Get To Know A Scientist: Krystal Tsosie

I find it interesting that many geneticists are very focused on the fact that Native Americans are more at risk of type 2 diabetes at just being related to its genetics when having more of a risk of this condition applies to anyone who is a person of color due to discrimination issues. Why aren’t there any attention focused on Native Americans about why they are more at risk of type 2 diabetes aside from just their genetics? It seems like there are obviously more non-genetic factors that have caused this type of risk for them. Krystal Tsosie stated that “genetics has a unique risk in that it doesn’t just biologically identify one of us but everyone that we are related to” (Bartram) and I question how does it have its own unique risk, is our DNA really that similar to those we are related to that there are issues of someone unable to make their own decision about their DNA since it involves others? Scientists asked indigenous people of their blood and it was unclear how the community consented when there could have been language barriers which could have later on caused trust issues between indigenous people and scientists since they don’t know what their blood samples are being used for.

Tsosie has stated that “direct-to-consumer genetic testing companies are promising an interchangeability of ancestral and personal identity that is problematic” in which I think about many people being curious about their ancestral simply because perhaps we all know that we are composed of many combined DNA within us and we may want to know what other races we are related to. I did not know that DNA involves more risk than I had initially thought since it could involve making discrimination for Native Americans worse if most people identified themselves as Native American according to their ancestry DNA even though it may be a very small percentage. 

Citations:
Bartram, Isabelle, and Kena Stüwe. “‘Genetics Has a Unique Risk.’” Gen, 26 Aug. 2022, www.gen-ethisches-netzwerk.de/august-2022/genetics-has-unique-risk.

“Our DNA Is Not Our Identity | Krystal Tsosie | Tedxvanderbiltuniversity.” YouTube, YouTube, 2 Jan. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkXWjvzjHt8.