The area where a 100-person uncontacted tribe in the Amazon lives is at risk of being extinguished by illegal gold miners. Tribal advocacy group, Survival International, said that the area is in danger from miners who have brought diseases like malaria to the region. Also, mercury which is used for gold mining pollutes food and water sources of the tribe, and is causing villagers to face serious health crisis.
The Uncontacted Tribe Was Photographed During Surveillance For Gold Miners
The Yanomami territory is a big land twice the size of Switzerland. The area is made up largely of rainforest and mountains, and is home to roughly 22,000 people. This is also where the uncontacted tribe was photographed. Brazil's indigenous affairs agency, Fundação Nacional do Índio (FUNAI) captured pictures of people in a communal "yano" structure while on a surveillance flight over the reserve in the run-up to a joint operation with army troops and police agents to clear out thousands of wildcat gold miners.
Guilherme Gnipper, the FUNAI agent who took the photographs, told National Geographic: "It's incredible that they appear to be doing so well. Their gardens are huge, the people appeared to be healthy. But the gold strike is getting closer and closer. We saw no manufactured products whatsoever. Nothing made of metal. They are living well-in complete isolation. It was like time travel."
The Same Village Was Observed In A Different Location Years Ago
The same tribe had been in a different location years ago when they were first observed, but they have unfortunately moved closer than ever to mining operations. This is giving reason for serious concern.
Davi Kopenawa, a tribal shaman and president of the Hutukara Yanomami Association, which represents the estimated 22,000 Yanomami who live within the boundaries of the Brazilian reserve said: "I am very concerned about my brothers, the Moxihatetema. The place where the uncontacted Indians live, fish, hunt and plant must be protected. The whole world must know that they are there in their forest and that the authorities must respect their right to live there."
Survival's Director Stephen Corry said: "These extraordinary images are further proof of the existence of still more uncontacted tribes. They're not savages but complex and contemporary societies whose rights must be respected. It's obvious that they're perfectly capable of living successfully without the need for outside notions of 'progress' and 'development'. All uncontacted tribal peoples face catastrophe unless their land is protected. We're doing everything we can to secure their land for them, and to give them the chance to determine their own futures."
