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Overvaluing individual consent ignores risks to tribal participants

Genomic studies often rely on individual-based consent approaches for tribal members residing outside of their communities. This consent model fails to acknowledge the risks to small groups such as tribes, which can implicate the community as a whole.

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The authors contributed equally to all aspects of this manuscript.

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Correspondence to Krystal S. Tsosie.

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Competing interests

K.S.T. and J.M.Y. serve as voluntary board members of a non-profit 501(c)3 Indigenous biobank initiative in the United States. D.D. declares no competing interests.

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Tsosie, K.S., Yracheta, J.M. & Dickenson, D. Overvaluing individual consent ignores risks to tribal participants. Nat Rev Genet 20, 497–498 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41576-019-0161-z

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