Moves by 20 Tasmanians to have DNA tests to prove they are indigenous have
the Aboriginal community divided.

The group was among 1,100 people whose Aboriginality was questioned when
they tried to join the indigenous electoral roll.

The group has paid for DNA samples to be taken and swabs sent to the
United States for analysis.

ATSIC welcomes any move that will help prove Aboriginality but is
concerned about the origins of the material, saying ancestral DNA is
sacred.

Historical geographer Kaye McPherson, who identifies herself as
Aboriginal, says the community should be able to determine who belongs and
who does not.

"The whole process is a farce. DNA as I understand it is a comparable
process - you have to have something from the past to compare the present
to; in Tasmania that's impossible," she said.

The Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre is also opposed to DNA testing, saying it
is inconclusive.