Final answer:
A cultural consultant is a community member that assists anthropologists by providing insight into community issues and cultural practices to ensure ethical and collaborative research. They are integral to applied anthropology and collaborative ethnography, which value community input and aim to produce research that benefits Indigenous groups and addresses important issues.
Step-by-step explanation:
The community member who advises the anthropologist on community issues, provides feedback, and warns against cultural miscues is often referred to as a cultural consultant. These individuals play a pivotal role in collaborative anthropology, a field that has evolved in response to criticisms from Indigenous scholars and now emphasizes ethical research practices and community involvement. Cultural consultants, alongside the anthropologists, help to ensure that the community's needs and perspectives are accurately represented and that the research conducted is beneficial to the community. Contemporary anthropological research often involves community members as collaborators in the entire research process, from planning to publication, and respects their input, perspectives, and cultural knowledge.
Applied anthropology addresses critiques by focusing on practical applications of anthropological research to solve contemporary problems with substantial participation and direction from the Indigenous communities themselves. Collaborative ethnography serves as a tool to cultivate mutual understanding and cooperation across cultural boundaries and includes methods such as conducting focus groups, community forums, and co-authorship with local community members to achieve shared goals and apply research findings for the benefit of those studied.