BellaOnline Forums Travel and Culture Brazil Uncontacted Tribes in Brazil

It is almost inconceivable in our modern world of internet and cell phones that there are still groups of people completely unknowing about the "modern world". And yet in Brazil there are at least 67 reported such tribes.

Uncontacted Tribes in Brazil

What do you think? How would these people be best taken care of?

This is most certainly a Catch 22 situation. My heart is pulled in two directions and my brain in a few more.

My first reaction is leave them alone, with protection from intrusion and enough land area to sustain the population. There is certainly someone from these tribes who has left the isolation and can be used to initiate studies, and most importantly assist in preserving, with minimal outside influence, their knowledge of the natural world they are an initimate part of.

Just this afternoon, I found this quote, by Tom Brown, Jr, known as The Tracker

"If today I had a young mind to direct, to start on the journey of life, and I was faced with the duty of choosing between the natural way of my forefathers and that of the... present way of civilization, I would, for its welfare, unhesitatingly set that child's feet in the path of my forefathers. I would raise him to be an Indian!"

But my heart also wants them to be healthy and with the freedom to choose which life they prefer.

I think the best way to take care of them is to let them take care of themselves. Don't screw up their native lands, so as to make it impossible to live their lives in the traditional ways.

While their lives might seem terribly harsh to us, it should not be up to us to "change" them. Keep the "civilized" world away from them, and don't interfere.

Connie -

I definitely agree that it would be presumptuous for us to go in and try to "change" or "fix" their culture. They have their culture and have every right to maintain it.

Part of the concern is that these tribes are no longer "safe". There is no way to build a 100' wall around them (at a safe distance so they don't see it) and keep them safe from modern intruders. There are too many people who delight in going and finding these groups and doing things to them.

So do we just do nothing and hope against hope that the tribe remains isolated for decades, even if that's highly unlikely? Do we create some sort of a plan so that we can gently and gradually introduce them to the modern world at a pace they can absorb, knowing that it's inevitable and at least our attempt will be more gentle than an unscrupulous person's activities?

If we do anything, let's first ask them what they want. I favor heavy fines and prison sentences for people who go in and do things to them. How about putting a buffer zone, also known as a national park around them. Have a structure to control who goes in.

A lot of the time people get concerned about "protecting" these groups when there are significant resources that are needed by the developed world. Then, we want to protect them by moving them out of their traditional lands.

Lisa, I know that is not where you are coming from. You have a genuine interest in helping and caring for others. Not everybody rolls the way that you do.

Dear Connie -

The concern is that the mere act of asking them involves a huge disruption. It means they see our modern gear, they have to spend time with us to help us learn their language so we can ask them, and during that time they learn about the outside world. So there's no way to ask them without disrupting their culture.

So even accepting that we ask them what they choose means we've already crossed a huge boundary.