Tucson, AZ – A new study by researchers at the University of Arizona confirms that Native Americans do not have a genetic predisposition to riding horses bareback, maintaining a strong affinity to nature and, occasionally, singing to the blue corn moon.



“We were surprised with the results,” said John Smith, assistant professor in School of Health and Other Stuff at the University of Arizona. “We could not establish significant correlations between Native DNA and horse husbandry, Native DNA and attitudes toward nature, or Native DNA and spontaneous conversations with natural elements.”

The study compared 148 blood samples across the blood quantum spectrum, from 100% Native to 25%. The Native blood was mixed with a chemical compound to measure the blood’s “naturalness,” and the results were even with those administered to a control group of Euro-American blood samples that included those of Irish-decent.

Additionally, John Winthrop from the Department of Sociology interviewed 35 Natives who maintained a blood quantum of 100%, 35 at 50%, and 35 at 25%. The participants were taken to a stable to ride a wild horse bareback.

“The working hypothesis was that the Natives with a stronger blood quantum would be able to communicate with the wild horse and convince it to let the Native ride him. Out of nearly 100 trials only three Natives successfully mounted the horse. Of these, only one was full-blooded Native. The rest chased the animal around the corral.” He continued, “The same tests were administered to a sample of Euro-American stock and yielded five successful mounts.”

In controlled laboratory conditions, the three separate groups of Natives were isolated in rooms where litter was thrown about the floor. Researchers took saliva samples before and after the Natives were exposed to litter and no significant longing for times past or tearful regret of former ways of life showed up in the results.

“The results disprove years of mythology of Native Americans,” Smith said. “Perhaps nature isn’t their church, and the earth is not their religion. We are going to have to rethink how we use dream catchers and fake eagle feathers in the future.”

The study was published this month in the British health journal, The Lancet.