Half of the world’s remaining uncontacted Indigenous groups may disappear within a decade without concerted conservation efforts. The dire assessment is detailed in a new report published on October 27 by the nonprofit advocacy group Survival International, and is based on years of field research, interviews, and information gathering expeditions.
“Uncontacted peoples reject contact as a deliberate choice in the face of colonizing attacks—as is their right under international law,” the report’s authors write in their key findings. “When their rights are respected, they thrive and survive.”
‘A clear expression of their autonomy’
Survival International now believes that at least 196 self-sufficient, uncontacted groups remain in various remote locations across the globe. The vast majority of them—around 95 percent—reside in the Amazon Basin, particularly in the rainforests of Brazil. Other tribes live inside the borders of nine other countries in South America, as well as in Asia, and various Pacific Islands. Researchers believe that these communities can remain healthy and stable when they are not threatened by outsiders. They also often serve as stewards for their biodiverse “islands of green in areas of deforestation.”
An uncontacted community’s avoidance of present-day society is frequently a decision tied to previous, disastrous encounters with outsiders, according to the report. Diseases like influenza and measles may be commonplace or easily preventable in the industrial world, but the contagions are catastrophic for Indigenous peoples who lack the same immunities. Survival International previously stated that it is not uncommon for 50 percent of an uncontacted group to die within one year of exposure to Eurasian infections.
“Uncontacted peoples’ rejection of contact is often rooted in memories of devastating past conflict and invasion, which brough[t] violence, epidemics, and death,” the team explains. “It is a clear expression of their autonomy and self-determination.”
Outside threats
The report’s evidence firmly illustrates that these communities aren’t endangered from within, but from the outside world. Their largest threat undoubtedly remains corporate land theft from companies intent on exploiting natural resources. Logging endangers around 65 percent of uncontacted peoples, and often precedes further environmental destruction. Mining projects are also encroaching on over 40 percent of these groups, while around a fifth of them also face issues from agribusiness industries like cattle ranching. Nearly a third of the populations are endangered by criminal drug trafficking and illegal mining operations.
Another major danger stems from missionaries’ attempts at evangelism and assimilation, with one in six isolated Indigenous groups facing the prospect of these unprompted encounters. Social media influencers also present a more recent problem with their excursions into protected territories for sake of content.
While international laws recognize the rights of all Indigenous people, including voluntarily isolated tribes, Survival International reports that national laws are much more inconsistent and governments are not always willing to enforce them. Advocates stress the need for better oversight and a commitment to the wellbeing of these communities.
“Now we are living through a moment of legislated genocide. They’re killing us with pen and paper,” Brazilian tribal member and advocate Célia Xakriabá said in a statement. “We Indigenous people do not die only when they kill our leaders. We die collectively when they take away our land.”
“There is a catastrophe looming—and a clear way to evade it. We can respect uncontacted peoples’ clearly expressed choice to be left alone,” added Survival International Director Caroline Pearce.
Despite the widening dangers, isolated tribes continue to show their resiliency. As environmental experts, they remain self-sufficient when their land is properly protected, and actively resist outside interactions by installing nearby traps and signs. Occasionally, uncontacted tribes have attacked and even killed interlopers.
There are also some individuals who met outsiders and at least partially integrated into industrialized society. However, it’s a decision they frequently regret, according to Survival International.
Wamaxuá Awá, a member of Brazil’s uncontacted Awá tribe, said they had a “good life” before moving out of the forest. “Now if I meet one of the uncontacted Awá in the forest, I’ll say, ‘Don’t leave! Stay in the forest… There’s nothing in the outside for you,” they explained.
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