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NOTES 1 The Heads of State present at the summit were: the host, President Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil and the Heads of State of Argentina, Fernando de la RuÂ a; Bolivia, Hugo BaÂ nzer SuaÂ rez; Chile, Ricardo Lagos Escobar; Colombia, AndreÂ s Pastrana Arango; Ecuador, Gustavo Noboa; Guyana, Bharrat Jagdeo; Paraguay, Luis Angel GonzaÂ lez Macchi; Peru, Alberto Fujimori; Suriname, Runaldo Ronald Venetiaan; Uruguay, Jorge Batlle IbanÄ ez; and Venezuela, Hugo ChaÂ vez. In addition Mexico, a North American country, had observer status at the summit. Various international institutions and organizations such as the IDB (Inter-American Development Bank), ALADI (Latin American Integration Association), SELA (Latin American Economic System), CEPAL (Economic Commission for Latin America) and Parlatino (Latin American Parliament) also attended as observers. 2 French Guyana, albeit geographically in South America, did not take part, as it is a province of France and not an independent country. 3 Based on the document `The First South American Heads of State Summit ended today, September 1st, in BrasõÂ lia' published on the web by the Brazilian Embassy in Washington DC. See: http://www.brasilemb.org/policy/summit2000/final_1.htm. REFERENCES Barbosa, Rubens. 2000. Address on `South American Heads of State Summit' Washington: National Press Club, 1st September. Cardoso, Fernando Henrique. 2000. `Brazil and a New South America' (published in Portuguese) Valor 30 August. CIA World Fact Book 2000. GarcõÂ a, Enrique. 2000. Ùm Marco HistoÂ rico' Correio Braziliense 30 August. Latin American Weekly Report 2000 `BrasõÂ lia summit under-performs' WR-00-35, 5 September, p. 414. O Estado de SaÄo Paulo 2000, Editorial, 29 August. Rohter, Larry. 2000. `Brazil Begins to Take on the World Stage' The New York Times 30 August. Veja 2000. Ò Brasil diz naÄ o' ano 33, n8 36 pp 42±49. 66 ISSN 0256±6060±Unisa Lat. Am. Rep. 16(2) 2000
The current YanomamoÈ scandal: Neel, Chagnon et al by Chris van Vuuren Senior Lecturer Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, Unisa Chris van Vuuren American anthropologist Napoleon Chagnon (YanomamoÈ: The fierce people 1968, `77, `83, `92, `97) has been the target of academic criticism (starting in 1979) which culminated in a number of discourses and debates (see Van Vuuren in Unisa Latin American Report 10(2) 1994). To summarize these: he was accused by anthropologists such as Da Cunha and Ramos of portraying the YanomamoÈ of Venezuela and Brazil as `fierce' and `war-like' which, it was argued, provided governments and garimpeiros with an excuse to wilfully attack and terminate these tribal communities. Secondly, he was accused of advocating neo-Darwinist `survival of the fittest' theories with reference to the so-called sexual rewards for revengeand-kill warriors (so-called unokais) Now, even worse, he is implicated in a major scandal which might cause anthropology and the American Anthropological Association (AAA), in particular, long term damage. An investigative journalist named Patrick Tierney is publishing a book (sometime in October 2000) `Darkness in El Dorado' in which he claims that Chagnon, Tim Asch (the visual anthropologist who made Chagnon's YanomamoÈ films (`The Axe Fight' and others) and geneticist Dr James Neel have conducted medical experiments under the YanamamoÈ for close to 35 years. Among other gross human rights violations Neel is said to have injected YanamamoÈ with radioactive iodine isotopes and might also have been the cause of the measles epidemic in 1968 which saw hundreds or even thousands of YanomamoÈ perishing. He alleges that Neel injected the YanomamoÈ with a virulent vaccine called Edmonson B which caused or worsened the epidemic. Neel's experiments carried the support of the US Atomic Energy Commission. Neel worked at the Center for Human Genetics at Ann Arbor (Michigan University) at the time. Intrigued by the notion of ìnnate leadership' and reproductive success as Chagnon coined it, Neel believed that the isolated Amazonian YanamamoÈ population would serve as the ideal springboard for his experiments and theory. Tierney alleges that Chagnon and Neel worked closely together. He also alleges that Chagnon's obsession with Hobbesian human savagery spurred him on to invite Asch to film a YanamamoÈ axe fight which the former enacted, thus adding to the `fierce' image portrayal. In fact, it is alleged that Chagnon's staging of aggression aggravated warfare indirectly in the region. Tierney also refers to Chagnon's sexual abuse of YanomamoÈ women as well as French anthropologist Jacques Lizot's `harem of Yanomami boys that he keeps, and showers with presents in exchange for sexual favours'. Since the initial response to Tierney's manuscript by Terry Turner and Leslie Sonsel of the AAA, and on which the above summary is based, many other responses emerged from around the globe, some in defence of Neel, Asch and Chagnon. Chagnon himself ISSN 0256±6060±Unisa Lat. Am. Rep. 16(2) 2000 67
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VOLUME 16 NO 2 2000 UNISA CENTRE FO
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UNISA CENTRE FOR LATIN AMERICAN STU
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Editorial The wide range of interes
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ABSTRACT In an attempt to identify
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final military liberation in 1819)
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enrichment. Solving the resource ca
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ample resources in many sectors, en
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Spanish rule in Nuevo Reino de Gran
Page 17 and 18: syndicates exploit to the maximum t
Page 19 and 20: then, seriously considered compromi
Page 21 and 22: and Colombia with a reason to bypas
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Page 25 and 26: FIGURE 2 Development diamond Source
Page 27 and 28: particularly in the case of Colombi
Page 29 and 30: survival by capturing, controlling
Page 31 and 32: `capture', control and financial ex
Page 33 and 34: mercenary `security' companies and
Page 35 and 36: Mail and Guardian, (1999). Àngola'
Page 37 and 38: The cultural formation of Brazil an
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Page 41 and 42: the twentieth century many ruptures
Page 43 and 44: NOTES 1 For an excellent history of
Page 45 and 46: ABSTRACT Undertaking a research pro
Page 47 and 48: shaman's way of life, coupled with
Page 49 and 50: sclerops) and the otter (Ptenorura
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Page 53 and 54: others (Wolf 1991:58; Sharon 1978:3
Page 55 and 56: apprenticeship from evil spirits an
Page 57 and 58: explore both this world and other p
Page 59 and 60: spiritual support. Although the hea
Page 61 and 62: Academic freedom in Brazil by Pedro
Page 63 and 64: during military rule against schola
Page 65 and 66: President Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Page 67: Guyana Guyana dedicated a cover sto
Page 71 and 72: UCLAS Reports Cultural studies high
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Page 77 and 78: International donors meet in Teguci
Page 79 and 80: Soccer meets economics * PeleÂ and
Page 81 and 82: UCLAS news in brief LATIN AMERICA A
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Page 87 and 88: also visited the Dean of the Facult
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Page 91 and 92: who puts his `plata' in his pocket
Page 93 and 94: In order to receive Unisa Latin Ame
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