"unless the group is gone forever" But this does happen. Not necessarily that all the relatives or friends of the original group DIE, but that the language, or cultural norms, or what have you, don't get passed on. And, at the very least, descendants are generally voracious for knowledge about what came before them.
As to whether it's a tragedy--I feel that it's complicated. You're absolutely right that it's the group's decision to make. (A favorite story of mine deals with this--Elgin's We Have Always Spoken Panglish.) But I do think we need every bit of knowledge about ourselves and our world and history that we can get. Knowing the past can prevent terrible mistakes from re-occuring (though it rarely does); it can give people the sense that they're not the first to do this, and that they're not alone. So my opinion is, in situations where one is not part of a minority group being observed, one should do everything in one's power to help the group feel able to share their experiences/traditions/etc. Sometimes it just won't be safe for them to. But if attention is paid to *why* a group doesn't want to be interviewed or observed, then perhaps the obstacles can be removed.
no subject
But this does happen. Not necessarily that all the relatives or friends of the original group DIE, but that the language, or cultural norms, or what have you, don't get passed on. And, at the very least, descendants are generally voracious for knowledge about what came before them.
As to whether it's a tragedy--I feel that it's complicated. You're absolutely right that it's the group's decision to make. (A favorite story of mine deals with this--Elgin's We Have Always Spoken Panglish.) But I do think we need every bit of knowledge about ourselves and our world and history that we can get. Knowing the past can prevent terrible mistakes from re-occuring (though it rarely does); it can give people the sense that they're not the first to do this, and that they're not alone. So my opinion is, in situations where one is not part of a minority group being observed, one should do everything in one's power to help the group feel able to share their experiences/traditions/etc. Sometimes it just won't be safe for them to. But if attention is paid to *why* a group doesn't want to be interviewed or observed, then perhaps the obstacles can be removed.