It just came to my attention that the instructor of an ethnobotany-adjacent course I took last year may have committed identify fraud, and that my favorite class was a con. This was not publicly addressed by their employer, and the surrounding Native communities are now trying to mitigate the damages caused by the fiasco.

For my final grade, I had the choice of writing a recipe book based on our (fraudulent) lessons. I poured my heart and soul into this book, and quoted some of the (flanderized) "philosophy" covered in class, being under the impression this was the expectation. Reading it over now is kind of paniful.

Problem is, this was never meant to be more than a final project, yet word about my booklet has apparently gotten out. The instructor asked for a personal copy; thinking little of it, I sent one. I don't know what's become of the project I would've otherwise forgotten about. My former instructor may be using it as a guide to Native American food, even though the book itself never claims to be such.

I got chumped. People I know and people I don't may be paying the price for my naïveity. I don't want to be some charlatan's tool any longer, nor do I want to make a scene and further complicate things for the communities most affected. How can I prevent doing any more unwitting damage?