Kathleen Lippa
Northern News Services

Cambridge Bay (Sep 08/03) - Elders in Cambridge Bay who gave DNA samples to Gisli Palsson last August will soon know the truth about their genetic backgrounds, and whether or not they are related to Vikings.

Palsson and his colleague, Agnar Helgason, work at the University of Iceland and are scheduled to be in Cambridge Bay, Oct. 18 to 21, to present their findings.

"I believe they are presenting the results of their project in Nuuk, Greenland now," said MaryLeeds-Stapleton, research assistant at the Arctic Institute of North America.

The Icelandic researchers took 100 DNA samples from elders in Cambridge Bay last August, as well as people in Greenland and Iceland, to see if the people in those regions -- many of whom have light eyes, fair hair, and high cheek bones -- are distantly related to each other.