Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism

The Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism (IPCB) is a non-profit organization

Non-profit organization

Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

based in Nixon

Nixon, Nevada

Nixon is a census-designated place in Washoe County, Nevada, USA. The population was 418 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Reno–Sparks Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

for the purpose of political activism against the emergent field of population genetics

Population genetics

Population genetics is the study of allele frequency distribution and change under the influence of the four main evolutionary processes: natural selection, genetic drift, mutation and gene flow. It also takes into account the factors of recombination, population subdivision and population...

for human migration

Human migration

Human migration is physical movement by humans from one area to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Historically this movement was nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their displacement or cultural assimilation. Only a few nomadic...

research. The term "biocolonialism" is a neologism —a portmanteau of "bio-

Biology

Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...

" and "colonialism

Colonialism

Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...

" —used by the IPCB to pejoratively characterise population genetics research as part of invasive and destructive assimilation

Cultural assimilation

Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...

against indigenous peoples

Indigenous peoples

Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....

.

The group claims to advocate for the interests of indigenous peoples, to assist "in the protection of their genetic resources, indigenous knowledge, cultural and human rights from the negative effects of biotechnology

Biotechnology

Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...

." In particular, the IPCB's protests were based on a rejection of participating in scientific research that would negate or otherwise contradict traditional Native American accounts and narratives

Native American mythology

Native American mythology is the body of traditional narratives associated with Native American religion from a mythographical perspective. Native American belief systems include many sacred narratives. Such spiritual stories are deeply based in Nature and are rich with the symbolism of seasons,...

about their ancestral origins, and lend support to other alternate views.

IPCB was a signatory of the Indigenous Peoples' Seattle Declaration in 1999.

History

The IPCB was founded in 1999 by the current Executive Director Debra Harry, following her growing concerns over a perceived impact of genetic colonialism on the lives of indigenous peoples. The organization adopts an internationalist perspective identifying genetic variation research on isolated populations, as well as its prospective commercial exploration, as a global threat, not only to the self-determination of all indigenous peoples, but also to the non-indigenous world and to the earth itself.

In 2005 and 2006, the group protested against the National Geographic's Genographic Project (cf. criticism).

History

See also

Further reading