The next step — comparing his mitochondrial sequence to those of living people from the communities of the region — was where the finding of seventeen relatives came from.

More Than 240 Volunteers

The community DNA study that identified the seventeen living maternal-line relatives of Kwäday Dän Ts’ìnchi was not a simple laboratory exercise.

It was a community-led project in which more than 240 Indigenous volunteers from a broad geographic area — including communities in the Yukon, northwest British Columbia, and southeast Alaska — agreed to provide DNA samples so that their mitochondrial sequences could be compared to that of the ancient individual.

The scope of the geographic area covered in the study was significant.