A Lock Of Sitting Bull’s Hair Was Tested More Than A Century Later – And The DNA Confirmed A Family Claim

It is an argument about what the DNA study means, and what it does not mean.

What the Research Team Said, and What They Did Not Say

The peer-reviewed publication of the Sitting Bull DNA study was accompanied by statements from the research team that were notably careful in their framing — more careful, in many cases, than the subsequent media coverage.

Eske Willerslev and his colleagues stated that their analysis found genetic evidence consistent with a familial relationship between the hair sample and Ernie LaPointe at the generational distance consistent with the great-grandfather/great-grandson relationship that LaPointe had identified through family history.

They did not state that the DNA analysis proved LaPointe’s descent from Sitting Bull.