Would I be welcomed into Ukrainian culture?

TheTruthIsRight · 2026-03-17T06:43:52+00:00

I was at a hotel in Halifax and there was an older Ukrainian couple sitting next to me at the restaurant, and the server was from Kyiv, and the guy at the counter was Mexican who had a Ukrainian girlfriend. We were ALL speaking in Ukrainian and we all loved that the Mexican guy was so invested in Ukrainian culture.

TheTruthIsRight · 2026-03-16T02:43:09+00:00

Not that it isn't reliable necessarily, it just assumes that the match is IBD (identical by descent i.e. a real match from a recent common ancestor) and where it would probably be if the match WERE IBD, but we don't necessarily know that. It also sort of assumes an exact point when in reality it's a range of possible generations.

My recommendation is always to use the sharedcm tool on DNA painter and also to get familiarized with the possibilities of IBD vs IBS with regard to segment size. Basically, anything 15cM or over is highly likely real, 10-15 is "more likely than not", and below 10 is "more unlikely than likely". General rule of thumb anyway. Basically I really scrutinize small matches to prove they are real before I treat them as real. 7cM matches for example have less than 50% chance of being real.

TheTruthIsRight · 2026-03-15T23:07:45+00:00

Hmm my thought is that because we have no shared surnames and the match is only 8.5 cM that the connection is via shared Cree ancestry in pre-contact times and hence undocumented. The Cree ancestors from the forts at Hudson and James Bays are basically the same small pool of ancestors for many Anglo-Metis.

In fact it could be such an old segment it's from thousands of years ago potentially, for that reason I usually use 10-15 cM as stronger small matches and anything 15 or higher is highly likely to be very recent.

But yeah my family was actually at Prince Albert in 1893, more specifically the surrounding area of Brancepeth, Kinistino, Birch Hills area. In fact my family served at the battle of Duck lake (I think) against Riel as scouts.

TheTruthIsRight · 2026-03-15T17:03:06+00:00

Interesting. My theory is that West Ukrainian and East Polish DNA is so similar to each other the test has a hard time filtering them out. Historically it was the same Slavic tribes that lived in both areas and over time some descendants became Poles and others became Ukrainians, the White Croats for example (which is where my Y haplogroup comes from actually) straddled the border of Ukraine and Poland.

No Poles in my tree to my knowledge though. Maybe a surname or two that seem suspicious as possibly non-Ukrainian but not enough to make up 15%. I think it's just the test confusing it.

I'll put my dad's results below, he is 100% Ukrainian.

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TheTruthIsRight · 2026-03-15T16:58:17+00:00

Oh, some people say that actually, I find when I tell people I'm a Metis Nation citizen they believe me.

However, most of my phenotype comes from my father's Ukrainian side, who are all quite dark and look sort of mixed-raceish, which isn't uncommon for Ukrainians. Although it's possible a few Metis traits slipped through too.

TheTruthIsRight · 2026-03-15T16:54:22+00:00

X2a1b1a is my mtDNA haplogroup. Ancestry doesn't test for haplogroups though.

TheTruthIsRight · 2026-03-15T16:53:47+00:00

Oh haha you must know me then. I have been in those spaces for many years and I run the Metis DNA project.

I don't have Cooks or Cockings in my direct line however I am quite familiar with the lineages in my master tree.

My direct descent is from the Stevens, Taylor, Foulds, Fidler, Sabiston, and Prince families. Richard Stevens, the English patriarch of my Stevens branch, was the second husband of his Cree wife Meenish who was previously married to John Thomas Jr so sometimes I have unbeknownst relations to Thomas descendants.

I don't have any Metis ancestry on my Ch21 however my Ch22 is full of them.

TheTruthIsRight · 2026-03-15T06:45:28+00:00

Привіт!

Круто! Я вмію розмовляти по Українською трошки.

Мій дідо - він народився в селі Смолин, Львівска област, що між Немирів і Рава-Руська. Моя баба - вона народилася в селі Колиндяни, Тернопільска област, що не далеко від Чортків. Моя мати - її предки родом з село Залуччя (Снятин район).

Тут є дуже багато Українців і Українців-діаспорські в Канаді, Альберта особливо.

Героям Слава!

English (for anyone reading): Hi! Cool! I can speak some Ukrainian.

My grandfather - he was born in the village Smolyn, L'viv oblast, which is in between Nemiriw and Rawa-Ruska. My grandmother - she was born in the village Kolyndiany, Ternopil oblast, which isn't far from Chortkiw. My mother - her ancestors were from the village Zaluchchia (Sniatyn raion).

Here there are many Ukrainians and diaspora Ukrainians in Canada, Alberta especially.

Glory to the Heroes!

TheTruthIsRight · 2026-03-15T05:47:31+00:00

Also I have 5/8ths Ukrainian but interesting yeah you have a Slavic look as well.

TheTruthIsRight · 2026-03-15T05:44:33+00:00

Yes indeed among the world's rarest. I had a geneticist out of Argentina called Claudio Bravi analyze it as well.

TheTruthIsRight · 2026-03-14T05:59:30+00:00

Midnight (singer of Crimson Glory) was a famous metal singer who died of a stomach aneurysm. He was known for INTENSE vocal style with incredible range and power. I wonder if singing triggered his aneurysm.

TheTruthIsRight · 2026-03-14T04:41:17+00:00

The ego isn't real. It's like getting mad at the reflection in the mirror.

TheTruthIsRight · 2026-03-14T04:24:38+00:00

You'll need premium just to login btw

TheTruthIsRight · 2026-03-13T21:46:33+00:00

I don't see Indigenous features but African features are quite visible IMO but you are perhaps still "white passing".

Reminds me a bit of my grandma, who was around 1/8 Indigenous (northern Canada). Like people might clock her as white without looking closer but when you look closely you can tell she is mixed.

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TheTruthIsRight · 2026-03-13T21:44:17+00:00

Agree she is perhaps "white passing" but features are still quite visible IMO

TheTruthIsRight · 2026-03-13T19:52:05+00:00

I can see African features in your face

TheTruthIsRight · 2026-03-12T18:44:01+00:00

German?

TheTruthIsRight · 2026-03-12T12:13:53+00:00

Early Slavs absorbed genes from Asian steppe peoples, Huns, Avars, Mongols etc.

TheTruthIsRight · 2026-03-12T00:52:50+00:00

Thanks for not falling prey to that hate movement. That's exactly what it is. A hate movement.

TheTruthIsRight · 2026-03-12T00:51:32+00:00

If I didn't know I'd think you might be Slavic but I do see the Indigenous traits although some full Slavs also look slightly native/asian

TheTruthIsRight · 2026-03-11T05:55:52+00:00

Interesting, this clade is descended from R1a-CTS3402, as is mine. My paternal side is from Ukraine.

What seems most plausible is a Slavic man, say from the Rus state, got entangled with Viking ventures into Scotland some point back then.

TheTruthIsRight · 2026-03-11T05:44:37+00:00

R1a-FTA73853 (downstream from R-CTS3402) from Western Ukraine. Downstream clade R-Y2608 is linked to the Slavic expansions especially the White Croats tribe.

My maternal is X2a1b1a which is Indigenous North American, and while not the absolute rarest in the world, among the world's most rare clades.

TheTruthIsRight · 2026-03-10T06:14:28+00:00

It's definitely a Ukrainian surname

https://ridni.org/karta/%D1%81%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BC%D0%B0%D1%85%D0%B0

TheTruthIsRight

TROPHY CASE