From WN

New drone footage reveals some of the first images ever of members of an isolated Amazon tribe which has never been contacted by the outside world, according to The New York Times.

The Brazilian government released the report and video on Wednesday.

The drone was able to capture the sight of a clearing in a dense area of forest in the Javarvy River valley, near the Brazilian border at Peru, before figures walk through it, with one carrying a spear or a pole.

The footage was gathered by Brazil’s National Indian Foundation, a government agency known as Funai, who released still photos that were taken by a team on the ground which included canoes constructed out of hollowed-out palm tree trunks and an ax made out of a wooden handle and a stone blade.

“These images have the power to make society and the government reflect on the importance of protecting these groups,” Wallace Bastos, Funai’s president, said.
They also released an image from above which showed a thatched hut.

The tribe captured in the footage was discovered in the Vale do Javari, which is one of the largest indigenous territories in Brazil within the southwestern corner of the state of Amazonas.

The territory is made up of 32,990 square miles, an area larger than Austria.

The region has eight indigenous peoples who have had limited contact with the outside world, while there are at least 11 more without any known contact, according to Funai.

The agency said in order to reach the photographed location they had to travel more than 110 miles in “boats, trucks, and motorcycles” before traversing through dense forest on foot for another 75 miles.

Even though Funai was observing the community for years, the footage was the first time they were able to capture the indigenous peoples on camera.

Funai said they were still uncertain about the tribe’s ethnicity and language and have only made guesses so far.

The team of researchers also caught two groups hunting illegally on that same trip, along with a landowner and farmers encroaching illegally on land reserved for indigenous groups, according to Funai.

The New York Times
@nytimes
A drone captured the first images of members of an isolated Amazon tribe that had no known contact with the outside… https://t.co/klYCOlqaAh

AJ+
@ajplus
An indigenous tribe in the Amazon was captured on film (via drone) for the first time ever. It’s one of at least 11… https://t.co/Aq0ofpxZEH

TicToc by Bloomberg
@tictoc
This newly released drone footage shows an isolated tribe in Brazil’s Amazon jungle that, though studied for years,… https://t.co/X9ChIjalXn

Pereira said, “The more we know about isolated communities’ way of living, the more equipped we are to protect them.”

Funai has uncovered 107 isolated tribes in Brazil since its formation and it’s been more than 30 years since they last made contact with one of the found tribes.

Pereira said the tribes usually isolate themselves from the outside world due to traumatic experiences.

He said they are often aware that large cities exist but choose to live in their natural environments.

“If they wanted contact with the outside world, they would seek out ways to communicate with us,” Pereira said.

-WN.com, Maureen Foody

For more on this story and video go to: https://article.wn.com/view/2018/08/24/Isolated_Amazon_Tribe_Never_Seen_By_Outsiders_Revealed_In_Ne/