In this episode of The Family Treehouse, host Heather Haunert sits down with genetic genealogist Aimee Rose-Haynes to unpack how DNA can crack “unknown parentage” cases, reconnect living relatives, and illuminate Native ancestry with care and accuracy. Aimee, a proud citizen of the Cherokee Nation and a frequent conference presenter, shares real-world strategies for using matches, trees, and triangulation to move stalled research forward.

What you’ll learn:

Practical steps to start or revive an unknown parentage search

Ethical must-dos when working with living DNA matches

How Aimee approaches reconnecting Native descendants and navigating tribal heritage questions

Tools she relies on (clusters, segment data, shared matches, and more)

About our guest

Aimee Rose-Haynes is a genetic genealogist and public speaker known for solving difficult family-finding cases and educating researchers at events like RootsTech and state society conferences. She has also served in leadership roles with DNA-focused nonprofits. Helpful for: adoption & misattributed parentage cases, brick-wall searches, Native ancestry questions, DNA beginners to intermediate researchers.

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