As I am attending the 15th International Congress on Circumpolar Health I am very busy trying to learn the art of networking as well as listening to many interesting talks of projects regarding circumpolar health. There are primarily health workers including doctors, nurses, social workers and social science/natural science researchers here and the odd anthropologist. Where are all the medical anthropologists? I don't know. Where are all the anthro. graduate students? Not here. Maybe they are all home pulling their hair out over the struggle of finding someone who would like to be interviewed and share personal stories with outside researchers? I found a satirical comment on this exact relationship today and thought I would share it to illustrate the problematic relationship between anthropologists and indigenous people:
This is an exacts quote taken from http://www.ethnography.com/2007/04/indigenous-peoples-organization-files-court-brief-to-halt-graduate-fieldwork/. There is no author for the blog post.
A cultural conundrum is playing out in the 9th circuit that is sure
to be heard before the Supreme Court by Fall. A coalition of
organizations aimed at protecting the rights of indigenous people’s has
filed a motion to halt all forms of graduate student field work
throughout the world. “Frankly, we’re just tired of it.” stated Jason
Natuktu, an Inuit Elder of Afognak, Alaska. “Look, haven’t these people
heard of the internet? Just go look it up already.” His son, Atol
agreed, “How many inept questions do we really have to answer over and
over again?” He continued “Yes, we were oppressed, no we don’t envy
people living in Florida, yes we really eat blubber. Really, this is
the best and brightest?”
The brief states that graduate students subject participants to
“ceaseless mental duress, and disruption of local life with little or no
regard to those being tortured.” Quaticatl Xertaysl of the Yanomami
tribe of Brazil vigorously agreed. “You know they call us ‘The Fierce
People’ and I was checking out Wikipedia the other day and do you know
what someone wrote about us? He called us ‘a bunch of bloodthirsty
maniacs.’ Hey, someone says that about you and you’d be pretty
pissed-off too.” In addition to the repetitive questions they have been
subjected to over the years, he also takes issue with the lack of
appropriate co-authorship later. “Look, we understand these kids have
to do this to satisfy a bunch of grumpy old SOBs that believe you can’t
be an anthropologist unless you’ve experienced nine months of
dysentery.” Said Quaticatl, “but ya know, we have access to Amazon and
eBay here too. They sell a book on the topic, and in return give us a
pig. Who needs this goddamn pig crapping in front of my door all day?
We want points, plain and simple.”
The 9th circuit is expected to hand down a decision later in the month.
It was written on April 1st and so should only be considered a fictive comment on a serious issue.
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