American Indian Culture and Research Journal

What are the ethical responsibilities of non-Native researchers working with Native American communities? While both Native and non-Native researchers recognize the importance of the ethical protocol of free and informed consent when negotiating entry into the field, specific problems of application need to be addressed when doing cross-cultural research. In particular, the problem I address arises from researchers who work in Native communities and have been widely criticized for their disregard of local ethics, adhering only to the conventions of scientific research. This critique comes from two general perspectives. First and foremost is the opinion of many Native American people that researchers have misappropriated knowledge. The second critique is located within academia: a common expression in postmodern theory is that modernist researchers, by not questioning their own ethics and methodologies, have unwittingly constructed the Other. While the importance of free and informed consent is accepted in most circles, what often goes unquestioned is that free and informed consent may have different meanings and implications in cross-cultural situations, particularly when doing research with Native American communities. It is the researcher's ethics, and not those of the researched, that often seem to govern the relationship. Researchers in cross-cultural situations often assume that the individual in question understands the project fully and is able to give full permission in a communicative code that happens to belong to the researcher. Drawing upon the significant work of scholars such as Devon A. Mihesuah and Caroline B. Brettel, this paper offers additional contributions to the ethics cross-cultural research with Native American communities. In particular, the purpose of this paper is to recommend alterations to the ethical protocols for obtaining free and informed consent. When research involve Native American communities, additional steps to those specified in typical ethical protocols must be taken to ensure free and informed consent.