Previously Uncontacted Tribe Photographed for First Time Near Brazil-Peru Border
Just like in Peter Matthiessen’s classic book At Play in the Fields of the Lord, the gut reaction of several tribal members living in a remote area of the Amazon Rainforest was to shoot arrows at what was most likely the first plane they had ever seen passing by. You can see this yourself in one of the amazing photographs taken recently by the Brazilian government’s office of Indian Affairs.
They made the flight and took the photographs to convince non-believers that this tribe, and others, still do exist in remote areas of South America and other parts of the world. This tribe’s way of life is threatened by logging in Peru as well as by the general encroachment of us upon their world. Why should you care? For starters, all peoples and cultures have inherent value and also have the right to exist in the manner they choose, as long as they do others no harm. In addition to the tribe’s well-being and continued ability to exist (in perhaps self-desired isolation), it is unquestionable that they possess an incalculable amount of knowledge about the plants and animals in the rainforest, and that there culture might hold lessons for all of us as to how to live more in harmony with nature.
According to Survival International, an organization that advocates for the protection of tribes worldwide, “there are more than one hundred uncontacted tribes worldwide, with more than half living in either Brazil or Peru. All are in grave danger of being forced off their land, killed and decimated by new diseases.” For more information on how to support the protection of tribes around the world, click the link above.
Other Sources for this Article:
“Incredible pictures of one of Earth’s last contacted tribes firing bows and arrows”
Photo Credit:
Chany14 on Flickr under a Creative Commons license (Note: photo is not of uncontacted tribe)
Should a catastrophic collapse of society as we know it occur, these remote tribes are among the handful of people left who could teach us how to be individually self-sufficient. We could learn much from them about how to survive without having to depend on a global economy.
I find it unfathomable that the people of this “uncontacted’ tribe have never heard of an iPhone.
There seems to be conflicting information as to whether this is a “recently contacted” or still an “uncontacted” tribe. I am assuming that the photograph at the top of this article is member of another formally contacted tribe…? It somehow does not come off as people who had been pointing bows & arrows at the overhead a few moments earlier.
The whole concept of “contacted” and “uncontacted” is biased to the point of being meaningless, in any case. Contact with whom (and from whose perspective)? As long as those labelled as “uncontacted” have any form of contact with other tribes, they would be very much aware of the “modern” society. It is extremely difficult to believe that they were totally unaware prior to the fly-over photography session. The very reaction of defensiveness or defiance shown in some of the aerial photos almost proves that they are VERY aware of us.
The socalled uncontactable tribes must be preserved by the countries they come from. If they fail to do so, then, I must say the UN must play an active part. They are NOT to be destroued by loggers.
I bet they don’t care about $4.00 gas prices…they all have a good tan to…
I think we “civilized” world can learn a thing or two from them. Did you see the abs and arms on the old guys. These guys are in better shape then more than half our US teenage population. All jokes aside, we should indeed continue to perserve such beautiful culture and respect their society.
Amen, Ryan!!
Quick, send missionaries!!!
I think they should be introduced to the joys of modern living not isolated from it.
superchicken, don’t think they are not happy and joyful of the way they’re living right now. i dont think they dont need the modern.. whatever!!