Despite their culture and local traditions seeming to show combined elements of both the Dorset and Thule societies,[6] genetic studies show no Dorset admixture and prove a sole Inuit ancestry leading many to conclude the cultural difference may be entirely due to their isolation from the mainland Inuit.

[7] Research published in 2015 found that the Sadlermiut were genetically Thule who had somehow acquired Dorset cultural features, such as stone technology.

[8] In 1824, HMS Griper, under Captain George Francis Lyon, anchored off Cape Pembroke on Coats Island in Hudson Bay.

It is said that some of the Sadlermiut caught a disease, possibly an influenza,[12] typhoid, or typhus, from a sick sailor aboard the Active, which then spread to the entire community.

A third theory indicates that the Sadlermiut did not necessarily belong to either group, but because of intermarriage, their roots may have in fact been part of both Dorset and Thule cultures.

[5][14] In the 21st century, human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) research[16] on skeletal remains has seemed to show a genetic relationship between the Sadlermiut and various other related ethnic groups.

[22] Unlike the mainland Inuit, the Sadlermiut were reported to show very little interest in hunting whales and trapping and were thus of little use to traders who frequented Coral Harbour.

[24] This may be in part due to historical confrontations with the Aivilingmiut who sought Southampton Island for its prosperous whaling potential, and the Dene peoples who moved northwards during the summer in pursuit of caribou.