CUNY's Smith said he believes the motivation behind the Defense Department is very clear, especially in light of Dobson's words. "It's clear that the work they are doing could feed into the Human Terrain System," he said. "The question to ask is why wouldn't it go into the HTS?"
Grossman essentially agrees with Smith. He believes that the FMSO is interested in the research, if not "officially" for its Human Terrain System program, then to better understand the social and cultural human landscape of the region's research.
But México Indígena's Helihy passionately defended his project and intentions. "This is not an evil military plot to destroy indigenous lands. It's nothing of the sort," said Herlihy. "I knew it would be conflictive precisely because we had FMSO funding, but I hoped it would be a project that would make a difference in the world."
In addition, he stated, "We told the Tiltepec community Assembly, where UNOSJO Director presented the first public denouncement, that we would take down the maps if they wanted us too, and we would do the same for any other study community." Likewise, Dobson notes that one thing he insisted on with the FMSO was that the academic investigator in charge of any of the projects would have sole responsibility for choosing the topic of his or her expedition, which he believes quells any notion that this is a military-run research program.
The debate over this program, the contradictions surrounding it, and the broader question of whether it is ethical for academia to be working so closely with the U.S. military and intelligence community has been going on for decades. But, in a way, it seems closer to beginning rather than ending. Whether this project is "about science in the service of the state and science in the service of elites," as Smith contends, or about using participatory mapping to empower indigenous communities to protect their land and cultural rights, as Herlihy and the projects' other supporters argue, an answer probably won't be fleshed out any time soon.
Grossman said that dealing with research controversies and the ethical questions raised in cases such as this one could be a way for geography to overcome its colonial and imperial past. Indigenous peoples have been waiting over 500 years for the world to overcome its colonial and imperial past. What's uncertain is whether these indigenous communities in Oaxaca can afford to wait a few more.
Grossman essentially agrees with Smith. He believes that the FMSO is interested in the research, if not "officially" for its Human Terrain System program, then to better understand the social and cultural human landscape of the region's research.
But México Indígena's Helihy passionately defended his project and intentions. "This is not an evil military plot to destroy indigenous lands. It's nothing of the sort," said Herlihy. "I knew it would be conflictive precisely because we had FMSO funding, but I hoped it would be a project that would make a difference in the world."
In addition, he stated, "We told the Tiltepec community Assembly, where UNOSJO Director presented the first public denouncement, that we would take down the maps if they wanted us too, and we would do the same for any other study community." Likewise, Dobson notes that one thing he insisted on with the FMSO was that the academic investigator in charge of any of the projects would have sole responsibility for choosing the topic of his or her expedition, which he believes quells any notion that this is a military-run research program.
Grossman said that dealing with research controversies and the ethical questions raised in cases such as this one could be a way for geography to overcome its colonial and imperial past. Indigenous peoples have been waiting over 500 years for the world to overcome its colonial and imperial past. What's uncertain is whether these indigenous communities in Oaxaca can afford to wait a few more.
Cyril Mychalejko is an editor at www.UpsideDownWorld.org, an online magazine covering politics and activism in Latin America. Ramor Ryan contributed to this article from Oaxaca. He is an Irish journalist based in Chiapas, Mexico who wrote Clandestines: the Pirate Journals of an Irish Exile (AK Press, 2006).
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