Reviews
Native American DNA: Tribal Belonging and the False Promise of Genetic Science by Kim TallBear
dashadashahi's review against another edition
4.0
While this book's scientific jargon was occasionally confusing for me (I am a mere humanities student), I did really appreciate the historical attention paid to conceptions of blood and identity and how many modern genetic and DNA mapping technologies are shifting Indigenous identity from blood to DNA language. Clearly, replacing one colonial construct for another is problematic even if, as TallBear notes, DNA tests do have some perceived benefits.
mxinky's review against another edition
5.0
Kim TallBear’s book is essential for anyone trying to understand the place of DNA tests in American society. TallBear traces the ways the tests have been marketed to explain how we have come to conflate DNA with so much more, so much that DNA will never be. (There is much more to this book but I won’t spoil it.)
I can’t recommend this book highly enough.
I can’t recommend this book highly enough.
lizmart88's review against another edition
3.0
Academic text so a bit dry. Exploration of current trend to use DNA to identify your ancestors and genealogy, with a focus on how this impacts native American tribes.
The author is a member of a Dakota tribe and an indigenous studies scholar. She brings a wealth of knowledge to the topic.
Fascinating discussion about how DNA is often used as a stand in for blood, the many problems with doing so, and how it impacts tribal enrollments.
She intentionally focuses not on tribal members but in the scientists carrying out this research, and often the corporations profiting from it.
The author is a member of a Dakota tribe and an indigenous studies scholar. She brings a wealth of knowledge to the topic.
Fascinating discussion about how DNA is often used as a stand in for blood, the many problems with doing so, and how it impacts tribal enrollments.
She intentionally focuses not on tribal members but in the scientists carrying out this research, and often the corporations profiting from it.
daughterofaphrodite's review against another edition
3.5
Interesting and informative, but I think it’s very technical for a non-science audience.