Distribution of mitochondrial DNA lineages among Native American tribes of northeastern North America

Abstract The mtDNA haplogroups of 185 individuals from Native American tribes in Northeast North America were determined. A subset of these individuals was analyzed by sequencing hypervariable segments I and II of the control region. The haplogroup frequency distributions of populations in the Northeast exhibit regional continuity that predates Eu-ropean contact. A large amount of gene flow has occurred between Siouan-and Algonquian-speaking groups, probably due to an Algonquian intru-sion into the Northeast. The data also support both the Macro-Siouan hypothesis and a relatively recent intrusion of Northern Iroquoians into the Northeast. These conclusions are consistent with archaeological and lin-guistic evidence. The Northeast culture area of North America (Driver and Massey 1957) ex-tends from the western end of the Great Lakes to Maine. The principal lan-guage families in this area include Iroquoian in the east, Siouan in the west, and Algonquian throughout the entire region (Campbell and Mithun 1979