Introduction

Richard J. Chacon

Rúben G. Mendoza

pp. 1-26

in: Richard J. Chacon, Rúben G. Mendoza (eds), The ethics of anthropology and Amerindian research, Berlin, Springer, 2012

Abstract

The decision to publish scholarly findings bearing on the question of Amerindian-induced environmental degradation, warfare, and violence is one that weighs heavily on anthropologists and other social scientists. This burden stems from the fact that documentation of indigenous conflicts or environmental mismanagement may render native communities vulnerable to a host of predatory agendas and hostile forces. Consequently, some anthropologists and community advocates alike continue to argue that such sensitive, and thereby, politically volatile information regarding the Amerindian mismanagement of natural resources, warfare, and violence should not be reported. This admonition and proscription present a conundrum for anthropologists and other social scientists employed in the academy, particularly as this regards those who work at the behest of tribal entities.