Anthropologists face daily ethical decisions, in which they must balance the often competing interests of their obligations and the demands placed on them. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines ethical behavior as “consistent with accepted standards of conduct.” For anthropologists, the ethical risks they face in the field are defined by their ethical obligations. This article will discuss, in a limited scope, both the ethical risks of fieldwork and the obligations of an anthropologist. In order to understand the ethical risks that exist in anthropological fieldwork, one must first understand the ethical obligations. Various organizations dictate anthropological standards of professional conduct. According to Miller et al. “Canadian anthropologists face new ethical demands since they must now comply with the ethical policies of interdisciplinary research agencies, in addition to respecting academic and anthropological standards” (p. 55). However, these are not the only demands anthropologists face in their work. They must also comply with requirements imposed by research funders, research participants, both individually and in groups, as well as governments, tribal leaders and band councils. The American Anthropological Association (AAA) has created guidelines with the aim of helping anthropologists negotiate the demands of competing interests they face. The AAA, in its Statement of Ethics, listed seven principles of professional responsibility, the first of which, or “the primary ethical obligation shared by all anthropologists, is to do no harm” (p. 4). The other six principles listed in the AAA Ethics Statement are: 2) Be open and honest about your work (p.5), 3) Obtain information...... middle of paper ... ...the obligation and risk for anthropologists. Every day, anthropologists face ethical decisions, in which they must balance competing interests with the demands placed on them in order to choose the action or inaction that results in the least harm, or no harm. Works Cited American Anthropological Association. 2012. Ethics Statement: Principles of Professional Responsibilities. Arlington, Virginia: American Anthropological Association. Retrieved from: http://www.aaanet.org/profdev/ethics/upload/Statement-on-Ethics-Principles-of-Professional-Responsibility.pdfMerriam-Webster Dictionary. 2014. Retrieved from: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethical Miller, Barbara D., Penny Van Esterik and John Van Esterik. 2010. Cultural anthropology, 4th Canadian edition. Toronto: Pearson Education Canada Inc...