ALAMEDA - DNA Workshop Upends Notion of Race for Many - Students Learn True Genetic Heritage and Debunk Family Tales

Ever wondered who your ancestors really are? Or, more importantly, are you really from the background that you think you're from?

On Saturday, 65 people got some surprising answers using the latest DNA technology at a workshop at the College of Alameda.

Each participant gave a DNA sample -- a swab of saliva -- at an April 1 class. Their DNA was compared to a database of DNA from four bio-geographical population groups -- sub-Saharan African, European, East Asian and Native American -- to yield a percentage breakdown of ancestry.

Everyone learned his breakdown on Saturday -- there were many stunned looks and dropped jaws when participants received the breakdown on a printout, along with a CD with more information.

"How on earth am I 10 percent East Asian?" asked Doris Kogo of Fairfield, who also tested as 63 percent African, 26 percent European and 1 percent Native American. "I was married to a Filipino and I love Chinese food. This makes no sense, but I'm looking at the proof."

The class was taught by Nathan Strong, an anthropology professor at the College of Alameda. The premise is that by testing DNA for certain mutations or markers that occur only in certain regional subgroups, you can find the origin of someone's ancestors.

The participants at Saturday's class came from as far as Sacramento. Many of the people interviewed in April said they grew interested after reading an article on ancestral genetic testing or seeing one of several recent TV programs, including one in February in which Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates tested the DNA of prominent African Americans such as Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg, Quincy Jones and Chris Rock.

Genetic testing has become more common among genealogy hobbyists, with several companies offering services that can delineate where your ancestors might have come from.

"I want to find out if there are any skeletons in my family's closet," Ellen Hales said in April. It turned out on Saturday that there were no surprises for the Alameda resident -- she is 99 percent European.

But her husband, Jim Davis, was one of several stunned people who took the test and learned that those family stories about an American Indian ancestor appear to be myths.

"My father always made a big deal out of saying my grandmother was 100 percent Fox Indian," said Davis, who tested as 96 percent European, 3 percent African and 1 percent Native American. "Well, it turns out that isn't true. Not at all."

Karen Hill, who tested 80 percent African and 20 percent European, expressed similar sentiments.

"I'm shocked that I'm not Indian at all, not even 1 percent," said Hill of Oakland. "I was also told my great-great-grandfather was Creek Indian."

But Hill added that after two three-hour sessions and some supplemental reading, her perspective on race has totally changed.

"It's a real paradigm shift," Hill said. "I will never look at race in the same way."

Strong, like most people in the field, insists that race and racial differences are a social construct that is not backed up by genetics -- rather, the field of genetics shows that under the skin, we're more closely related than we ever imagined.

Strong's work is based on the labors of numerous researchers, including a book by Spencer Wells, author of "The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey" and host of a companion series that the class saw a segment of in April.

Wells traced genetic markers to show exactly how the first known humans migrated from southern Africa and spread around the world. His work also showed how certain genetic markers are carried for thousands of years and how they can be used to show when one group split from another. Genetic markers indicate that the ancestors of early Europeans actually migrated from the Central Asian steppe instead of coming directly from Africa into Southern Europe. Wells is currently involved with National Geographic in an effort to create a comprehensive database of genetic history.

Several blue-eyed people in Strong's class learned they were part African and/or East Asian, while several black people mused about their European and East Asian roots.

But Strong said that many people have been traumatized by learning that they were part something they never imagined.

"Some people have had psychoanalysis because their identity was called into question," Strong said.

Although Strong has not yet had anyone that troubled by his DNA results, he has seen his share of surprises.

So far, he has tested 546 people and asked them to write down how they identify themselves in terms of race.