ABSTRACT
Health research in Aboriginal communities is a relatively recent phenomenon. The political circumstances created by this emergence of a new form of colonial relations enabled the development of an Aboriginal community infrastructure. Community controlled Aboriginal health services were created as Aboriginal communities successfully exploited new possibilities in collective life. The tension of reconciling the differences over what constitutes good science and what the community to be studied believes is acceptable is inherent in all research projects which deal with human populations. The ethics of exploitation are primarily concerned with the relations between the researcher and community. The subject which is of interest to researchers from their position within the academy is not necessarily of benefit to a service delivery agency within the Aboriginal community. Research outcomes may promote action within a number of social realms, such as the bureaucracy or the Aboriginal community.
