Cambridge Bay (June 16/03) - Their eyes and faces tell stories of long ago.

Some academics from Iceland believe Inuit in Cambridge Bay with light eyes and high cheekbones could be distantly related to their adventurous ancestors.

Dr. Agnar Helgason holds the DNA samples from Cambridge Bay elders in his lab in Iceland. - photo courtesy of Dr. Gisli Palsson

Last August, Dr. Gisli Palsson and Dr. Agnar Helgason from the University of Iceland arranged for 100 DNA samples to be collected from elders in Cambridge Bay.

The professors are conducting similar tests with people in Greenland and Iceland.

Emily Angulalik in Cambridge Bay, who helped collect the samples and interpret for the Inuktitut-speaking elders, has since started wondering about her own family.

"My mother had a long nose and quite high cheekbones," said Angulalik last week.

"I've really been observing the elders more than I ever have before," she said laughing."

They do have these features that resemble what the project is about."

But word on whether or not the Inuit ever did mix with Norse explorers is not in yet.

"They said that the results from the complex DNA analysis from the swabs from Cambridge Bay and Greenland are not clear," said Angulalik, who keeps in close contact with project co-ordinators.

Palsson, who works for the department of anthropology at the University of Iceland, confirmed the project delay in an e-mail.

"We have a good sample," he said.

"Analyses, however, have taken more time than we expected."

Palsson plans to present findings in October.

"The story that we expect to tell will be complex and interesting," he wrote.

Elders were curious about the DNA testing from the start, Angulalik said.

"So we went along with their project," she said.

"At the same time I was quite leery," she added. "They're from way on the other side of the world and I was quite reluctant to do the DNA testing -- the project itself."

But the elders sincerely wanted to learn more about their genetic history and possible connection to explorers. That convinced Angulalik it would be a worthwhile project for the community to take part in.

"I'd say yeah, it could be true," she said about the Norse ancestry.

"One of the things that fascinates me is seeing some of the elders with white features. Sometimes we've often wondered if they had any white, ancestral background."