TalkBank

Indigenous Languages

The sharing of data from the languages spoken by indigenous peoples lies very much outside of the framework of the Western IRB approach. For indigenous groups, approval for data-sharing must typically be granted as a communal act of the entire community. In many cases, there has been a history of conflict between the group and the outside world. One consequence of this conflict has been the emergence of a lack of respect for the values and principles of indigenous groups. In principle, TalkBank can work to counter this lack of respect by profiling these groups and allowing the outside world to understand their values and strengths. It can also provide these groups with a forum for expressing their unique cultural voice. However, this forum should only be used with the complete cooperation and mutual involvement of the indigenous group and all of its leadership. If there is a split in the leadership of the group that impacts the issue of data-sharing, TalkBank should not archive data until this split is healed.