Surprising images taken by automated cameras in the Brazilian rainforest reveal an isolated community that appears to be thriving despite pressure from ranchers and illegal encroachment into the Amazon.
The photos of the group of men offer a first glimpse into this community and provide the outside world with further evidence of a growing population. The group is known as the Massaco, after the river that runs through their land, but no one knows what they call themselves, and their language, social structure, and beliefs remain a mystery. is.
Despite constant pressure from agribusinesses, loggers, miners and drug traffickers, Massaco’s population has declined since the early 1990s, according to Brazil’s National Indigenous Foundation, which has been active for decades. The number has at least doubled, to an estimated 200 to 250 people. to protect territory. Mr. Funai installed the camera in a place where he regularly leaves metal tools as gifts. This is a practice used to discourage uncontacted people from venturing into farms and logging camps to obtain tools, and has had tragic consequences in the past. Photos of the Masako village had previously been taken during a Funai expedition to an area confirmed to be abandoned by satellite images.
Through these indirect observations over the years, the Massaco people were known to hunt with bows 3 meters long and to move seasonally from village to village within the forest. They deter outsiders by planting thousands of foot and tire-piercing spikes in the ground.
“If you look at the detailed photos, you can see the similarities with the Siriono people who live on the other side of the Guaporé River in Bolivia,” said Altaïr Algayer, who has worked in Funai’s government for more than 30 years. Defend Masako’s territory. “But we still can’t say who they are. There’s still a lot of mystery.”
Despite the demographic catastrophe of indigenous peoples caused by centuries of non-indigenous occupation and worsening environmental degradation, population growth among isolated peoples tends to be seen across the Amazon . In 2023, the scientific journal Nature revealed that the population is increasing along Brazil’s borders with Peru and Venezuela. Satellite images showed larger cultivated areas and expanded longhouses.
Experts also found evidence of similar forest growth among nomadic communities that don’t plant crops or build large structures visible from space. One such group is the Pardo Kawahiba in the state of Mato Grosso, whose prefecture is overseen by Jair Candor. “We estimate we have 35 to 40 people today. In 1999, when we started here, we had about 20 people,” Kander said.
This effort to counter the global trend of culture loss and language extinction was accomplished through an innovative public policy of not initiating contact. The policy was pioneered by Brazil in 1987 after decades of government-sponsored contacts that killed more than 90% of those contacted. disease. Since then, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia have adopted versions of this approach.
According to the draft report of the International Working Group on Indigenous Peoples in Isolation and Initial Contact, 61 groups have been confirmed to live in the Amazon and Gran Chaco regions, of which 128 groups have not yet been identified by authorities. It is reported that there is no. The report’s author, Antenor Vaz, was one of the first to introduce contactless in Massaco in 1988. He said Brazil is good at developing best practices in this area, but there are no laws that specifically protect isolated people.
“Peru and Colombia have strong laws,” Vaz said. “In Brazil and other parts of the continent, agribusiness forces and other predatory forces control the laws and rights of indigenous peoples.”
Nearby indigenous communities act as protectors for their more isolated allies. Examples include the Mancinelli River along the Peru-Brazil border in the state of Acre, the Amondawa River in the state of Rondônia, and the Guajarara River at the other end of the basin in the eastern state of Maranhão.
There are 10 uncontacted communities identified in the Javari Valley, the largest number of any indigenous territory in the Amazon, but Beto Malvo, president of the Javari Valley Indigenous Federation, and local leaders said in 2021. Established a patrol team in 2021, and this team established a patrol squad in 2021. United Nations Equator Prize. Meanwhile, indigenous-led litigation also contributed to this objective.
But respecting the land rights of isolated peoples and prohibiting logging, gold, fish, soybean and coca cultivation, as required by the Brazilian Constitution, proves that people are there. means. Malvo said the first argument of those interested in expropriating forest land is to deny the existence of the population. “The basic strategy for anyone interested in lands inhabited by invaders or isolated peoples is to deny their existence.”
Funai is chronically underfunded and operates with a small number of unarmed field staff. They face risks such as all-too-real death threats, such as those directed at Bruno Pereira, who was murdered along with journalist Dom Phillips in 2022. And while some isolated ethnic groups are thriving, others are in decline as their territories are overrun by outsiders.
Paulo Moutinho, co-founder of the Amazon Environmental Research Institute, said: “These people have the right to live on their land and to the lifestyle they choose, but we must respect the rights of isolated indigenous peoples.” “This is fundamental to protecting tropical forests.” .
This work is published in collaboration with O Globo. John Reid is the co-author of Ever Green: Saving Big Forests to Save the Planet. Daniel Biasetto is the content editor for the Brazilian daily newspaper O Globo. They were supported by a grant from the Ford Foundation for this series.
