The Rh Negative Blog

Are Cherokees high in rh negative blood?

As we have learned, the native American tribes we know about in South America seem to be originally all 100% blood type O positive.

It also appears to be quite similar for the tribes of North America, except for the exception that about 80% of the Blackfoot Indians of Montana have blood type A.

Repeatedly the claim has been brough up that Cherokees might have had a high percentage of rh negative blood.
Here is a study from 1962 putting this claim to rest:

The Rh types are set forth in table 5. As all blood samples were positive with anti-Rho (D), gene frequencies could be obtained by counting. The most common phenotypes are Rh1Rhl (DCe/DCe) and Rh1Rh2 (DCe/DcE), and the R1 (DCe) allele is more frequent in both full-blooded and mixed Indians than all other Rh alleles combined. In the absence of both Rho (Dccee) and rh (dccee) phenotypes, it is impossible to differentiate between R0 and r alleles. Of 250, 74.4% were in group 0, 16.0% A, 7.2% B, and 2.4% AB. Among 110 considered full-blooded, 93.6% were group 0.

This strongly indicates that the original Cherokees were also 100% blood types O positive.

Download the free PDF file here:

Blood Types of the Cherokee Indians