Iconic photos stir the web
by Matthew
From global news front-pages to Facebook, the media has come alive in recent days at the sight of the uncontacted tribe on Brazil’s border with Peru. Thanks to the impact of these photographs, many millions of people have become aware of the dangers facing these unique people.
Here’s a collage from the web and media storm as viewed from Survival’s offices in London.
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June 6th, 2008 at 10:50 am
Best way to protect these tribes is to leave them alone and stop acting god. Pasting photos on the web just to be the first and say “I care” has wipped off a lot of being and animals from this planet. It is time we learned to be less curious just as these tribes are not curious to know us. But then this is something not in “white man’s” or our nature so we will disturb them under the pretext of caring for them.
Just like Dr. Livingstone and all the others who followed, including all the “good hearted” documentary makers will want to go and meet the tribes so that they can be the first to bring civilisation. Then give the tribes a few sweets and come back with some wise words!! The typical modern trend and beginning of the end of these kind of tribes.
June 7th, 2008 at 10:18 pm
We couldn’t agree more about the best way to protect uncontacted tribes being to leave them alone.
However, Survival published these images for good reason: there are some who refuse to admit the existence of these peoples so that they may profit from the exploitation of their lands. See http://www.survival-international.org/news/2473 for an example of this.
The publicity surrounding these extraordinary pictures has already spurred the Peruvian government into action, announcing some measures to safeguard uncontacted Indians’ lands – a good first step, at least. See http://www.survival-international.org/news/3361 for more on this story.
We don’t believe this would have happened without the pictures being published. (Note that we didn’t take the pictures, or charter the plane — that was done by FUNAI, the Brazilian government department responsible for protecting Brazil’s tribal peoples.)
In this instance, the first step towards getting people to leave these isolated peoples alone, and allow them to choose for themselves if and when they want to make contact with outsiders, was for the outside world to accept that they exist.
June 9th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Hi,
I agree that these tribes should be left alone to live their own existence in peace.
However, I feel that respect is the most important of all values here. As an Anthropology student, I am of course greatly interested in how these people live. That does not mean that I agree with the interference within their ways of life. Just because some tribes were contacted and “studied” in order to understand human life, cultures and what unites us all, does not mean that all forms of contact are disrespectful to tribal life or aim to change the lives of tribes.
Basically, my point is that not all outside contact has to be destructive. It can also help the outside world understand tribal people and the commonalities between “us” and “them”, as it has shown me!
June 12th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I couldn’t agree more. The key word here is ‘respect’. Sadly for the Indians in the photos, the outsiders they have encountered over the last century – mostly rubber-tappers and loggers – have usually shot them on sight. That is why they, and many other isolated groups in that part of the Amazon, are so desperately trying to remain uncontacted.
But it doesn’t have to be this way – if tribal peoples’ lands are secure, they have the time and space to make their own decisions about how to interact with the outside world. There have been plenty of examples of peaceful, well-intentioned ‘first contact’. But tragically there have been many more contact situations which have ended up with huge numbers of tribal people dying from disease or in massacres. That’s why getting indigenous peoples’ ownership rights over their lands recognised and upheld is always Survival’s number one priority.
June 21st, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Lets face it there history its only a matter of time before someone gets in there to make a buck out of them.
Then we can introduce them to our wonderfull way of life i bet they can hardly wait.
The Americian indians the Australian Aborigines look how better off they are (not).
P-off leave em alone
June 23rd, 2008 at 12:29 am
You know, when you people tell lies it totally blows your credibility out of the water. Now that you’ve lied about this tribe being uncontacted, what else are you lying about.
This is a text book example of the faulty dogma that the ends justifies the means, particularily when you get busted out for BSing people. You give activism a bad name and set your cause back by your lies.
June 23rd, 2008 at 12:12 pm
Tom:
The tribe was and remains ‘uncontacted’: no outsider has been known to have any peaceful contact with its members. This is true of about 100 tribes worldwide. Since the photographs were released, Peru has acknowledged the lands of uncontacted tribes on its side of the border, and sent a team to investigate the illegal logging that threatens their survival.
What do you feel that Survival lied about? Could you post a link to the article on our website you think is incorrect?