Origin: A Genetic History of the Americas

Chaco, and they were upset that they had not been consulted before the
research was conducted. Although it yielded very interesting findings—
most notably, the existence of elite maternal lineages that persisted for
generations at the site—the knowledge gained in this study and others came
at the cost of harm to the communities and further erosion of trust in
scientists (13).
Violation of the Sacred
The reluctance of some communities to participate in genetics studies or
give permission for ancient DNA research also stems from a complicated
and troubled history of biomedical research with Indigenous peoples (14).
When I talk to Indigenous peoples about genetics research, they often point
to the case of the Havasupai as a reason why research should be viewed
with caution.
The Havasu Baaja (People of the Blue Green Water) (15), who belong to
the Havasupai tribe, live in one of the most remote and beautiful regions of
the Grand Canyon. A small population of about 750 people, they
unfortunately have high rates of type 2 diabetes, which causes great
suffering within the community. From 1990 to 1994, the tribe permitted
researchers from Arizona State University to collect over 200 blood
samples in order to investigate potential genetic causes for the high rates of
this disease in their community.
At least, that’s the purpose for which the Havasupai believed they were
donating their blood. In fact, the written consent forms that they signed
indicated that they were donating their blood to help researchers “study the
causes of behavioral/medical disorders.” The broadness of this consent
meant that legally, many different kinds of studies could be done with their
blood.
Carletta Tilousi, a member of the tribe, attended a PhD dissertation
defense in 2003 at ASU. In an interview with the Phoenix New Times, she
talked about how shocked she had been to hear the graduate student present
research he had done using her own DNA: “He spoke about how the DNA
of this isolated, intermarried group of people—us—was unique, and how
my people had migrated to Arizona from Asia” (16). The tribe’s traditions