A genetic study suggests that Native Hawaiians descend in part from a group of Polynesian seafarers who traveled from Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, to Hawaii nearly 1,000 years ago. The journey would have covered about 4,400 Miles across the Pacific, according to researchers who analyzed DNA from more than 1,000 people across Polynesia.

The team examined the genomes of 1,050 individuals, including 317 Native Hawaiians and 12 Easter Islanders. By comparing the lengths of chromosomal segments shared between people from different islands, the researchers estimated how recently their ancestors may have been related. Longer shared segments can indicate a more recent common ancestor.

Across thousands of reconstructed family trees, Hawaii and Rapa Nui appeared together in 61 percent, study co-author Keolu Fox told Reuters. Native Hawaiians also shared substantial ancestry with people from Mangareva, an island about 1,600 miles west of Easter Island. The researchers named the seafaring group Holomoana Nui, a Hawaiian phrase meaning “great ocean voyaging.”

The findings extend an earlier account of Polynesian settlement. Research reported in 2021 traced voyages from Samoa through the Cook Islands and Society Islands to Mangareva, and then to Easter Island around 1210. The new study indicates that long-distance voyaging continued beyond Rapa Nui toward Hawaii. Its genetic results also align with archaeological evidence, according to archaeologist Patrick Kirch, who was not involved in the study.

The research also points to possible health implications of Polynesia’s settlement history. When a small group establishes a new community, it carries only part of the original population’s genetic diversity. Repeated founder events can therefore make some rare genetic variants more common.

Among the Eastern Polynesians in the study, three analyzed variants associated with vision or kidney problems were found in 2 to 3 percent of participants, despite being exceptionally rare worldwide. The researchers say the findings support establishing genetic screening recommendations. They also argue that Native Hawaiian communities warrant increased attention and resources for genetic research.

Sources: Smithsonian Magazine.