The Unconquered
Scott Wallace, a journalist who has long covered the Amazon and indigenous rights, has just published a book, The Unconquered: In Search of the Amazon’s Last Uncontacted Tribes.The book weaves the story of an expedition Scott accompanied into the Javari Valley, in Brazil’s Western Amazon, with the tragic history of contact of indigenous peoples in the Amazon. It’s a good read, and speaks to issues close to our hearts here at the Rainforest Foundation.
The idea that dozens of peoples remain uncontacted – out of reach to outside society – in the Amazon and elsewhere, is a fascinating one, particularly in this age of increased globalization and instant communication. In January of this year, the BBC released photos of an uncontacted group on the border of Peru and Brazil, which sparked worldwide interest. But the stories behind what has driven these groups to remain uncontacted – or better, to resist contact – are dark. In most cases, the limited contact that these groups have had over time has been violent: either outright confrontations or deaths caused by diseases brought by outsiders. In the case of the flecheiros (or “Arrow People”) at the center of Scott’s book, contact with rubber barons some fifty years ago caused them to run and avoid contact. On the border of Peru and Brazil, uncontacted groups have been chased off their lands by loggers and drug traffickers .In the Northern Brazilian Amazon, the Hutukara Yanomami Association has identified communities who fled a gold rush in the 1980’s, only to run the risk of being contacted by the latest wave of gold prospectors now (click for a Google translation).
The premise that underlies the Brazilian government expedition to the Javari Valley is that uncontacted peoples should remain so, at least until they decide to make contact, and that their lands should be protected. The demarcation of indigenous territories – like the Javari Valley and the Yanomami Area in Brazil and a few in Peru specifically set up to protect uncontacted groups – is critical. Protecting these areas from invasion by loggers, miners, ranchers, and others is also essential, and unfortunately is no easy task, even with the best intentions. The Rainforest Foundation has supported dozens of indigenous peoples in the demarcation and defense of their lands. We believe it’s critical to support indigenous organizations themselves in defending their lands and resources, and defining their future.