Others have proceeded with less engagement.

The field is still developing the norms for what constitutes ethically adequate research in this context, and those norms are likely to continue to evolve as Indigenous communities become more effectively organized to advocate for their interests in how their ancestral heritage is studied.

The specific question of how the Population Y findings should be communicated to Indigenous communities — particularly to communities in South America whose ancestors may be the subject of the research — is one that researchers have addressed imperfectly.

Findings that are potentially misrepresented in headlines as suggesting that South American Indigenous people’s ancestors were Australians or that the Native American identity of early South Americans is in question can cause real harm to communities that are already navigating complex relationships with both the scientific establishment and with political systems that have historically used uncertainty about Indigenous ancestry to undermine land rights and cultural claims.