Spectacular new images of an uncontacted indigenous village in Brazil are stirring pleas from tribal leaders and rights advocates for government intervention to protect the settlement from illegal gold prospectors. The aerial photographs show villagers gathered in the center of a traditional, circular structure inside the Yanomami Indigenous Territory, a sprawling reserve of rivers and upland...
The Tairona were a precolombian civilization in the region of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in the present-day Magdalena and La Guajira Departments of Colombia, South America which goes back to the 1st century AD and showed documented growth around in the 11th century. The Tairona people formed one of the two principal groups of the Chibcha and were pushed into submarginal regions by the...
The Piraha are an indigenous hunter-gatherer tribe of Amazonian Indians in Brazil who mainly live on the banks of the Maici River. They currently number about 200, which is sharply reduced from the numbers recorded in previous decades, and the culture is in danger of extinction. The Piraha people do not call themselves Pirahas but instead the Hi’aiti’ihi’, roughly translated as...
The Munduruku (Mundurucu or Wuy Jugu) are a tribe of South Americans, one of the most powerful tribes on the Amazon. They had an estimated population in 2009 of 10,896. In 1788, they completely defeated their ancient enemies the Muras. After 1803 they lived at peace with the Brazilians. One of the most interesting things about the Mundurucu is their residence pattern. Rather than a pattern based...
The Huaorani in the Ecuadorian headwaters of the Amazon comprise about 1,500 people who are living in up to 24 temporary settlements in an area of almost 20,000 sq. km, completely covered by rain forest. They are surrounded by related and alien tribes/ethnic groups with a total population of an estimated 150,000. For centuries the Huaorani have had to defend themselves against these groups and...
The Aymara are a native ethnic group in the Andes region of South America; about 2.3 million live in Bolivia, Peru, Northern Chile, and Northern Argentina (in particular in Salta province). They lived in the region for many centuries before becoming a subject people of the Inca, and later of the Spanish in the 16th century. History The Aymara have existed in the Andes in what is now Bolivia (and...
The Awa or Guaja are an endangered indigenous group of people living in the eastern Amazon forests of Brazil. Approximately 350 members survive, and 100 of those have no contact with the outside world. Their language is in the Tupi-Guarani family. Originally living in settlements, they adopted a nomadic lifestyle about 1800 to escape incursions by Europeans. During the 19th century, they came...
The Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau are an indigenous people of Brazil, living in the state of Rondonia. They live in six villages on the borders of Terra Indigena Uru-Eu-Uaw-Uaw, which is shared by three sub-groups, the Amondawa, Jupau, and Uru Pa In, as well as the Jururei, Parakua, and two uncontacted tribes whose names are not known. They are also known as the Amondauas, Bocas-negras, Bocas-pretas, Cabea...
The Amahuaca – Amazon Tribe of Peru The Amahuaca or Amhuaca are indigenous peoples of the southeastern Amazon Basin in Peru and Brazil. Isolated until the 18th century, they are currently under threat from ecological devastation, disease and violence brought by oil extractors and illegal loggers. In 1998 they numbered about 520. The largest community of the Amahuaca is in Puerto Varadero, a...