Narratives of race and indigeneity in the genographic project

Journal of Law, Medicine and Ethics

Volumn 35, Issue 3, 2007, Pages 412-424

  Tallbear, Kim ^a,b,c  

^a ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b ESPM ^*

^c UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

CONFERENCE PAPER; CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY; FOUNDER EFFECT; GENETICS; GENOMICS; HUMAN; INHERITANCE; MIGRATION; ORGANIZATION; POPULATION GENETICS; VERBAL COMMUNICATION;

ANTHROPOLOGY, CULTURAL; EMIGRATION AND IMMIGRATION; FOUNDER EFFECT; GENETIC RESEARCH; GENETICS, POPULATION; GENOMICS; HUMANS; INHERITANCE PATTERNS; NARRATION; ORGANIZATIONAL OBJECTIVES;

EID: 34547931061     PISSN: 10731105     EISSN: 1748720X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1748-720X.2007.00164.x     Document Type: Conference Paper

References (66)

1. Emerging Explorers: Spencer Wells National Geographic Web site, available at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/emerging/spencerWells.html (last visited May 10, 2007).
2. Journey of Man, DVD, directed by Spencer Wells, Tigress Productions (PBS Home Video, 2003). Wells is also the author of the related book by the same name.
3. The Genographic Project: Introduction National Geographic Web site, available at https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/index.html (last visited May 10, 2007).
4. See National Geographic, Genographic Launches Legacy Fund, Press Release, May 8, 2006, available at http://press.nationalgeographic.com/pressroom/ pressReleaseFiles/1113322781773/1113322781790/GLF%20FINAL%20release_lm.agm.pdf (last visited June 8, 2007).
5. For the second two quotes, see National Geographic, Genographic and IBM Launch Landmark Project to Map How Humankind Populated Planet, Press Release, April 13, 2005, available at http://press.nationalgeographic.com/pressroom/ index.jsp?pageID=pressReleases_detail&siteID=1&cid=1113322781773 (last visited, June 8 2007).
6. See, for example, D. Harry and L. 'a Malia Kanehe Genetic Research: Collecting Blood to Preserve Culture Cultural Survival Quarterly 29, no. 4 (January 2006 34 E. Pennisi Private Partnership to Trace Human History Science 308, no. 5720 (April 15, 2005 340 H. Greely Lessons from the HGDP Science 308, no. 4728 (June 10, 2005 1554 55.
7. L. Cavalli-Sforza, A. C. Wilson, C. R. Cantor, R. M. Cook-Deegan, and M. C. King Call for a Worldwide Survey of Human Genetic Diversity: A Vanishing Opportunity for the Human Genome Project Genomics 11, no. 2 (October 1991 490 91.
8. The Genographic Project Frequently Asked Questions National Geographic Web site, available at https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/ faqs_funding.html#Q9 (last visited May 10, 2007).
9. The Genographic Project Frequently Asked Questions: Question 2 National Geographic Web site, available at https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/ genographic/faqs_privacy.html (last visited June 8, 2007 S. Wells Genetic Research: How Much We Have to Learn Cultural Survival Quarterly 29.4 (January 2006 34.
10. J. Reardon, Race to the Finish: Identity and Governance in an Age of Genomics (Princeton : Princeton University Press, 2005).
11. Id.
12. See R. Dalton When Two Tribes Go to War Nature 430 (July 29, 2004 500 502 Editorial Tribal Culture Versus Genetics Nature 430 (July 29, 2004 489 Tilousi v. Arizona State University, No. 04-CV-1290 (D. Ariz. 2005 available at http://www.whoownsyourbody.org/havasupai-arizona.pdf (last visited June 13, 2007); excerpts from the investigative report by S. Hart and K. Sobraske, "Investigative Report Concerning the Medical Genetics Project at Havasupai," (unpublished investigative report) December 23, 2003, available at Arizona State University Law Library.
13. Id. (Dalton); Id. (Hart and Sobraske).
14. See Tilousi, supra note 12; id. (Hart and Sobraske).
15. The Genographic Project About the Project National Geographic Web site, available at https://www3.nationalgeo-graphic.com/genographic/about.html (last visited May 10, 2007).
16. D. M. Behar et al. The Genographic Project Public Participation Mitochondrial DNA Database PLoS Genetics 3, no. 6 (June 2007 1083 95.
17. The Genographic Project How to Participate National Geographic Web site, available at https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/participate.html (last visited June 8, 2007).
18. See Press Release, supra note 5.
19. The Rediff Interview Dr. Spencer Wells: 'We Are All Africans Under the Skin Rediff Web site, available at http://www.rediff.com/news/2002/nov/27inter. htm (last visited June 8, 2007).
20. The Genographic Project Sample Results National Geographic Web site, available at https://www3.nationalgeo-graphic.com/genographic/sample_results. html (last visited May 10, 2007).
21. R. S. Cann, M. Stoneking, and A. C. Wilson Mitochondrial DNA and Human Evolution Nature 325 (1987 31 36.
22. See The Rediff Interview, supra note 19.
23. Id.
24. V. Y. Mudimbe, The Invention of Africa (Bloomington : Indiana University Press, 1988).
25. Quoting from T. Hodgkin, Nationalism in Colonial Africa (New York : New York University Press, 1957) in id. In his opening chapter, "Discourse of Power and Knowledge of Otherness," Mudimbe references Hodgkin's classic treatment of the politics of late colonial Africa, particularly the Rousseauian image of the continent. Mudimbe notes the co-existence of seemingly contradictory myths of African otherness.
26. S. J. Gould American Polygeny and Craniometry Before Darwin in S. Harding, ed., The "Racial" Economy of Science: Toward a Democratic Future (Bloomington : Indiana University Press, 1993 at 84-115 G. Stocking, Race, Culture and Evolution: Essays in the History of Anthropology (New York : The Free Press, 1968).
27. See The Rediff Interview, supra note 19.
28. National Geographic, Genographic Project Director Spencer Wells, IBM Lead Scientist Ajay Royyuru Answer Questions about Project, Press Release, available at http://press.nationalgeographic.com/pressroom/pressReleaseFiles/ 1113322781773/1113322781790/Geno_Q&A_Final%204.26.06.pdf (last visited June 8, 2007).
29. See, "About the Project," supra note 15.
30. Human Genome Diversity Project, Human Genome Diversity Workshop 1 (Stanford, CA : Stanford University Press, 1992 at 9 see Cavalli-Sforza et al., supra note 7 Human Genome Diversity Project, Human Genome Diversity Workshop 2 (State College, PA : Penn State University, 1992 Reardon, supra note 10.
31. J. Marks, Human Biodiversity: Genes, Race, and History (New York : Aldine de Gruyter, 1995 see Stocking, supra note 26.
32. This view on indigenous survival is the very foundation of the fields of American Indian, Native American and Indigenous Studies. Affirming the survival of peoples and promoting their greater well-being is the reason that there even exists an international "indigenous" movement.
33. W. A. Wilson and W. C. Schommer, Remember This! Dakota Decolonization and the Eli Taylor Narratives (Lincoln : University of Nebraska Press, 2005). Non-Dakota thinkers have also treated the 1862 War at length, providing valuable insights, particularly into U.S. Indian policy that led to the war (G. C. Anderson, Little Crow: Spokesman for the Sioux [St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1986] and R. W. Meyer, History of the Santee Sioux: United States Indian Policy on Trial [Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1967]). But when I say that 1862 is a prominent figure in our understanding of our Dakota-ness today, I do not want to mislead the reader by citing non-Dakota thinkers. We do not acquire our understanding of who we are in relation to 1862 by reading the necessarily narrow works of non-Dakota historians. The various Dakota communities throughout the upper Midwest and parts of Canada since 1862 have lived a history largely untreated in the scholarly literature. That is why the book by Wilson and Schommer - two Dakota thinkers - is so important. Throughout Dakota country, we refer daily to 1862, and Wilson and Schommer foreground Dakota narratives of that history. The many other citations that should be here - narratives handed down from my great-grandfather (his great-grandfather was Te-oyate-duta, a reluctant leader of the Dakota effort in 1862) to my mother and to many other family members - are largely undocumented.
34. See Press Release, supra note 5.
35. D. Harry and F. C. Dukepoo, Indians, Genes and Genetics: What Indians Should Know about the New Biotechnology (Nixon, NV : Indigenous Peoples Coalition Against Biopiracy, 1998).
36. T. D. Hurst, Skull Wars: Kennewick Man, Archaeology, and the Battle for Native American Identity (New York : Basic Books, 2000).
37. Id. A. L. Brandt Suit Over Kennewick Man Revived The Associated Press, October 26, 2000 J. Chatters Encounter with an Ancestor Anthropology Newsletter, January 1997, at 9-10 S. Coll The Body in Question The Washington Post, June 3, 2001 M. Lee Politics of the Past The Tri-City Herald (Kennewick, WA December 26, 1999 M. Lee Recasting the Past: Day Three. No Turning Back on the Kennewick Man Kennewick Man Virtual Interpretive Center Web site, December 28, 1999, available at http://www.kennewick-man.com/kman/series/index.html (last visited June 10, 2007).
38. A. King Kennewick Man's Bones Provide Window to Past Tri-City Herald, July 23, 2006, available at http://www.kennewick-man.com/kman/news/story/ 7997435p-7890471c.html (last visited June 18, 2007).
39. The Genographic Project Frequently Asked Questions: Question 7 National Geographic Web site, available at https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/ genographic/faqs_about.html (last visited June 10, 2007); Genographic News, "Back from Chad!" link, National Geographic Web site, available at https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/resources.html (last visited June 10, 2007); "The Genographic Project," IBM Web site, available at http://www-03.ibm.com/industries/healthcare/pdfs/genofash/data/html/ global_research.html (last visited June 10, 2007).
40. The Genographic Project The Genographic Legacy Fund: Raising Awareness. Building Capacity National Geographic Web site, available at https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/legacy_fund.html (last visited May 23, 2007).
41. See Press Release, supra note 28.
42. Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism IPCB Comments Regarding the Genographic Project's Request for Proposals for the Legacy Fund February 16, 2006, available at http://www.ipcb.org/issues/human_genetics/htmls/legacy- fund_rfp.html (last visited March 2, 2007). I received the forwarded e-mail notice from multiple contacts during 2006 and early 2007.
43. See Press Release, supra note 28.
44. The Genographic Project Indigenous Representatives Talk about Their Migratory Histories video clip on National Geographic Web site, available at https://www3.nationalgeographic.com/genographic/index.html (last visited and transcribed October 25, 2005). Unfortunately, when accessed on December 10, 2005, the link to the video clip was no longer available. Repeated requests for a copy of the video remain unfulfilled.
45. See Reardon, supra note 10.
46. See E. Fox Keller, Refiguring Life: Metaphors of Twentieth-Century Biology (New York : Columbia University Press, 1995).
47. F. Flam Sweeping DNA Project Aims to Chart Human History Times Leader (Philadelphia), September 5, 2005, available at http://www.signonsandiego.com/ uniontrib/20051005/news_IzIc05schurr.html (last visited June 10, 2007).
48. Id.
49. Seaconke Wampanoag Tribe Archived Articles available at http://www.seaconkewampanoagtribe.net/id17.html (last visited May 23, 2007).
50. G. Jennings Noka Wampanoag Nation Seaconke Wampanoag Tribe Web site, available at http://www.seaconkewam-panoagtribe.net/id17.html (last visited May 23, 2007).
51. Not unlike the Mashpee Wampanoag that James Clifford highlights in his essay Identity in Mashpee The Predicament of Culture Cambridge : Harvard University Press, 1988 at 285), the Seaconke Wampanoag would appear to be challenged by dominant societal racial images of what constitutes a "real" Indian. Clifford describes the cultural politics at play in courtroom exchanges during the 1977 trial in which the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council, Inc. sued for the return of 16,000 acres of land, or three-quarters of the town of Mashpee, Massachusetts. Similarly to other eastern tribes, the Mashpee Wampanoag had intermarried extensively with other peoples and did not appear strongly Indian according to idealized standards. Clifford observes that some "could pass for black, others for white.".
52. Seaconke Wampanoag Tribe Favorite Tribal Photos available at http://www.seaconkewampanoagtribe.com/id2.html (last visited May 23, 2007).
53. See Seaconkewampanoagtribe.org; Seaconkewampanoagtribe.com; and Seaconkewampanoagtribe.net (First two sites are off-line. Third was last visited July 17, 2007).
54. R. Olivo Tribe: Cumberland, Woonsocket Are Ours Woonsocket Call Web site, January 26, 2003, available at http://www.woonsocketcall.com/site/news.cfm? newsid=6824581&BRD=1712&PAG=461 (last visited May 23, 2007).
55. Id. V. Saksena Seaconke Wampanoag's Share Their Culture with the Region September 8, 2005, East Bay RI Web site, available at http://www.eastbayri.com/ story/290685182316584.php (last visited May 23, 2007).
56. See Clifford, supra note 51.
57. A. M. McCulloch and D. E. Wilkins 'Constructing' Nations within States: The Quest for Federal Recognition by the Catawba and Lumbee Tribes American Indian Quarterly 19, no. 3 (Summer 1995 361 388.
58. See Seaconke Wampanoag Tribe, supra note 49.
59. Id.
60. The Genographic Project Indigenous Representatives Talk About Their Migratory Histories video on National Geographic Web site, available at https://www3.nationalgeo-graphic.com/genographic/index.html (last visited June 20, 2007).
61. Id.
62. Id.
63. Id.
64. Id.
65. Id.
66. S. Jasanoff, Designs on Nature: Science and Democracy in Europe and the United States (Princeton and Oxford : Princeton University Press, 2005).