritage of Cajun Cousin Keith Doucet," to learn more.   Please click the following link to find more information about haplogroup C3:

Haplogroup C3 (Y-DNA) 
Haplogroup A - Updates from the Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia Project
Recent haplogroup A2i mtDNA test results helped Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia Family Tree DNA participant, Emile Broome, discover his earliest Amerindian-Acadian ancestry dating back to the 1600s -- and the town of Port Royal, Nova Scotia.  Read about Emile's experience in the article, "Travel Teamwork and mtDNA Test Results add up to Emile Broome's Amerindian Acadian Ancestry."
New A2f1a Haplogroup Branch Discovered!

Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia Family Tree DNA Project member participation has yielded a new Amerindian (Native American) A2f1a haplogroup branch found among Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia Family Tree DNA Project participants whose ancestries trace to the Atlantic Canada region -- and Nova Scotia - Acadian family lines, as identified in the 2009 Phylotree Chart. Other full genomic sequence tests have yielded variants of haplogroup A and the x2a haplogroup finding for Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia Project participants. Thanks to all who have contributed by your participation in the mitochondrial DNA full genomic sequence tests offered by Family Tree DNA and the Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia Family Tree DNA project. These and other of our findings help us meet the project's published genetic genealogy research objectives. (click the Project Goals tab for more information).

Click the following link to view the latest 2009 Phylotree Chart:

PhyloTree.org - mtDNA subtree N*(xR)(2009)

Family Tree DNA Products

Family Tree DNA offers the following products, available when you join our project:

Y-DNA tests: Y-DNA12, Y-DNA37, and Y-DNA67-marker
MtDNA tests: mtDNA, mtDNAPlus, and mtDNA Full Sequence
Combined tests: Y-DNA37 + mtDNAPlus, Y-DNA12 + mtDNA
Comprehensive tests: Y-DNA67 + mtDNAPlus
Other: SuperDNA, Autosomal, X-STR Markers Panel 1, X-STR Markers Panel 1 and 2

Visit the Family Tree DNA website for detailed information about all DNA test products at http://www.familytreedna.org.

Discounts are made available from time to time. Watch for notifications from your project coordinator and Family Tree DNA so you can take advantage of these special promotions.
REDUCED PRICES FOR Y DNA TESTS FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO HAVE HAD THEIR Y DNA TESTED WITH ONE OF THE FOLLOWING COMPANIES: RELATIVE GENETICS, DNAHERITAGE, ANCESTRY, OXFORD ANCESTORS, GENEBASE:
Have you had your Y DNA tested by another DNA testing organization and would like to participate in our Amerindians out of Acadia Family Tree DNA project? Click the following link:
Family Tree Y DNA Test Promotion and enter the surname project, "Amerindians out of Acadia," when you complete the form. Send your completed form to Family Tree DNA as directed.

Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia Project Participants: Please update the "user preferences" section of your Family Tree DNA page, which you will see immediately after you login to the Family Tree DNA website. Make sure to enter the names of your earliest maternal and/or paternal-line ancestors AND the longitude and latitude of the place of origin for each. Click the help link in your user preferences section of your Family Tree DNA page to find the correct longitude and latitude values for your earliest ancestor, based on your knowledge of where he or she lived. The My Maps feature (that relies upon the longitude and latitude values entered in your user preferences) makes it possible for project members to see, graphically charted, the common geographic locations shared among participant ancestors.

Also, current project participants of the Amerindian Ancestry out of Acadia DNA project, who have already had an mtDNA and/or Y DNA test, may order additional tests by clicking the "Order Tests and Upgrades" link located on their respective Family Tree DNA home pages and following the directions provided.