[1].
Have you ever wondered about where you came from?
One Montana man did.
Dusty Crawford, a member of the Blackfeet Indian tribe, had always been told his ancestors came from Siberia, across a landbridge.
However, his tribe members told a different story.
“We’ve always been here, since time immemorial,” said Shelly Eli, an instructor at Blackfeet Community College. “There’s no oral stories that say we crossed a bridge or anything else.”
Dusty sought his own answers.
One Montana Man traced his genetic timeline back 17,000 years—and found out he was 83% Native American.
DUSTY’S DNA DISCOVERY
So Dusty took a CRI Ancestry Test at the urging of his late brother Willy, who passed away before Dusty could receive his results.
That’s a shame, because Dusty discovered something that would have shocked his late brother. With his CRI Genetics DNA test, Dusty was able to trace his ancestry back a whopping 17,000 years.
More surprising than that, he found that his North American ancestry was OLDER than the land bridge that once connected Siberia to Alaska—and that he’d been told in school was the place his ancestors came from.
Instead, Crawford’s results suggest that his ancestors came not by bridge, but by boat—as his closest genetic ancestors come from the Pacific Islands, not Siberia.
The current theory is that Crawford’s ancestors—some of the first people to set foot in the Americas—came by boat to South America. They would have then worked their way North over many generations of travel.
In fact, remains found in Peru contain DNA from the same haplogroup as Dusty Crawford—meaning that he can trace his lineage DIRECTLY back down to Peru—and back across the Pacific Ocean.
FROM FARMER TO FAMOUS
It’s an incredible story, one picked up by USA Today, The Daily Beast, and the Great Falls Tribune.
Dusty’s only wish? That he could have shared his results with his late brother.
“He would have been really happy with the results,” said Dusty, when interviewed about his experience with CRI Genetics (2).
WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
Like Dusty, for many of us, that question can be hard to answer.
We get a different answer from mom and dad, and far more when you begin tracing grandparents, great-grandparents, and great-greats. Pretty soon you’ve got 16, 32, 64 stories to keep track of…and no way of knowing how accurate each one is.
Ancestry records can certainly help part of the way. They’re great for recent history—spotting the moment your grandfather came over on Ellis Island, or looking up the marriage records of your great-grandparents from the Old Country. But these records mostly just confirm what you already knew…
The DNA market doubled in 2019--for the third year in a row.
SO WHERE ARE YOU REALLY FROM?
While Dusty’s story is incredible, it’s hardly unique: 26 Million Americans have already taken a DNA test, with that number expected to DOUBLE in 2020. While everyone has different reasons for taking one, some similarities appear.
- Finding Out WHO You Are and WHERE You’re From
- Discovering New Ancestors
- Verifying Family History
- Testing for Health, Allergies and Weight Loss
- Feeling Connected to Your Past—and Future.
The top benefits include:
OUR REVIEW
Genetics Digest has spent the last 4 years providing you with the top quality DNA tests in our award-winning reviews and news articles.
Below, you'll find our top 3 DNA tests this year.
The test Dusty took, CRI Genetics, has been the top-rated DNA test at Genetics Digest for 3 years in a row now. It’s easy to see why: the discoveries you can make with CRI are irresistible, and their test provides far more information than competitors.
Not only that, but they are led by an award-winning, Harvard trained Geneticist, Dr. Alexei Fedorov, who proved a Nobel Prize-winning theory on genetic inheritance.
Finally, they are 100% privately owned, meaning they don’t provide data to pharma companies or the government, like certain competitors.
Pros:
- Privately Owned
- Patented DNA Analysis Technology
- Autosomal, mtDNA, and Y-DNA Tests Offered
- Headed by Legitimate Professional Geneticist
- “Efficiency Guarantee” Return Policy
Cons:
- Frequently Backordered
- mtDNA and Y-DNA Tests not always available
Overview:
CRI Genetics stands out as the best DNA Test for Ancestry for a few specific reasons. First, they’re headed by renowned genetic scientist with a reputation for leading exceptional studies in genetic science. While most genetic testing services rely on other people’s past research to produce their ancestry reports, CRI Genetics relies on someone who is currently doing Genome research.
Company Reputation:
CRI Genetics is led by Alexei Fedorov, Ph.D., who was mentored by Nobel Prize winning scientists at Harvard University and has gone on to spearhead many genetic studies of his own. As a company, CRI Genetics has established themselves as one of the top players in quality of service. They are the only DNA testing company we have come across that has any sort of money-back guarantee.
If you want a company that is top-of-the line in data security and encryption, look no further than CRI Genetics. Even better, CRI is 100% privately owned, which means they do NOT answer to investors, and do not share data with pharma companies OR the government. In a crowded market, this is the one leading company that ancestry enthusiasts can trust.
Details/Accuracy of Reports:
CRI Genetics currently offers 5 unique ancestry reports that are generated using a patented DNA analysis algorithm created by Alexei Fedorov. Your report features not only a basic geographical breakdown of your ancestry, but also a deeply detailed Ancestry Timeline that shows you where your relatives are from and exactly how and when they got there, going back over 50 generations. It’s this commitment to detail that makes CRI Genetics our top choice. See Full Report Here
#2 23andMe
Pros:
- Autosomal, mtDNA, and Y-DNA Tests Offered
- Many Health Reports Available
Cons:
- Some Misleading Marketing
- Limited Return Policy with Fees
Overview: 23andMe boasts one of the most detailed and accurate Ancestry Reports of all DNA testing companies. They’re #2 by a slim margin, as they have slightly fewer Ancestry & Trait reports than our #1 choice. They also have an ancestry timeline, but it features far less depth and detail than our top choice, only going back 8 generations at most.
Company Reputation: 23andMe was founded in 2006 by Anne Wojcicki, Linda Avey, and Paul Cusenza. Their goal is to “help people access, understand, and benefit from the human genome.” To date, they have published more than 100 peer-reviewed studies in scientific journals.
One of 23&Me’s top investors is GlaxoSmithKline, a pharmaceutical company that has been implicated in numerous scandals, including false claims suits. As a result, 23&Me’s customers are almost guaranteed to have their data used for pharmaceutical research.
Details/Accuracy of Reports: Today, 23andMe is one of the top players in the DNA testing market. Their Ancestry reports come with above average detail and accuracy, only slightly lagging behind our #1 choice.
#3 Ancestry
Pros:
- Autosomal DNA Test Offered
- Very Large Database of Customers
Cons:
- No mtDNA or Y-DNA Tests
- Limited Health Reports
- Very Limited Return Policy with Fees
Overview: Ancestry.com has been in business for a long time, which has allowed them to learn from mistakes and slowly acquire a large base of customers from their genealogy services. This has made them one of the top players in DNA Testing.
Company Reputation: Ancestry Publishing was founded in 1983 and eventually grew into a genealogy service, allowing customers to sort through historical records to fill out family trees. They added DNA testing to their list of services in 2007, but didn’t do it themselves until 2012.
Ancestry.com has an “informed consent research” clause in their service. You can opt out, but it’s easy to miss, and plenty of customers have realized too late that their data is being used in genetic research. Ancestry is also owned in part by AOL and Compaq, both large data companies. Finally, GIC, the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, is also a major investor, meaning Ancestry customers’ DNA data belongs in part to a foreign government.
Details/Accuracy of Reports: Ancestry DNA’s reports have 30 regions, mostly in Europe. Many customers will find this satisfactory, but our #1 and #2 choices give far more detail. Ancestry DNA’s greatest strengths lie in the size of their customer base and in their genealogy service that allows you to search through historical records to fill out your Family Tree.
1. USA Today Article: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/05/06/blackfeet-man-dna-deemed-oldest-americas-cri-genetics/1121352001/.
2. Ibid.