Welcome to Turtle Island Genealogy. The purpose of the blog is to preserve the genealogy and history of our Mi’kmaq ancestors and related clan lineages of the Mi’kmaq Tribe.
Mi’kma’ki, Turtle Island
The unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq Tribe is a geographical area that covers Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, the Gaspé Peninsula of Quebec, the North Shore of New Brunswick to the Saint John River Watershed, Eastern Maine, part of Newfoundland, the Islands in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and St. Pierre and Miquelon.
What is a Clan Lineage?
A clan lineage of a Tribe is a yDNA or mtDNA Turtle Island DNA haplogroup lineage within a Tribe. A clan lineage includes the parents, siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents and marriage partners of each generation of a clan lineage of a tribe.
Inter-Tribal Lineage
Many of the tribes of Turtle Island share a centuries old cultural practice of reciting the genealogies of clan lineages at tribal events of significance. Events of significance are genealogical events such as a birth, a coming of age, marriage or death.
An additional event of significance is the genealogical-political event of treaty making and the exchange of wampum belts between clan lineages of different tribes. It is a centuries old cultural practice that includes the reciting of tribal genealogies, the smoking of tabac and the exchange of wampum belts between tribes.
Foreign Lineage
The very first marriage between a person of Mi’kmaq ancestry and a person of foreign ancestry is not known. Any marriage that occurred prior to the 1610 Wampum Belt, Treaty of Peace and Friendship, and the Catholic Concordat, with the Holy See, Pope Paul V, would be a Mi’kmaq marriage and not a Catholic marriage.
Chegau Mi’kmaq Family DNA Project
The Chegau Mi’kmaq Family DNA project is a DNA project to determine the genetic relationships of the Chegau family. The Chegau family lineage predate colonisation with a long history of kinship relationships to other clan lineages of the Mi’kmaq Tribe.
DNA testing of a clan lineage confirms inter-tribal kinship relationships with other Turtle Island Tribes. In addition, DNA testing confirms the identity and history of the foreign lineages that married into the clan lineages of the Mi’kmaq Tribe. Who are they? Where did they come from? What is their history?
If you believe yourself to be of Mi’kmaq ancestry, you are welcome to join the DNA project to determine your relationship to the clan lineages of the Mi’kmaq Tribe!
Chegau Mi’kmaq Family DNA Project
Mi’kmaq Tribe Genetic Tree
The Mi’kmaq Tribe Genetic tree is the pedigree of Mi’kmaq clan lineages. Starting with kji’saqmaw Anli Maopeltoog Membertou, born around 1510.
There are 42,631 tribal members on the tree as of August 27, 2024. The tree is updated daily. You can find the tree on Ancestry.ca by searching for the “Mi’kmaq Tribe Genetic” tree or by member name, Donna Launay.
Turtle Island Genealogy Facebook Group
The Turtle Island Genealogy Facebook group is a discussion group for people researching Turtle Island ancestry and genealogy. Please request to join the group through Facebook.
Turtle Island Genealogy Blog
The Turtle Island blog is a place to share genealogy discoveries and updates to overcome the brick wall to information about Mi’kmaq individual, family and clan lineages. A brick wall in genealogy can be natural like a pandemic or natural disaster or it can be human caused like legislation and war.
Questions?
Please use the contact form for your genealogy questions.