The Fierce People, made the rain forest dwellers famous examples of primitives leading nasty, brutish, short lives. It plans to meet in November to examine the book's conclusions. Through representatives, Tierney first agreed, then declined to be interviewed about the piece. The New Yorker article says Chagnon took the same tack when he was asked for an interview. The disputed measles vaccination program was led by late University of Michigan geneticist James Neel.
Some facts seem clear in the dispute.
Both Neel and Chagnon, hearing of measles among Brazilian Yanomami, participated in a vaccination program in 1968 that coincided with a measles outbreak among Venezuelan members of the tribe. What caused the disease, which killed perhaps hundreds of natives, is the crux of the disagreement. Vaccines like the one used by Neel contain a live, weakened version of a virus. They give people immunity by, in effect, training the system to respond to a defanged version of an illness. The Edmonston B vaccine used by Neel was common in the USA until the 1970s.