Indigenous Studies Working Group Statement

Abstract

In 2018, the authors were invited to share their perspectives as Indigenous studies scholars to the work of Breakthrough Listen, an organization affiliated with both the Berkeley SETI Research Center (BSRC) and the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). This collectively authored statement highlights some of the ethical concerns these authors perceived regarding the history colonialism and the expectations to find “advanced” or “intelligent” extraterrestrial life. A prologue contextualizes the short working group statement and we then provide the unedited original statement in its entirety.

SETI in 2021

“…BL posed the question: "what would you most want SETI scientists to know about potentially making contact?" Atalay et al (2021) presented the Indigenous Studies Working Group Statement in response to BL's question, recommending the creation of a Mission Statement to clearly answer ethical questions about why to search, whether the search can be harmful, whether ET life can refuse contact, and to acknowledge the non-objective nature of terms used in the field (e.g. "intelligent," "advanced," and even "life").…”