BOISE, ID – Idaho is home to one of the largest concentrations of Basques outside Europe. So it’s fitting a research team from Boise State University is the first outside the Basque Country to study the spread of this ethnic group’s male DNA.
Newcomers to Boise eventually find themselves on the Basque Block. That’s what happened to Dr. Greg Hampikian in 2004.
Dr. Greg Hampikian: “When I landed here there was actually a Basque dance downtown in the streets and I went there and I was like, ‘Whoa, what’s this about the Basques in Idaho?’”
Dr. Hampikian is Professor of Biology and Criminal Justice at Boise State University.
Dr. Greg Hampikian: “I like to buy local and I like to study local.”
So, he led a research team that collected cells from fifty Idaho men of Basque descent during a once every five-year celebration called Jaialdi. Their study shows European Basques are genetically very similar to their Idaho cousins. Research Assistant Michael Davis explains the importance of like DNA.
Michael Davis: “If, for example, the incidence of particular diseases goes up or down in this population. And we can verify that the genetic background really is the same then we can start looking for what might be different – environmental effects, lifestyle, food, those kinds of things.”
Over at Boise’s Basque Museum – the only one of its kind in the U.S., Patty Miller stands next to a display that tracks the ethnic group’s migration. She’s executive director of the museum.
Patty Miller: “In the U.S., maybe the very first Basques that came up came looking when gold was discovered in California and actually came up from South America and Mexico originally and then the word got out there’s jobs and opportunities and just the story of chain migration.”
Miller says it’s likely the next wave of Basque immigrants to Idaho – from the 1950s to 1970s – accounts for the striking genetic similarities found in the DNA study. The next step for Boise State researchers is to get the resources and equipment to look at millions of genetic samples. Then they can find out more about public health problems in Basque people. Research Assistant Davis adds work in this area could help answer another nagging question.
Michael Davis: “People have been asking for a long time where did the Basques ultimately come from? Exactly how are they related to other populations in Europe? You know, they’re one of the oldest cultures. They have one of the oldest languages. It’s not related to any other language in Europe. They’ve always been thought of as kind of a mystery people.”
Bakersfield, California also is home to many Basque descendants In North America. The largest number of Basques outside Europe is in Argentina.
Copyright 2011 Boise State Public Radio