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In reply to the discussion: Have you had your DNA tested to determine your ancestry? [View all]Bad Thoughts
(2,524 posts)I took the test for my sister's sake. She wanted a full genetic profile for her daughter, and I am the only direct male descendant for my father's line. I believed I was:
50% Ashkenazi Jew (Ukraine)
25% Hispanic (New Mexican)
25% Alsatian
The results came back that I was 45% Ashkenazi Jew and 30% Spanish/Mediterranean, which is consistent with coming from Hispanic/Latino populations in North America.
The surprise: approximately 20% Scandinavian! I expected the Alsatian to come back as being Western European or German, but I don't know how that reads as Scandinavian.
The pleasant surprise: 5% Native American. My grandfather had said that his grandmother was Navajo or Pueblo. Over the years we forgot about this claim: growing up in New Mexico, with an advocate who worked on tribal affairs for a father, we assumed that he was expressing some sympathies. Lo and behold, he was right! And I was quite relieved: I never believed that Nuevomexicanos were purely European, despite what some claim.
So there it is: someone's story about being part Native American turned out to be true!