Kin in the Jungle: The Battle to Protect an Isolated Rainforest Tribe

Tomas Anez Dos Santos was laboring in a tiny open space deep in the of Peru Amazon when he detected movements approaching through the thick forest.

He became aware he was hemmed in, and stood still.

“One positioned, pointing with an projectile,” he states. “Somehow he became aware I was here and I began to escape.”

He had come confronting the Mashco Piro tribe. For a long time, Tomas—residing in the modest community of Nueva Oceania—served as almost a local to these wandering people, who avoid contact with strangers.

A recent document issued by a human rights organization indicates there are a minimum of 196 described as “uncontacted groups” remaining worldwide. This tribe is considered to be the biggest. It states a significant portion of these communities might be decimated over the coming ten years unless authorities neglect to implement additional to protect them.

It claims the most significant dangers are from timber harvesting, mining or drilling for oil. Isolated tribes are highly vulnerable to ordinary sickness—therefore, the study notes a risk is caused by interaction with religious missionaries and online personalities looking for clicks.

Recently, members of the tribe have been coming to Nueva Oceania more and more, according to residents.

This settlement is a fishermen's village of several clans, sitting atop on the edges of the Tauhamanu River deep within the Peruvian Amazon, 10 hours from the most accessible town by boat.

The territory is not classified as a preserved reserve for uncontacted groups, and timber firms operate here.

According to Tomas that, at times, the noise of logging machinery can be noticed around the clock, and the tribe members are witnessing their woodland disturbed and ruined.

Among the locals, residents state they are divided. They fear the tribal weapons but they also have profound respect for their “brothers” who live in the jungle and wish to safeguard them.

“Let them live according to their traditions, we can't change their way of life. This is why we maintain our separation,” states Tomas.

The people in Nueva Oceania are anxious about the destruction to the Mascho Piro's livelihood, the threat of aggression and the likelihood that timber workers might introduce the community to sicknesses they have no resistance to.

During a visit in the settlement, the Mashco Piro appeared again. Letitia, a woman with a two-year-old girl, was in the woodland gathering food when she heard them.

“We detected shouting, cries from others, a large number of them. As though there were a large gathering calling out,” she informed us.

This marked the first time she had met the tribe and she fled. An hour later, her mind was continually throbbing from terror.

“Since exist timber workers and companies clearing the jungle they are escaping, maybe because of dread and they arrive close to us,” she stated. “It is unclear what their response may be towards us. This is what scares me.”

Recently, a pair of timber workers were assaulted by the tribe while catching fish. One was struck by an projectile to the abdomen. He lived, but the other man was found dead after several days with multiple puncture marks in his body.

Authorities in Peru follows a policy of no engagement with isolated people, making it illegal to start encounters with them.

The strategy was first adopted in Brazil following many years of lobbying by community representatives, who noted that initial exposure with remote tribes lead to whole populations being decimated by illness, destitution and starvation.

During the 1980s, when the Nahau tribe in Peru made initial contact with the broader society, 50% of their people died within a short period. During the 1990s, the Muruhanua tribe suffered the similar destiny.

“Remote tribes are highly susceptible—in terms of health, any interaction could introduce diseases, and including the simplest ones may wipe them out,” says a representative from a Peruvian indigenous rights group. “From a societal perspective, any exposure or interference may be very harmful to their life and health as a community.”

For local residents of {