Last week we received news of the sad loss of Ururú Akuntsu. She was one of the last remaining members of the Akuntsu tribe who live in a small reserve in Rondônia state, western Brazil. There are now just five of them.

They have suffered as their forest home, friends and families were massacred over many years by ruthless ranchers in pursuit of land. Today they live in a territory recognised by the government and protected by FUNAI (government indigenous affairs department).

Altair Algayer, head of the nearby FUNAI outpost, remembers Ururú.

His brief recollections conjure the image of an astounding woman who had endured the worst that humanity can give, whilst retaining a gentle, warming spirit.

We know little of what Ururú’s life was like. We know that in the last 14 years that we have been with her that she was a happy, spontaneous person, a friend who was always attentive and receptive to our presence. She was a person admired by the whole group.

From what Konibú, Ururú’s brother has told us, she recounts that she had four children who were all shot dead during the massacre. We don’t know who her husband was or how he died. Afterwards when they were spotted in the forest they were persecuted like animals.

Their gardens were constantly destroyed and they had to move place every year. Their gardens were located by the ranchers in their airplanes and afterwards people went there on foot to destroy them. The Akuntsu lived by hiding; even so they resisted and didn’t leave their territory.

Their reaction at first contact with us (FUNAI) was to make signs that we should go away, and very slowly Ururú walked away from us, off into the forest. She didn’t react by running away, probably because of her physical condition. She was already of a certain age and not like a young person. But that was only in the first moment of contact.

Contact in some ways brought various problems for the Akuntsu and they will still face many in the future. But today they have more tranquility and fewer worries. No longer do they have to hide.

They can grow their gardens where they like without worrying about the ‘parabia’ or white man. Whenever they have a health problem they always come to our post for treatment. They show little interest for the material goods of the whiteman beyond our post or their indigenous territory.

Survival campaigner Fiona Watson has shared her thoughts in The Independent.