First, I agree that anthropology has been, and to some extent still is, a
good deal paternalistic and insensitive towards the peoples they deal(t)
with. The general assumption was that these cultures were dying, and we
had to write down their ways before it was too late. There really wasn't
much thought of keeping them alive, just preserving them in nice glass
jars.
However, there is an ongoing process of replacing this with the view that
the peoples of these culture are equals whose rights and wishes _must_ be
respected. It would be foolish (and stupid) for an anthropologist to tell
a people that they're doing their own ceremonies wrong, as has happened at
times.
Second, I also agree that working on land cases is "not part of [our]
anthropology." For it to be so would continue paternalism. It is,
however, the right thing to do, not in our role of 'anthropologist'
but our role of 'human'.
Pat Crowe, SUNY at Buffalo