At risk of extinction from disease and land loss
In the depths of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil live tribes who have no contact with the outside world.
Illegal loggers and cattle ranchers are invading their land and bringing disease. They won’t survive unless this stops.
Some uncontacted tribes are tragically down to their very last members. Here are some of the most threatened.
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| The 'Man of the Hole's' house and garden where he grows manioc and other vegetables. © J.Pessoa |
It is believed that this lone man is the last survivor of his people, who were probably massacred by cattle ranchers occupying the region of Tanaru in Rondônia state.
He lives on his own and is constantly on the run.
We do not know his name, what tribe he belongs to or what language he speaks.
He is sometimes known only as ‘the Man of the Hole’ because of the big holes he digs either to trap animals or to hide in.
He totally rejects any type of contact.
FUNAI has set aside a small patch of rainforest for his protection. This is entirely surrounded by cattle ranchers.
In late 2009, the man was viciously targeted by gunmen. In the past, many ranchers have used gunmen to kill uncontacted Indians in Rondônia.
We do not know what these people call themselves, but their neighbours, the Gavião Indians, call them the Piripkura, or the ‘butterfly people’, describing the way that they constantly move through the forests. They speak Tupi-Kawahib, a language family shared by several tribes in Brazil.
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| Piripkura man sleeps. © Jair Candor |
The Piripkura numbered around 20 people when FUNAI first contacted them in the late 1980s. After contact they returned to the forest. Since then, contact has been re-established with three members of the tribe.
In 1998 two Piripkura men, Mande-í and Tucan, walked out of the forest of their own accord. One of them was ill and was hospitalised.
During the short time he spent in hospital he talked about how in the recent past his people were more numerous and described how they had been massacred by white people, and how he and his sole companion moved through the forest hunting, fishing and gathering.
We do not know whether there are any other Piripkura survivors. But Mande-í and Tucan are in great danger as their land is constantly invaded by illegal loggers who are blocking their forest trails to prevent them from hunting.
FUNAI has signed a temporary order forbidding anyone to enter the Piripkura’s land without permission and banning all economic activities there. But unless the government takes urgent action to map out and sign their land into law now, the last known Piripkura survivors may disappear for ever.
Little is known about this tribe but they are believed to belong to the Kawahiva group. FUNAI estimated they numbered about 50 some years ago but nowadays they may be even fewer.
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| A hastily-abandoned house of uncontacted Indians, Rio Pardo, Brazil. © Survival |
It is believed they stopped having children because they are constantly fleeing loggers and other intruders.
As they are always on the move, they cannot cultivate and must rely solely on hunting and fishing.
Their land has not yet been protected and therefore their survival as a people is at great risk. Their forests are constantly being invaded by loggers many of whom operate out of Colniza, one of Brazil’s most violent frontier towns in one of the most deforested regions in the Amazon.
In an unexpected move, a federal prosecutor has launched an investigation into the genocide of these Kawahiva. According to the UN, the crime of genocide is ‘deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part’.
Evidence suggests that loggers are deliberately targeting them forcing them to abandon their houses and keep on the run.
On the border of Brazil and Peru, the Javari valley is home to seven contacted peoples and about seven uncontacted Indian groups, one of the largest concentrations of isolated peoples in Brazil.
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| Korubo womand and child of the Javari Valley around the time of first contact. © Erling Soderstrom |
One group, the Korubo are known in the area as ‘caceteiros’ or ‘clubmen’ because of the large clubs they use to protect themselves.
In 1996 FUNAI made contact with a group of 30 Korubo who had split off from the main group, which remains uncontacted and repeatedly avoids contact with surrounding groups.
Lethal diseases caught from outsiders are affecting contacted groups in the territory and there are fears these could be transmitted to uncontacted groups with tragic consequences.
Your support is vital if the Uncontacted Indians of Brazil are to survive. There are many ways you can help.
