Tracing the Echoes of History: Through Genetic Genealogy

Join us for the Family Reunion Durbar: Claiming Our Roots, Restoring Our Bonds, a two-day gathering at Pikworo Slave Camp in Paga, Ghana, dedicated to remembrance, reconnection, and the return of genetic genealogy results.

This event brings together African-descended participants, Ghanaian families, traditional leaders, researchers, and community members to recognize the living family connections being identified through genetic genealogy. For many people of African descent in the diaspora, family histories were violently disrupted by mass human trafficking from Africa, leaving gaps in names, places, kinship lines, and inherited memory. This gathering creates a space to begin addressing those ruptures through DNA-based kinship findings, local history, community knowledge, and shared reflection.

The event is not simply about identifying “ancestral origins.” It is about asking a more personal and precise question: Who are we finding, how are we connected, and what does it mean to restore bonds across generations and across the Atlantic?

Held at the historic Pikworo Slave Camp, the gathering offers a powerful setting for honoring those who were forced through systems of captivity while also recognizing the resilience of African families and communities that remain. The event will include a tour of the slave camp and surrounding community, family research activities, food preparation and sharing, a formal durbar with chiefs and the people of the Paga Traditional Area, traditional dance, and opportunities for dialogue between participants and local community members.

Day 1: Tour, Family Research, and Community Food Preparation

The first day will focus on grounding participants in place, history, and family connection. Activities will include a tour of Pikworo Slave Camp and the surrounding community, discussion of family histories and genetic genealogy findings, and shared food preparation as a way of building relationships beyond formal presentations.

Day 2: Durbar of Chiefs and the People of Paga Traditional Area

The second day will feature a formal durbar with traditional leaders and community members. This gathering will publicly recognize the significance of reconnecting African-descended people with living relatives and ancestral family networks in Ghana. It will also provide a ceremonial and communal space for honoring the past, welcoming relatives, and celebrating restored bonds.

Participants will engage with:

Genetic Genealogy Results
A formal return and interpretation of DNA-based kinship findings, including discussion of genetic relatives, estimated relationship patterns, and how these results contribute to reconstructing African ancestral families.

Family Reconnection
A community-centered discussion of what it means to identify living relatives across the Atlantic and how participants may begin building respectful communication and relationships with newly identified kin.

Historical Reflection at Pikworo Slave Camp
A guided engagement with the history of Pikworo and its place within broader histories of captivity, forced movement, and mass human trafficking from Africa.

Traditional Leadership and Community Recognition
A durbar with chiefs and the people of the Paga Traditional Area, affirming the cultural, historical, and communal significance of this reconnection work.

Cultural Celebration and Shared Meals
Traditional dance, food preparation, and a community lunch that create space for hospitality, reflection, and relationship-building.

Education and Technical Guidance
Accessible explanation of how genetic genealogy results are produced, how genetic relatives are identified, what the findings can and cannot show, and how participants can use the results as a starting point for further family research.

The Family Reunion Durbar is a gathering of science, history, culture, and community. It honors the pain of separation while creating space for the possibility of recognition, relationship, and repair.

Time in GMT.