RIO DE JANEIRO – When officials from Brazil’s indigenous peoples protection agency approached the hut in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, their fears were confirmed: They were witnessing a documented disappearance First recognition of a tribe that is no longer related in the country’s history.
The man lying in the hammock, the last member of his tribe, died, with him a culture and answers to a thousand questions.
Even his name is a mystery. He was only known as “The Man of the Pit” because of the dozens of holes he had dug over the years in his territory. His age, too, can only be guessed at. Officials said he appeared to be about 60 years old.
It’s a sad milestone for a country that in recent years has seen protections for Indigenous groups weakened and weakened by an administration that has prioritized Amazon development over conservation. exist.
Officials from Brazil’s indigenous peoples protection agency, Funai, found the man’s body on August 23 during a patrol in the Tanaru Indigenous Territory, in the state of Rondônia, bordering Bolivia.
Funai said the death was most likely from natural causes. The agency brought in criminal experts to examine the scene and then took the man’s body to the capital Brasília for an autopsy.
A Funai official not authorized to speak in the filing said the agency would also conduct DNA tests and then return the body to the woods for burial.
The man’s body was covered in feathers, according to Marcelo dos Santos, an indigenous expert who saw the photo of the remains.
“Is he waiting for his death?” Mr. Santos said. “Who knows. There was never communication, even with another ethnic group, to know more about him. So we can’t be sure as to why.”
Non-contact tribes are groups that live without long-term contact with the outside world.
While this is the first recorded disappearance of an unrelated tribe, experts say the others most likely went extinct without being recorded.
Funai has reported evidence of at least 114 isolated groups in Brazil, but the existence of only 28 is confirmed. As a result, the remaining 86 tribes did not benefit from any government protection. This agency is responsible for overseeing Indigenous activity and protecting inhabited lands from development. However, Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, has backed the industries that fuel the devastation of the Amazon, which has led to record levels of deforestation.
The Brazilian leader just eased regulations to expand logging, farming and mining in the Amazon, while scaling back protections for Indigenous groups and conservation lands. He also cut federal funding and staffing, weakening Indigenous and environmental law enforcement agencies.
“Many of these ethnic groups have gone extinct without even the state or society being aware of their extinction, which is very serious,” said Guilherme Martins, an indigenous peoples expert at Funai. .
“As long as the Funai management doesn’t officially endorse them, they won’t protect their land, won’t set up bases and won’t demarcate their land,” Mr Martins said. .
With the enforcement of protective policies, some Indigenous peoples were able to avoid extinction, even though others had to die. The Piripkura tribe, for example, only three members: an infertile woman and two men living separately in their Indigenous territory in the State of Mato Grosso.
Some officials warn that the agency has not been proactive enough to confirm the discovery of new isolated tribes by field workers, which would then allow the lands on which they live. protection license.
In Rondônia, the sole inhabitant of the 8,000-hectare region lived in complete isolation for at least 26 years after the rest of his group was killed by ranchers advancing on the agricultural frontier.
Mr. Santos collected accounts from local residents who confirmed there had been at least two attacks against the Indigenous group, one in which they received tainted sugar (no date given) , and another in the early 1990s, when a few members remained, about six. Almost all of them were shot down.
“What happened to his people was a genocide,” Santos said. “It shows we’re failing as a society.”
There are several accounts of a connection between the man’s tribe and the farmers who have taken over the land since the 1970s, but Funai only had direct contact with the last man alive in the 1970s. 1996.
Mr. Santos, who led the Funai expedition that met the man, said he was found hiding in his hut.
Mr Santos said: “We went around the area looking for his house where he was hiding. “We tried to establish a conversation and give him corn and bows, but he was extremely scared and very aggressive. From this moment on, we had to respect his isolation.”
A year later, Funai restricted access to the territory to prevent entry by loggers and ranchers. The protection decree remains in effect until 2025.
The native man would flee when he realized the presence of any agents patrolling the area and was dubbed the Man of the Hole by Funai agents as well as the Brazilian media because he had dug goods. dozens of 10-foot-long holes in the ground.
Mr. Santos said: “The jewelry and utensils he uses are similar to those of indigenous groups throughout the region. “The only thing that sets him apart is the existence of these holes.”
Several holes were dug outside the huts containing spikes, which officials believe were used for hunting; Others inside the huts have scratches.
“This is probably a sign that they have a mystical meaning,” Mr. Santos said.
Even with protection measures in place, the territory was still largely deforested until about 13 years ago. Attacks on the last surviving man continued, including an attack by armed gunmen in 2009, according to the local news.
Fiona Watson, research director at Survival International, a rights organization based in London, said: “When you’re driving into the Tanaru territory where that man lives, what amazes me is where This is completely greened by huge cattle ranching areas. .
Ms. Watson accompanied Funai agents on an expedition in 2005 to confirm that the man was still alive and monitor the area for signs of illegal activity.
“For me, he is a symbol of resistance and resilience: being able to survive on his own, not talking to anyone and avoiding all possible contact out of grief or determination,” Ms. Watson speak.
Flavia Milhorance reported from Rio de Janeiro, and André Spigariol from Brasilia, Brazil.
