Experts Speculate on Newly Reported Amazonian Tribe Status
6/13/98
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Title: Experts Speculate on Newly Reported Amazonian Tribe Status
Source: Discovery Online News
Status: Copyrighted, contact source to reprint
Date: 6/13/98
Byline: Jennifer Viegas,
Experts believe that the Amazonian tribe reported this week to have been
discovered in
Brazil may in fact be a subgroup of the sophisticated, culturally rich Kaxinawa
tribe.
"We think that the two groups are related as both are located in the same
region, near
the highlands of the river Gordao close to the Peruvian border in the Brazilian
state of
Acre," says Marina Kahn, deputy executive secretary of the Social Environmental
Institute
of Brazil.
"While we have generally known about the existence of other groups in the area
for at
least six years, this tribe is new to us in terms of contact," she said.
The tribe was spotted recently by Sydney Possuelo, director of the Federal
Indian Bureaus
Department of Isolated Indians in Brazil, as he was flying over the region.
Indigenous groups frequently avoid contact with the outside world, though they
know that
one exists. "They feel pressure," says Christine Halvorson, acting executive
director of
Amanakaa, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting Amazon native
Indians. "Theyve
seen their land taken, man-made forest fires and invasions to their food
supply."
The newly reported tribe has been linked to the deaths of three settlers in the
region,
but the indigenous people, if responsible, are thought to have acted out of fear
or
desperation. "The settlers may have encroached on their territory," says
Halvorson.
Kahn adds, "Members of the tribe could have traveled outside their region due to
widespread illness, since they possess little resistance to diseases of European
origin.
They also might have sought industrialized tools, such as knives or machetes."
The desire for modern tools would further confirm the tribes possible ties to
the
Kaxinawa, who have had contact with outside societies for over 100 years. A
recent study
indicates that the Kaxinawa number about 2,000. They speak a Brazilian language
called
Pano, and it's possible that the subgroup probably uses a variation of the Pano
dialect, according to Halvorson.
Due to the probable cultural similarities, the Kaxinawa may be able to help
indigenous
organizations learn more about the newly identified tribe.
"First, efforts will be made to demarcate and protect the new tribes land to
prevent
ranchers or other settlers from taking it over," says Halvorson. "Working with
the
Kaxinawa, organizers then hope to determine the tribes exact name and
information
concerning its history, language and culture."
[27]Copyright © 1998 Discovery Communications Inc.