I think the clumsily forcing children to relive their trauma in an unwelcoming environment with strangers without any preparation for how that might go wrong is the part that seems the most harmful.
Regardless though, any time a scientific study is being performed on an at risk population there are a set of safeguards and guardrails that need to be put in place to ensure safety and ethics. Children of First Nations families who have experienced trauma are one of the most vulnerable groups I can possibly think of, who don’t have the same ability to advocate for themselves or the same safety nets as others.
You’re correct that this seems to have done less harm than many of the egregious examples of experiments or acts done to native peoples on colonized land, but the fact is that in the 21st century every group, regulatory body, ethics review board, and government agency that was involved in this seemed to shrug and leave these kids in the hands of a lunatic who thought he could teach them to fly or talk to angels by altering brainwaves
Sure it could have been worse and this doctor could have caused more harm than he did, but honestly the fact that he was given the access, funding, and opportunities he was is a resounding indictment of the system as a whole regardless of what he did with them
I was wondering about this situation, thanks for posting an update. I think the podcast did a great job of explaining the complexity of the issue while making sure to leave passing judgement or picking a side to the tribal leaders and stewards of the language