Cana Foundation hails groundbreaking collaboration between Lakota traditional ecological knowledge and modern genomics science to trace history of indigenous relationship with horses
The paper uses a previously unexploited source for historical documentation---the modern science of genomics, or the study of genetic material (DNA) using the latest molecular tools. The research was overseen by molecular biologist Dr Ludovic Orlando, a leading authority on horse evolution located at the university of Toulouse in southern France. But unlike most such studies, the paper's authorship includes not only biologists and archeologists from European and American universities, but also a number of indigenous researchers utilizing traditional sources of knowledge (TEK). Cana Foundation has supported the application of TEK in its research program, which concerns the use of wild horses as a keystone species in helping to rebuild grasslands.
- The paper uses a previously unexploited source for historical documentation---the modern science of genomics, or the study of genetic material (DNA) using the latest molecular tools.
- The new paper references research supported by the Cana Foundation that reveals that horses survived in northern North America as late as 5-6000 years ago.
- This late surviving population did not leave a persistent genetic trace, however, as less than 1% of their ancestry can be found in modern horses.
- These gaps in our knowledge need to be closed, and thanks to Cana Foundation's programs the hunt for their remains continues."