Origin: A Genetic History of the Americas

around 4,500 years ago. The study was conducted only after extensive,
multiyear consultation with the First Nations and Indigenous peoples who
live there today (36). When they published the paper, the research team
faced a natural next question: Would they see the same patterns when they
looked at complete genomes?
However, as researcher Ana Duggan told me, the team chose not to take
that obvious next step, at least not right away. They felt it was crucial to
instead go back and further discuss the research with linked communities.
“In the past ten years (since the beginning of the project) the technology
had changed so much,” Duggan told me. The massive amount of data that is
produced by sequencing complete ancient genomes can provide far more
detailed information on population history, with potential consequences for
affiliated communities that may not have been originally anticipated at the
project’s start. Furthermore, there had been leadership turnovers, and
possibly evolving perspectives toward genetics among participating
communities. Continuing on with the research, even though technically
allowable under the original agreements, “didn’t really feel like the right
thing to us,” Duggan told me. “It felt like something that needed more
consultation. We took a step back in part because of the changing
environment (political, social, genomic). We’re very proud of the work that
we did—which we felt was done well—and we would like to continue that
trajectory.”
This work from the Poinar lab group, as well as many other examples of
positive research outcomes have several things in common: a respect for
tribal sovereignty and a prioritization of the community’s wishes over the
scientists’ own research agendas, ongoing participation (to various extents)
of community members in aspects of the research, and time taken to build
relationships rather than conducting “helicopter science.” In each case, the
knowledge of the past that has been learned from these respectful,
reciprocal scientific partnerships has been extraordinary. We must go in this
direction.
The path forward in paleogenomics within the Americas will be neither
quick nor easy. “We are at the mercy of centuries-old relationships, and it is
our duty to recognize and disrupt those harmful legacies,” Diné (Navajo)
geneticist Justin Lund said at a talk for the American Association of
Physical Anthropologists in 2021. Likening the disciplines of genetics and