# Do Native American men have facial hair? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 28, 2010, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-native-american-men-have-facial-hair/544807 "2010-06-28T17:07:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2010, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-native-american-men-have-facial-hair/544807/21 "2010-06-29T23:14:06Z")
Since only males have thick facial hair, it would seem to be more of a sex selection thing than an environmental adaptation. ---
**Author:** ![conurepete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e57/32.png) [@conurepete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/conurepete)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2010, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-native-american-men-have-facial-hair/544807/22 "2010-06-30T02:50:39Z")
Married a man with Blackfoot blood. He did not shave regularly before age 30. My grandmother could grow a mustache quicker. ---
**Author:** ![sailaway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecc23a/32.png) [@sailaway](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailaway)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-native-american-men-have-facial-hair/544807/23 "2013-11-13T19:08:54Z")
In 1974, I did my first real exploring of Florida. One night on Alligator Alley between Hollywood, FL and Naples, my car broke down late at night and I was taken in with my young son by a Seminole woman who lived nearby. I got to know several bands of Seminoles after that…lucky me. I was struck by the men’s facial hair, much more evident than in any other tribe I have ever seen in the Americas. Not thick or lush, mind you…just more over the lip and on the chin, especially. I remember an old book in the Dade County library special collections written by a minister-teacher at the beginning of the 20th century who postulated that they were of a lost tribe of Israel due to such things as facial hair, their name for the Great Spirit sounds just like Yahweh and they have a day of atonement. Charming book. They are a very private and interesting people. The only tribe that never made peace with the US govt and which has never gotten one ‘red’ cent from them. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-native-american-men-have-facial-hair/544807/24 "2013-11-13T19:31:32Z")
The Maya in the Yucatan Peninsula don’t have facial, axillary, or pubic hair. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-native-american-men-have-facial-hair/544807/25 "2013-11-13T19:35:17Z")
> **[Winnipeg man dead for hours before being discovered in ER, inquiry told](https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/winnipeg-man-dead-for-hours-before-being-discovered-in-er-inquiry-told-1.1401245)** > > A man who died during a 34-hour wait in a hospital emergency room had been dead for at least a few hours before he was discovered, Manitoba's medical examiner said Wednesday. This fellow was in the Canadian news the last few months due to the inquest… there’s a picture of Murray Sinclair halfway down. He seems to have the typical “Charles Bronson” look, and IIRC he’s full native. This would be northern Cree I think. (I think I read once that he suffered from type II diabetes like many of the natives not yet adapted to a high-carb modern diet.) ---
**Author:** ![Sarabellum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarabellum/32/3492_2.png) [@Sarabellum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarabellum)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-native-american-men-have-facial-hair/544807/26 "2013-11-13T22:55:53Z")
Didn’t the Sioux/Lakota have a word for “white people” that translated more closely as “hair-mouths”? Indicating that this was a notable difference of the groups, even way back when. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2013, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-native-american-men-have-facial-hair/544807/27 "2013-11-13T23:31:44Z")
Just now I was wodering if zombies have facial hair as well. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-native-american-men-have-facial-hair/544807/28 "2013-11-14T00:57:52Z")
> [@sailaway](#): > > I remember an old book in the Dade County library special collections written by a minister-teacher at the beginning of the 20th century who postulated that they were of a lost tribe of Israel due to such things as facial hair, their name for the Great Spirit sounds just like Yahweh and they have a day of atonement. Rather unlikely, since the Seminoles as a tribe didn’t even exist before the 1700s. They were originally made up of refugees from other tribes plus some escaped slaves and a few whites. They most likely have more African and European ancestry than many other tribes which could account for their facial hair. ---
**Author:** ![rogerbox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/76d3ee/32.png) [@rogerbox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rogerbox)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-native-american-men-have-facial-hair/544807/29 "2013-11-14T01:23:38Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > [http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/winnipeg-man-dead-for-hours-before-being-discovered-in-er-inquiry-told-1.1401245](http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/winnipeg-man-dead-for-hours-before-being-discovered-in-er-inquiry-told-1.1401245) > > This fellow was in the Canadian news the last few months due to the inquest… there’s a picture of Murray Sinclair halfway down. He seems to have the typical “Charles Bronson” look, and IIRC he’s full native. This would be northern Cree I think. > > (I think I read once that he suffered from type II diabetes like many of the natives not yet adapted to a high-carb modern diet.) Charles Bronson is not native at all, his parents are Lithuanian. ---
**Author:** ![sisu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@sisu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sisu)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2013, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-native-american-men-have-facial-hair/544807/30 "2013-11-14T01:44:20Z")
I’m sure it varies across populations, as I am half eastern Finn (karelian) I have very little body hair compared to a lot of my peers from other parts of Europe. So to say Native American is a single genetic group sharing common characteristics may not be accurate? ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-native-american-men-have-facial-hair/544807/31 "2013-11-15T01:02:45Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > Just now I was wodering if zombies have facial hair as well. Only if they had it while still living. ---
**Author:** ![hmarvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/858c86/32.png) [@hmarvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hmarvin)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-native-american-men-have-facial-hair/544807/32 "2013-11-16T00:30:35Z")
> [@rogerbox](#): > > Charles Bronson is not native at all, his parents are Lithuanian. His father was Lithuanian Tatar. ---
**Author:** ![hmarvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/858c86/32.png) [@hmarvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hmarvin)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-native-american-men-have-facial-hair/544807/33 "2013-11-16T00:35:25Z")
> [@sisu](#): > > I’m sure it varies across populations, as I am half eastern Finn (karelian) I have very little body hair compared to a lot of my peers from other parts of Europe. So to say Native American is a single genetic group sharing common characteristics may not be accurate? This might surprise you, but the Finns hacve a hundred and two genes, if I remember right, that aren’t found among Europeans, Asians, or Africans. but are quite common among my people (Native Americans). ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-native-american-men-have-facial-hair/544807/34 "2013-11-16T01:43:20Z")
> [@hmarvin](#): > > This might surprise you, but the Finns hacve a hundred and two genes, if I remember right, that aren’t found among Europeans, Asians, or Africans. but are quite common among my people (Native Americans). It surprises me so much I would like to see a peer-reviewed cite for that. I have never heard anything like that, and it seems extremely unlikely based on the history of those populations. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-native-american-men-have-facial-hair/544807/35 "2013-11-16T14:01:19Z")
Accounts from early explorers to the Amazon basin (Francisco Orellana, e.g.) describe indigenous men as having almost no facial hair. Indeed, the full beards of the Spanish set them apart quite distinctly. The extent of admixture and extinction of “pure” native genes makes it difficult to find very good representatives of those original indigenous peoples. However if you look at (nearly) uncontacted groups, you can get an idea of how sparse facial hair is. I believe [this guy](http://www.amazon-tribes.com/07-Caceteiros-wm.jpg)is a Dslala, from the Vale Javari area in Brazil near the Quixito River. Smithsonian article on that group [here](http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/Out_of_Time.html), with some photos. [Another article w/ photos.](http://www.amazon-indians.org/korubo.html) ---
**Author:** ![Steophan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steophan/32/9595_2.png) [@Steophan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steophan)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-native-american-men-have-facial-hair/544807/36 "2013-11-16T18:12:03Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > It surprises me so much I would like to see a peer-reviewed cite for that. I have never heard anything like that, and it seems extremely unlikely based on the history of those populations. I don’t see anything that suggests that that particular claim is true, but the Sami are a distinct population in northern Scandinavia and Finland. [Here’s a Wiki page on them.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_genetics_of_the_Sami) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2013, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-native-american-men-have-facial-hair/544807/37 "2013-11-18T04:52:12Z")
> [@Steophan](#): > > I don’t see anything that suggests that that particular claim is true, but the Sami are a distinct population in northern Scandinavia and Finland. [Here’s a Wiki page on them.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_genetics_of_the_Sami) I’m aware of the Sami (better known as Lapps). However, the majority of them live in Norway and Sweden, with only a comparatively small number in Finland. The article on their population genetics indicates a relationship with Europeans and Asians, and none is mentioned with Native Americans. In any case, **hmarvin’s** claim was about the [Finns](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finns#Genetics_of_the_Swedish-speaking_Finns)themselves, rather than the Sami. Finns show some genetic relationship to Siberian peoples, but there is no mention of any relationship to Native Americans. > [@](#): > > Finns show very little if any Mediterranean and African genes but on the other hand almost 10% of Finnish genes seem to be shared with Siberian populations. Nevertheless more than 80% of Finnish genes are from a single ancient Northeastern European population, while most Europeans are a mixture of 3 or more principal components.[42] I could believe that some alleles are shared between Finns, northern Asians, and Native Americans that are not shared with other Europeans. However, it would be very unlikely for alleles to appear in _only_ Finns and Native Americans while not appearing in any Asians. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-native-american-men-have-facial-hair/544807.md?page=1)