Canada: DNA discovery lends weight to First Nations ancestral story

The last of Newfoundland's Beothuk was thought to have died in 1829 but new research indicates the bloodline did not die out - as Mi'kmaq tradition has always maintained

When a woman named Shanawdithit succumbed to tuberculosis in Newfoundland nearly 200 years ago, it was widely believed that her death marked a tragic end to her people's existence.

For centuries, the Beothuk had thrived along the rocky shores of the island, taking on a near-mythical status as descendants of the first people encountered by Norse explorers in what is now Canada. But their population was devastated by decades of starvation and diseases, and when she died in 1829, Shanawdithit was believed to be the last of her line.