Collaborative Research: Anthropological-Genomic Effects of European Colonization on Native North Americans

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European colonists changed the natural, social and cultural environments of indigenous populations in North America. This project focuses on the effects of European colonization on Native North Americans through an approach that incorporates genomic analysis, computational-statistic methods, and integration with existing databases. The genomic and statistical analysis will be combined with historical and genealogical information to provide a substantive view of Native American evolutionary history and the colonization process. Inclusion of multiple communities from within individual geographic regions across North America will provide a basis for examining shared and distinctive aspects of the history of European colonization within each of these regions. The study examines the amount of non-Native ancestry in each group and the properties of events that contributed the non-Native ancestry to Native American communities. In addition, the study examines admixture-driven selection, that is, regions of the genome in which genomic signatures characteristic of non-Native American ancestry have an elevated frequency in Native Americans. This project serves as a model for understanding the genomic effects of European colonization in other parts of the world. This project works to create mutually beneficial and trusting relationships between Native American communities and scientific researchers. Central to this effort is a summer workshop for Native American students to discuss genomic research. In addition, two molecular anthropology students and one postdoctoral fellow will be trained in the latest genomic analyses. This project expands collaborations of researchers with an interest in studying important recent historical events in Native American history.