Blood-Types and Mating Patterns among Northwest Coast Indians

Blood tests for the ABO Series, the MN series, & some for the RH series were given to 1,200 persons classified as Indians in the area extending along the Pacific coast from the southern part of Puget Sound north to the Queen Charlotte Islands. All groups showed an excess of 0, less A & very little B. M was also the most common allele. Very few RH recessives were found. Fairly consistent exogamy, particularly village exogamy, could account for the presence of A in pre-Columbian times as a result of diffusion from type A localities (especially in the Blackfoot area). B is probably due to European admixture. N may be derived from the same source as A. The types, in general, seem to negate any possibility of important genetic contacts with northeastern Asia, Japan, China or Polynesia. J. A. Broussard.