New Indigenous Tribe Found In Rainforest Near Peru Border
6/11/98
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Title: New Indigenous Tribe Found In Rainforest Near Peru Border
Source: BBC News
Status: Copyrighted, contact source to reprint
Date: 6/11/98
Byline: Sue Branford
The Indians were discovered living in Acre, a state in Brazil
Brazil's leading expert in remote Indian communities, Sidnei Possuelo, has said
that the government won't be sending in a team to make contact with a group of
hunter-gatherer Indians discovered earlier this month.
The Indians, believed to number about 200, live in a remote area of the rain
forest, near the border with Peru.
As far as is known, they have never had proper contact with the outside world.
Government officials have been hunting for a tribe for some time, after three
settlers were killed in an unexpected clash with unknown Indians.
But the actual discovery happened by accident. Mr Possuelo was flying over the
region and, by chance, he spotted their village, made up of about 12 huts.
Mr Possuelo said he had asked the government to keep settlers out of the
area to prevent more conflict, but he had no immediate plans to make contact.
This policy of postponing contact until absolutely necessary was applied to
another group of isolated Indians, the Korubo.
Though the government had known of their existence for some time, contact was
only made in 1996.
At that time loggers were invading the Indians' land and Mr Posuello decided
they had to be warned.
Two French journalists went on the expedition and were able to record the
group's first ever contact with the outside world.
Often in the past, Indians have died from illnesses, such as flu and measles,
which they have caught on this first contact.
So far, the Korubo seem to be coping, but it is far too soon to be confident
that they will survive this first dangerous contact with the outside world.
As loggers and cattle-rearers are still pouring in to the Amazon basin, it is
only a matter of time before this other tribe, discovered this month, also has
to go through the trauma of meeting the modern world.