The Triangle of Decadence in ethics dumping and unethical research with Indigenous peoples
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Abstract
This study documents some elements of unethical research involving Indigenous populations, including lack of informed consent of participants, lack of community involvement for consultation or permission for use of data or biological samples collected, and concerns about cultur- al sensitivity. The Triangle of Decadence has been proposed as a pos- sible way to promote a change of mentality among researchers that helps to identify the core problems of unethical research. It gives a possible explanation of what triggers ethical dumping, describing the three points as 1) abuse of power, 2) ignorance of ethical research regulations, and 3) economic interests, and in the middle of the triangle is 4) the silence and complicity of third parties that aggravate the situation. Possible solutions to these problems are presented. Finally, we explain that there is also a risk of selective representation and tokenization of Indigenous communities.
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