ABSTRACT
The idea of a cultural impact statement is to insure the proper consideration of peoples and cultures in development planning aid other types of environmental modification and social intervention. The intellectual and research traditions of the social sciences must be adapted to these situations and their exigencies before they can became "use knowledge." Conversely, environmental impact statement (EIS) preparation as currently practiced is seriously deficient in cultural perspective and historical depth. "Cultural pollution" of indigenous peoples, typically resulting in their displacement and destruction, has been an accustomed and, an accepted part of our own development experience. Special concerns for archaeological and historic preservation have been accredited in separate bodies of legislation and proclamation; these too enter to balance the cultural equation. The most serious indictment of the EIS process to date however is its alleged ineffectiveness in addressing the concerns of potentially impacted communities.
