This workshop, funded by the Science and Society Program, will involve a small group of experts able to inventory and critically reflect upon the new forms of governing research that have emerged as administrators of genomic research seek to forge relations with tribes. The workshop will focus on two over-arching themes: property and sovereignty. These substantive issues will provide a practical context in which to consider the workshops broader concerns with issues of representation, and governance of genomic research. The last decade witnessed significant institutional changes in the governance of human population genomics. Following the controversies surrounding the Human Genome Diversity Project, many policy makers and scientists recognized that if genomic ideas and practices might impinge upon the capability of people to define themselves in ways that are politically, socially and culturally important, then those people should have a say in whether and how that research moves forward. This change is particularly evident in the recent history of interactions between genomics researchers and tribes. As ""domestic, dependent nations"" in a trust relationship with the United States government, tribes enjoy special rights?in particular, the right to determine their membership. Genome scientists and policy makers' recognize that these rights must be recognized, but considerable uncertainty surrounds efforts to work out what this means in practice. Although scientists and policy makers alike often express a commendable desire to address the specific issues raised by tribal sovereignty, a thorough analysis of the issues at stake has yet to take place. A workshop proceedings, the formation of a research agenda, and a policy ""white paper"" will be the products. The workshop proceedings will be a multi-authored work that takes account of indigenous values surrounding knowledge production, namely concerns about privacy, authorship, and control in setting research agendas. This methodology is both consistent with emerging work on ""indigenous methods,"" and develops it in a North American context by directing attention to overarching policy concerns informed by the existing domestic structure of law and policy. The intellectual merit of the workshop lies in forging intellectual ties between science and technology studies and indigenous and native studies. Forging these links promises new insights into the possible meanings and forms democratic governance of research might take in colonial and post-colonial contexts. The project's broader impacts will include contributions to science and to policy. A greater understanding of the conceptual and practical problems that underlie efforts to govern genomic research in a manner that respects tribal sovereignty rights has the potential to influence research design, and to strengthen the roles tribes can play in directing this research for positive ends.
