anthropological research destroys communities?

by George Salzman (george.salzman [at] umb.edu)

Thu, Sep 21, 2000 9:50PM

The American Anthropological Association, scheduled to meet in San Francisco this November, is facing an unprecedented scandal from impending revelation of chilling research by anthropologists and associated scientific researchers (notably geneticists and medical experimenters) among the Yanomami of Venezuela over the past thirty-five years, causing "hundreds, perhaps thousands" of Yanomami deaths.

Science for the People learned today of a letter from Cornell Univ. anthropology professor Terry Turner and Univ. of Hawaii anthropology professor Leslie Sponsel to the president and president-elect of the American Anthropological Association alerting them to the impending scandal regarding deadly research on the Venezuelan Yanomami, research that began in 1968, about which they write, \"In its scale, ramifications, and sheer criminality and corruption it is unparalleled in the history of Anthropology.\"

\"Both of us have seen galley copies of a book by Patrick Tierney, an investigative journalist, about the actions of anthropologists and associated scientific researchers (notably geneticists and medical experimenters) among the Yanomami of Venezuela over the past thirty-five years.

For more information: http://omega.cc.umb.edu/~salzman

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