This is Scientific American's 60 Second Science.

I'm Christine Herman.

Got a minute?

Some scientists want to use the DNA of indigenous people to reconstruct the human migration story. That's the history of how people

spread from Africa to everywhere. But many in the indigenous community who've

contributed their DNA for science feel that these types of studies are

exploitative and say they don't like being left out of the conversation.

There's a long history about anthropologists and scientists going to indigenous communities

getting what they need leaving and ever coming back.

University of Illinois Anthropologist Ripon Molly. I learned early on that that was the norm in science and anthropology up until recently.

To help change that system in 2011, Molly launched a program that provides hands-on genomics training to Native American

and other indigenous scientists and lay people.

It's called Singh, Summer Internship for Indigenous People in Genomics.

We discuss all week about genomics and how it can be used as a tool and how it may fit or not fit with

indigenous ideas and knowledge and we have discussions on how to decolonize science.

And then we do a large number of discussions about ethical, legal, and social implications.

This year's Singh Workshop wrapped up earlier this month.

Crystal Sossi is a Navajo geneticist and one of the organizers.

Singh has been influential in training the next generation of indigenous scientists so that we can ensure that

science is done by us, for us, and truly benefits us.

Soi says she's the only indigenous PhD student in science at Vanderbilt, and the Singh Workshop has helped

her feel less isolated.

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