The NGO Survival has found several uncontacted tribes in South America. What means “uncontacted”? People who haven’t had any contact with the dominant society.
About 100 uncontacted tribes are believed to exist worldwide. They live in remote, resource-rich areas, and they are threatened by invasive development.
One of them is formed by Indians living in Brazil near the Peruvian border, at the mouth of the Envira river. Last January 31st, The Indian National Fundation of Brazil took some aereal pictures from an airplane that show surprised aboriginal with machetes, spears and arrows.
The pictures reveal a healthy community that lives in a similar way to other Amazon Indians. They have vegetable gardens for fruit, potatos, peanuts, papaya, pumpkin and bananas. They hunt too; probably the men catch deer, monkeys and wild pigs. They use baskets to store vegetables and carry meat and probably fish, however, no canoes have been seen.
As many South America tribes, they use red body paint known as ucurum, made with annatto shurb seeds as decoration and for other religious reasons.
Oil workers and illegal loggers are invading the lands of uncontacted tribes in Peru, creating a big risk for these communities, as they may introduce infectious diseases and because they are responsible for the rainforest disappearing. So, this area is now in real risk and this tribe needs its territory protected.
Today, Thrusday February 3rd, some aspects of this tribe will be shown on the BBC channel (8pm, UK only) in Jungle, an episode of Human Planet.
Tags: amazonas, brazil, peru, southamerica
