Roberta Estes ect shows significantly less Native American ancestry than would be expected with 96% European or African Within genealogy circles, family stories of Native Y chromosomal DNA. The Melungeons, long held to be American1 heritage exist in many families whose Ameri- mixed European, African and Native show only one can ancestry is rooted in Colonial America and traverses ancestral family with Native DNA.4 Clearly more test- Appalachia. The task of finding these ancestors either ing would be advantageous in all of these projects. genealogically or using genetic genealogy is challenging. This phenomenon is not limited to these groups, and has With the advent of DNA testing, surname and other been reported by other researchers. For example, special interest projects, tools now exist to facilitate the Bolnick (2006) reports finding in 16 Native American tracing of patrilineal and matrilineal lines in present-day populations with northeast or southeast roots that 47% people, back to their origins in either Native Americans, of the families who believe themselves to be full-blooded Europeans, or Africans. This paper references and uses or no less than 75% Native with no paternal European data from several of these public projects, but particular- admixture, find themselves carrying European or ly the Melungeon, Lumbee, Waccamaw, North Carolina African Y chromosomes. Malhi et al. (2008) reported Roots and Lost Colony projects.2 that in 26 Native American populations, non-Native American Y chromosomes occurred at a frequency as The Lumbee have long claimed descent from the Lost high as 88% in the Canadian northeast, southwest of Colony via their oral history.3 The Lumbee DNA Proj- Hudson Bay. Malhi’s conclusions suggest that perhaps there was an early5 introduction of European DNA into 1 Native, Native American, American Indian and Indian are used interchangeably to indicate the original inhabitants of North American that population. before the European colonists arrived. 2 See the Web Resources section at the end of this article for web The significantly higher non-Native Y frequency found addresses of the various projects. Note that participants join these among present-day Lumbee descendants may be due in projects voluntarily and are not recruited for specific traits as in other part to the unique history of the Eastern seaboard Indian types of scientific studies. Some projects, such as the Lost Colony projects, screen applicants for appropriateness prior to joining. tribes of that area, or to the admixture of European 3 The oral history exists tribe-wide, but specifically involves Virginia Dare and the colonists Henry and Richard Berry. These genealogies are relatively specific about the line of descent. 4 The Melungeon DNA project, while initially included in this re- ____________________________________________________________ search, was subsequently removed from the report because of the lack of evidence of Native American ancestry and no direct connection to Address for correspondence: Roberta Estes, the Lost Colonists. The Lumbee may be connected to the Melungeons, but that remains unproven. 5 In this case, earlier than known, documented European contact Received: March 11, 2009; accepted: September 3, 2009 about 1780 with the formation of the Hudson Bay Company. 96 Estes: Where have all the Indians gone? 97 DNA by the assimilation of the Lost Colony of Roanoke the British records and critically, the history of the after 1587, or both. Native people of the Outer Banks area of North Caroli- na. We will first review the information available on the European contact may have begun significantly before various tribes of Native Americans on the Eastern Sea- the traditionally held dates of 1492 with Columbus’ board just prior to, and just after, first contact with voyage or 1587 with the Lost Colony of Roanoke, Europeans. which is generally, but inaccurately, viewed as the first European settlement attempt. Several documented ear- lier contacts exist and others have been the subject of speculation, but the degree of contact and infusion of A broad research area for the background of the Lost DNA into the Native population is unknown. Colony would be defined as coastal present-day North Carolina and Virginia in the early years (1500-1750) Wave after wave of disease introduced by European and and into South Carolina in the later years (1712 to about African contact and warfare decimated the entire tribal 1800). Initially, both Carolinas were in fact Virginia, population. Warfare took comparatively more male North Carolina being formed in 1663 as Carolina, and than female lives, encouraging the adoption of non-Indi- South Carolina split off in 1712. The boundaries of the an males into the tribes as members or guests. An colonies as of 1763 are shown in . extensive English trader network combined with tradi- tional Native American social practices that encouraged In 1587 when the colony on Roanoke Island was estab- sexual activity with visitors was another avenue for lished, the Croatoan Indian tribe was relatively small, European DNA to become infused into Eastern sea- having just two villages6 recorded during previous mili- board tribes. tary expeditions by Sir Walter Raleigh’s captains in 1584 and 1585 while they were scouting potential settle- What DNA testing offers to the genealogist, it also offers ment sites and also in John White’s journal. These to the historian. With the advent of projects other than villages are relatively small as indicated when John surname projects, meaning both geographically based White recorded their visits in drawings that showed projects and haplogroup projects, historians are offered 10-12 long houses in each village. Journals from the a new way to look at and compare data. Excellent same time period describe a slightly smaller village on examples of this type of project are the Lumbee, East Roanoke Island of 5-6 long houses. The number of men Carolina Roots, Melungeon and Waccamaw projects. in either the military expedition (150-200), or the num- ber of colonists (115), may well have equaled or exceed- A similar project of significantly wider scope is the Lost ed the local Croatoan population. Colony of Roanoke DNA project. When the author founded the project in early 2007, it was thought that The Croatoan were likely related to Indians living in two the answer would be discovered relatively quickly and other settlements which were initially friendly towards painlessly, meaning that significant cooperation and the English. One village was on Roanoke Island, but genealogical research from local families would occur was abandoned in 1586 after the military fort was built and that the surnames and families in England would be and friction developed between the fort inhabitants and relatively easy to track. Nothing could be further from the village. These Indians moved to their sister village, the truth. The paucity of early records in the VA/NC Dasmonkepeuc, on the adjacent mainland. While the border region, combined with English records that are Croatoan Indians could not support a large number of difficult to search, especially from a distance, are located “guests” indefinitely, the receiving village would proba- in many various locations, and are often written in bly have welcomed working tribal members who would Latin, has proven to be very challenging. The Lost serve to increase, possibly double, their population, Colony project has transformed itself into a quest to contribute labor, and provide needed defense.7 solve a nearly 425 year old mystery, the oldest “cold 6 Manteo was the head man of the village on Hatteras Island, while case” in America. However, this is not the first attempt. his mother was the head of the village opposite on the mainland shore (Kupperman, 2000, p. 188). The village of Dasemonkepeuc is men- Historical icons David Beers Quinn (1909-2002) and tioned specifically on the mainland, along with Manteo’s (unnamed) William S. Powell devoted their careers to the unending village on Hatteras Island and his mother’s on the mainland. The search for the colonists, both here in the US in terms of Croatoan Indians were also found in Wingina’s village at Dase- their survival, and in Great Britain in terms of their monkepeuc. There is clearly a relationship between the villages. Wanchese, one of the three Indians who voyaged to England (Manteo original identities. However, neither of those men had and Towayo were the other two), was loyal to the Wingina, although the benefit of DNA as a tool and we are building upon after his return, this village distanced themselves from the English their work, and others. (Oberg, 2000). 7 The Indian tribes’ weapons consisted of wooden swords and shields. One cannot study the Lost Colonists, referred to here as Guns and other metal weapons were coveted by the tribes that Raleigh’s earliest expeditions came into contact with although the colonists, without studying the history of the eastern soldiers/colonists refused to provide the Indians with swords or guns. North Carolina area in general including early records, An infusion of metal armaments and weapons would provide the Croatoan with a significant military advantage over other tribes. 98 By the early 1700s, the Croatoan, then probably referred and really didn’t care unless it affected them, such as to as the Hatteras, had only a few individuals left on the who they were to negotiate with or who to hold respon- Outer Banks, but it is likely several had assimilated into sible for some malfeasance. Furthermore, the water- various tribes on the mainland (Lawson, 1709). These ways served as early roadways, and in the border area various tribes, as a result of depopulation and geograph- between Virginia and NC, the entire area fed the Albe- ic pressure from colonial settlements, joined forces and moved further into the mainland into the swamps.