The Politics, and Ethics of Ethnographic Inquiry

Who owns ethnographic information?

Who should have access to ethnographic materials?

Repatriation

--Sharing ethnographic materials with subjects

--Sending ethnographic information back to the community studied

Two Major Developments Have Created the Conditions for Repatriation

• Indigenous groups resistance• --interest groups• --intellectual property• --Indigenous nationalism• New rules and ethical guidelines (academic

and professional disciplines)• --AAA• --restricted access

Factors Underpinning the Repatriation Debate

• Legacy of past and present exploitation is now acknowledged

• Indigenous peoples organization

• Efforts by governments and academic to correct the mistakes of the past on the issue

The Act of Repatriation Should Make Sure that:

• Information should not harm either the community or the informants

• It should not harm the interest of academic research

Stephen Glazier (1993)

Responding To The Anthropologist: When The Spiritual Baptists of

Trinidad Read What I Write About Them