Ana Isailovic
Independent Research PD.1
10.30.14
Annotated Source List
Alvaro, Mercedes. “Ecuador Minister to Apologize Publicly to Indigenous People Over Oil
Project.” Amazonwatch.org. Amazon Watch, 30 Sept. 2015. Web. 12 Jan. 2015.
Justice Minister Ledy Zuniga, along with other political officials was scheduled to make
a public apology to a oil project drilled on sacred Sarayaku grounds over twenty decades ago.
This development was in violation of laws protecting indigenous rights, but it still took place.
While this is a big step towards receiving indigenous equality, it does little to protect or ensure
indigenous equality in the future. Despite laws technically prohibiting it, it is easy for oil
companies or government development projects to continue wherever they want, despite
indigenous protest. In July of 2012, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that
Ecuador must compensate the Sarayaku tribe for the rights violation and the tons of explosives
the oil company left on their lands, and while in 2013, the Sarayaku were given $1.4 million
compensation, the explosives have yet to be removed.
The action taken by the Ecuador government sets a great example for other nations who
have violated indigenous rights, both with compensation and a public apology. However, if
development that destroys lands, culture and people is simply going to continue with
compensation money years after the fact, it is not a beneficial solution. The indigenous people
are still being treated unequally and suffering for it and money cannot automatically restore an
environment, or a culture.
“Awa: Brazilian Bishops Express Concern for Indigenous Rights.” News Article. Unrepresented
Nations and Peoples Organization. 27 Oct. 2014: Web. <http://unpo.org/article/17643>.
Recently, the Brazilian Federal Supreme Court canceled the effects of ordinances of the
Ministry of Justice that acknowledged territories occupied by indigenous peoples. Following
this, the President of National Conference of Bishops of Brazil commented, saying that there
should be no “backtrack[ing]” on indigenous rights and expressing overall concern. He
continued to say that it was in his opinion that indigenous territories should not be demarked, as
they have certain rights guaranteed to them by the Federal Constitution of Brazil. Although, as
this is a recent occurrence (within the past three days) the government has yet to respond, it will
be fascinating to see how they react.
This seems to be the only occurrence of religion taking a stand on any side of indigenous
people in the Amazon (in modern times at least). It brings the idea that religion could be a factor
in determining the best way for coexistence to take place. However in the past, even if they were
well meaning, missionaries and people of the church killed off many indigenous cultures,
through disease or forcing the people to convert, ruining a major aspect of their way of life. If the
church were to create a program to help indigenous people, would they expect them to assimilate
to Christianity (or any religion the place of worship was based off of)?
Basken, Paul. “U.S. is Urged to Step Up Research Linking Climate Change to National
Security.” Chronicle of Education, 9 November. 2. December 2014. Web.
<chronicle.com/article/US-Is-Urged-to-Step-Up/135724/>
With the increasing decline of climate change, it is feared that these declining conditions
will breed social upheaval. An advisory board on how much research should this topic be given
has been assembled by the National Research Council, and although the United States has
already been studying the effects of global warming on national security, the government has yet
to fully invest in the crisis environmentalists think is approaching. There is too little research for
too big of a problem. Also, what research that has been done has not paid enough. The board
feels that attention to detail and findings have not been discussed with other experts, making the
findings unconvincing. Results of this environmental decline have already been seen in places
like Pakistan where water shortages that caused drought and electric shortages prompted citizens
to lead demonstrations and riots, which has worsened the already shaky relationship between
India and Pakistan. Many environmental and ecological scientists believe that the United States
should be taking more aggressive steps in setting up alternative power sources, and more time
and energy researching the effects of global warming on political, social, economic and national
relations. Scientists warn that oceans will soon reach temperatures that they were three million
years ago, when the ocean was 80 feet higher than it was today, so the time to act is now.
While the issue of environmental concern has been approached in countries that directly
contain the Amazon, it is rare that an article would connect the issue to America, so it is difficult
to see if the agitation presented is warranted or not. However, it was taken from the bibliography
of another esteemed article, so it earns trust there. This shows that the decline in the environment
will eventually affect the way the world operates. Contributions to this decline, like
deforestation, will hurt everyone eventually, it will not limit to just indigenous peoples, although
these groups are the front line.
Bodley, John. “Faces of Anthropology.” Ed. Kevin A. Rafferty, Ph.D. and Dorthy Chinwe
Ukaegbu, Ph.D. A Reader for the 21st Century Fifth Edition (2007): 364-372. PDF file.
Until recently, it was popular opinion that the price of rejecting one’s culture for the
perks that assimilation would provide (i.e. economic development) would be a small exchange
for a largely beneficial payoff. However, history has shown that as much as governments have
“shared” these “benefits,” tribal groups have chosen to take as little part in this process as
possible; they have done as much as they can to distance themselves from government pushed
programs that primarily focus on getting tribal resources, not sharing the benefits of
development. Forcing this development only seems to have negative results for tribal people.
Assessing benefits of development on indigenous is hard because various sources have
concluded that the standard of living (income, employment, literacy, education, health care,
manufactured goods etc.), the definition by which most life quality is measured, is an intricate
ethnocentric concept that could be considered irrelevant to such a diverse population’s quality of
life. When a change this drastic in someone’s life occurs, it is difficult to see any benefit, there is
a higher rate for poverty, long working hours, poor health, social disorders, discrimination,
malnutrition (due to diet change), overpopulation, and discontent, and this is just on a personal
level, worldwide it effects environmental deterioration and there is a whole loss of culture. Also,
when a tribe is introduced to a new society (possibly with better healthcare and without
intertribal war) after the initial decline, the tribal population booms, leaving more people and
consumption and less area, due to deforestation.
While much of this article was repetitive, it was recommended by an esteemed professor
in the field and has esteemed credentials. It also brought up the issue of population strain on the
environment and, while it may appear harsh, it does make sense that with tribal groups living in a
world without advanced healthcare, nature keeps the population low, providing a more beneficial
environment to the remaining.
Brasileirno, Adriana. “Sao Paulo Running Out of Water as Rain-Making Amazon Vanishes.”
Trust.org. Thomas Reuters Foundation, 24 Oct. 2014. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.
<www.trust.org/item/20141024121030-es9ea/?source=reHeadlineStory>.
In Brazil, South America’s biggest and richest city, Sao Paulo, may run out of water by
November if it does not rain. This is the worst drought South America has faced in at least 80
years, with all of Sao Paulo’s key reservoirs dried up and humidity from the “vapor clouds”
produced by the Amazon having decreased significantly. The drought is partly caused by the
increased amount of deforestation; without trees, the entire climate alters, reducing the release of
billions of gallons of water via rainforest trees and creating a financial collapse. Many of the
city’s major crops such as coffee, sugarcane and oranges are unable to prosper as much as they
once did. Deforestation reduces the Amazon’s ability to absorb moister from the Atlantic Ocean
and, in the form of humidity, release about 20 million tons of water from the forest per day. At
the time this article was written, only 2 weeks of water was left, and 35 municipalities have had
to take rationed water.
This article effectively mentions the problem of the disappearing rainforest, how it affects
the people in main-society (not indigenous) South America, and what the government has done
to fix it. However, it is worrisome that this project was not taken on until the situation was dire;
people were unable to get water and the economy is plummeting. While this article does not
directly relate to the future of the indigenous people, it does show that people are becoming
aware of how much they need the Amazon in their daily life, and if they are set on protecting the
Amazon, hopefully the indigenous people will be protected too, even if only by affiliation.
“Brazil Protects Giant Swathe of Amazon Rainforest.” News Article. Thomas Reuters
Foundation 21 Oct. 2014: Print.
Recently the Brazilian government put a large amount of the Amazon rainforest under
Federal Reserve. This naturally environmentally rich area has been dubbed Alto Maues and is
about 6,680 square kilometers large, approximately the size of Delaware. By putting this area
under Federal Reserve, it prohibits the forest from being cleared by any type of development,
though the integrity of this policy is unclear. While there does not seem to be any human life in
the Alto Maues area, the move was essential to protect endangered species, 13 different primates
and over 600 bird types.
Although the article claimed that there was no human life within the area, it is difficult to
say whether they accounted for the massive amount of indigenous peoples that make their homes
all throughout the Amazon jungle. This action shows that the Brazilian government seems to be
relatively well invested in protecting the Amazon. However, if they are equally invested in the
indigenous people inhabiting the woods remains to be concluded. Are they only protecting the
Amazon for their own economic needs, if there was another aspect that threatened the indigenous
people, would they be as equally confident in reacting in such a manner? Also, will the
government continue to enforce the ban against development in the area? Or will the need for
economic revenue win out?
Chernela, Janet and Laura Zanotti. “Limits to Knowledge: Indigenous Peoples, NGO’s and the
Moral Economy in the Eastern Amazon of Brazil.” Conservation and Society 12 3
(2014): 306 317. Web. <http://www.conservationandsociety.org>.
Even though it has been proven time and time again that it is important for communities
to build relationships amongst themselves for all involved interests, there is still reluctance in
communities to work to reach mutually beneficial living. Also, the interaction between local
communities and government organizations or companies has had problems as well. There is
often local moral, ecological and environmental framework that is ignored, often when a project
is first implemented or a set of communities is bonding, they have the idea that groups will not
change in their own way, that they would be static. When a group’s relationship to the
environment or its people does change, because of outside or inside reasons, the project faces
problems and more often than not, fails. It is hard to predict what or when the changes will
occur, because often “…the formal, rational scheme can never adequately account for practical
reality…which is far more complex and unruly.” The solution then would be to begin a “moral
community”, one that evaluates the need of each player in the partnership and is able to create
networks of exchange that promotes equality.
This article presented the uncommon idea of leaving large organizations or companies
out of the solution, allowing local communities to form their own partnerships. This source was
written by a professor at University of Maryland’s department of Anthropology and attached to
the article is a list of credible sources, so this source is reliable. Dr, Chernela also has studies the
Kayapo directly, a major tribe on the border of the Amazon who deals with modern world
conflict regularly and has protested many times the inequality they endur
“Chixoy Dam: No Reparations, No Justice, No Peace.” Dir. Lazar Konforti. Perf.
(Documentary). Rights Action, 2013. Film.
On March 13, 1982, a town called Rio Negro in Guatemala suffered a massacre at the
hands of the Guatemalan government and two major world banks, over the construction of a
dam. There was a total of 420 casualties, 170 of them being children and 70 women. The people
of Rio Negro were first told that the dam was being built on the same day that they were told
they had to evacuate their town within the day, leaving behind their farmland and ancestry.
When some people decided to stay, they were brutally killed, to serve as an example to any
future towns that would have to move for the construction of the dam. The people were then
moved to “model communities,” areas controlled with military force (which was not removed
until 2002) and with far less and poorer land. Where Rio Negro had fertile farmland, 14000
hectares shared by 150 families, “model communities” gave families at most, 2.5 hectares.
Overall, the dam destroyed 32 communities, 25 which were flooded and 7 who suffered
dangerous levels of drought after the dam’s construction, increasing poverty and lack of basic
needs. Although the communities have formed groups demanding reparations and justice from
the two major banks that funded the “development” and the Guatemalan government, neither has
admitted to their mistakes as of yet.
This article showed how even communities that are not necessarily “indigenous” still face
many of the same problems indigenous people face: unjustness, poverty, corrupt government.
Even after the U.N. had acknowledged that this had been a terrible event, these people still have
not received justice, indicating that often, communities with less political representation are
easily taken advantage of. It also shows that there is not one way to handle situations involving
communities such as these.
Chip, Brown. “Kayapo Courage.” National Geographic. Jan. 2014: 36-42. Print.
The Kayapo people occupy an area about the size of Kentucky in the rainforest of Brazil
and are one of the largest and last unconquered groups of indigenous cultures in the world.
Although they have shown a surprising ability to adapt to western culture, to further enable
communication of their way of life and their problems to government officials. They have still
kept all of their traditions, but their culture may be threatened with the construction of Belo
Monte, a dam of disastrous economic, environmental and political proportions. Despite being
protested by numerous environmental and cultural preservation activists, and being denied
construction already once before due to countless lawsuits, the project has been recently brought
up under a new name and given the okay to be built later this year (going into 2015). Despite the
struggle of having to constantly defend their culture, the Kayapo people have proven that they
will continue to defend their place in the world, no matter how long it may take.
This source was an excellent beginning from which to base research. It allows the readers
to see the hardships many indigenous peoples have to face, without having to read it from the
textbooks of the victors. It also gave a very personal insight to the ways groups such as these
have of providing life and prosperity without having to succumb to giving up their culture. From
here, research could continue through either the path of finding other major law suits that
threatened the lives of native cultures, or discovering ways in which said native cultures
responded and aquired the help of government/private organizations and if they were successful.
Downey, Greg. “Turning a Blind Eye.” Seedmagazine.com. SEED, 25. Sept. 2008. Web. 21
Sept. 2014. <http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/turning_a_blind_eye/>.
In the year of 2008, photographs of tribes dwelling in the Brazilian amazon were released
internationally. When a popular report coined the term “uncontacted” to describe the tribes,
there was instant uproar about the possibility of a group of people who had never before seen
“civilization.” When in fact, quite the opposite was true; the tribe had been monitored for about
20 years and most likely rejected advances of the “white man” due to past violent encounters. It
is quite possible that this particular tribe is descendants of the Tano and Aruak tribes, who
suffered violent contact in the early 20th century with the rubber boomers. The photos were only
released, says indigenous expert Jose Carlos dos Reis Meirlles, to convince people that such
tribes do exist and need to be respected. However, this publicity plan may have backfired. Ever
since the photo release, many film crews and tourist operations have been sneaking onto isolated
areas of the Amazon, risking the spread of diseases into unprepared tribes.
This source mentions the idea that if these people were to be “civilized”, how much good
would it actually do them? The culture shock would be phenomenal, let alone the life of poverty,
disease and anxiety. So far the Brazilian policy of “observe and protect, but do not contact” has
held up relatively well, but for how long will it work, and what happens when it no longer does?
Downing, Theodore E., and Carmen Garcia Downing. “Plan B: What Is Going to Happen
to my People?” Cultural Survival Quarterly Fall (2001): 377-386. Print.
With constant development proposals bombarding indigenous lands, a flaw
becomes apparent in policies that encourage indigenous people to “just say no” or “just
say yes.” Often this way of thinking, while seeming like they are coming from two
different viewpoints, creates similar problems, namely, outside organizations who may
not have the same goals, or even care about, the indigenous. When indigenous groups are
able to come up with a “Plan B,” an idea of how they would like to proceed when outside
help drops off or is nonexistent, they increase their chances for cultural survival. A good
“Plan B” answers the question, “If this particular project is approved, rejected or
modified, what will happen to my people?” (378) “Plan B” will require a carful legal
examination of the proposed plan, followed by an assessment of risks and benefits with
possible problem solving for each risk, how the plan would alter the culture/let the
culture remain intact, and negotiate compromise with the project enforcers. Creating a
Plan B requires time and money, not to mention associating with the outside world,
something that many tribes are not willing, or even able, to do. However, a Plan B is not
a surrender into societal development, it is merely a tactic that indigenous groups may
use for their cultural survival.
Overall, more “developed” indigenous groups seem to be willing to work with the Plan B
system. But even though there is the possibility for success, would it be the success for all?
Many indigenous people lack the ability to speak the language of the county with they inhabit,
let alone be able to read countless legal documents necessary for the Plan B system. Even if it
were an option, is survival, in this case, the same as submission? And would that be preserving
the culture at all? Despite the flaws in the Plan B system, it does appear to be a less violent, more
respectful way to, if not coexist, respect indigenous tribes by bringing
Fenelon, James V. “‘Indigenous Paradigms and Climate Change: When Worldview Collide’
Paper presentation for the Indigenous Peoples panel session(s) American Sociological
Association annual meeting in 2014.” (2014): 1-16. Print.
Indigenous groups worldwide, regardless of who they are, share similar social constructs
that may be deemed useful when facing global issues that threaten countries primarily based on a
capitalist economy. The modern world has developed into these conflict and chaos inflicting
global issues over time via centuries of unrestrained industrial development. For many years, the
automatic response when developing a new nation was the larger the system, the more power it
would have and so processes moved quickly, with little regard to the future generations of the
world’s people and the world itself. These fast developing social structures soon dominated,
while smaller structures, such as indigenous tribes, “simply survived.” These dominate structures
came to operate under systems of colonization, neo-imperialism of capitalist markets and neo-
liberalism (of the twentieth century). All of these dominate structure systems were unlimited in
their extraction of natural resources, large scale agriculture and industrial growth, leaving today’s
people with both environmental and political concerns (i.e. the dispute over oil). Currently, the
world is at what scientist are calling the “tipping point,” society can either continue in its
destructive ways, or change. But the change has to be now, as there are increasingly hazardous
results of the earth’s biosphere. Indigenous populations have been living with the earth, instead
of destroying it for their own benefit, and it is beginning to look like their way is a promising
answer in preserving the world, both environmentally and economically.
Overall, this article was valuable. It showed a need, instead of just a vague afterthought,
for the modern world to coexist, and even learn from, the indigenous. However, Mr. Fenelon
does cite himself in his work, which could be seen as him not being able to find anyone else to
agree with him but himself, but he does cite other esteemed sources, so his point is most likely
solid. Also, he has scientific evidence to back up his claim, making it a more solid argument.
This source gave an excellent insight into how indigenous can benefit modern society, and a way
for coexistence to benefit all parties.
Fraser, Barbra. “Amazon Oil Spill has killed tons of Fish, Sickened Native People.”
Intercontinentalcry.org. Intercontinental Cry, 23 July, 2014. Web. 26 Sept. 2014 <
https://intercontinentalcry.org/amazon-oil-spill-killed-tons-fish-sickened-native-people24886/>.
On June 30, 2014, a small native village in Peru noticed that there had been an oil leak in
their river. With little protection the villagers dove neck deep in the oil to try to find the leak, oil
spills would kill all of the fish in the area, which they relied on not only for food, but also for
money. Approximately 84,000 gallons of oil spilled into the Maranon River, leaving the Kukama
people at a loss for how to survive. Petroperu, the company in charge of the pipeline, refusing
comment, and it appears that this incident will, like so many others, be swept under the rug. The
villagers said that the pipeline had a history of leaks, although none as bad as this. The oil that
contaminated the river will poison fish with PHA’s (polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons) that cause
skin and liver cancer and may even be linked to fetal brain development. Needless to say, the
natives are hesitant to consume the fish. “The rule of thumb,” Edward Overtan, professor at
Louisiana State University, comments, “is that during the spill it’s a horrible mess, and two or
three years later, it’s hard to find evidence [to support claims trying to force oil companies to
take responsibilities for their mistakes].”
This article made it apparent that depriving people of their culture is not limited to
isolated tribes, and can be done in many indirect ways. This is a fishing community, by taking
advantage of their lack of modern contact and removing their ability to fish, it is in some way,
ruining an aspect of their culture. Even if it was not the company’s intention, they still should be
accountable for the culture, and more importantly, lives they have ruined. Though this tribe is not
“indigenous” in the typical sense, they still are not a modernized group of people and protection
of the “indigenous tribes” should not be protection of exclusively isolated ones. This article
indicates that the romanticized idea of isolated indigenous people being the only ones hurt by
western culture, though valid, is not the only type of native people that suffer through
development and lack of representation.
Fraser, Barbara. “Deforestation.” Barbara Fraser. Barbara Fraser, Web. 26 Oct. 2014. <Barbarafraser.com/deforestation/>.
Between 2000 and 2005, 27,151 square kilometers of Amazon Basin was cleared per
year. This mass amount of deforestation, caused by more people moving into the Amazon, is
resulting in the loss of many species, habitat fragmentation and changes in the ecosystem. Some
government and private organizations believe that the solution is through carbon trading schemes
which would provide incentives for avoiding deforestation. One such system is the Reducing
Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Deration (REDD) proposal, and it is becoming
increasingly popular, although all plans have not been drawn up yet. Countries such as Norway
have already begun providing carbon-offset funding to encourage South American governments
to preserve tropical forests.
Without any definitive plans on what REDD or carbon trading schemes are, it is difficult
to assert whether this movement is a positive or negative one. However, it is beneficial to the
problem at hand that there is an increased amount of awareness and people are attempting at
solutions. Barbara Fraser, a trusted expert on indigenous studies, wrote this article. She is a
freelance journalist who has spent many years covering the social, environmental and public
health issues in Latin America. She has been published on many indigenous issues websites and
esteemed journals including: EcoAmericas, The Daily Climate and Science World.
---. “In Peru’s Amazon, Indigenous Communities get Cash to Save
Forests.” Trust.org. Thomson Reuters Foundation, 21 May. 2014. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.
<www.trust.org/item/20140520123024-ze1i>.
In recent years, there has been a significant increase in development within the amazon,
caused by the encroaching of roads, which bring farmers looking for land, illegal loggers and a
previously unheard of influx of crime for the indigenous tribes that already live there. Peru has
been chosen as one of four pilot countries to participate in a new forest conservation program,
funded by multilateral banks. It is the program’s hope that the Forest People Program will be
able to help stop forest loss while increasing indigenous income by helping families plant forest
friendly crops. Because indigenous people act as a deforestation buffer, the program needs direct
indigenous participation. They have granted the country $50 million to decrease their 70 million
hectares of Amazon forest to a 0% deforestation rate by 2021, and plan to do so by targeting
invasive roads and farms.
This source provided insight to an actual plan that the government is trying to implement,
as opposed to abstract ideas without tangible cost, dates or data. It seems to be, if not a detailed
plan, a plan nonetheless, and any progressive movement may help. However, one of the funding
banks is the World Bank, a U.N. international finance company that was mentioned in an earlier
source as the funder of the Rio de Negro massacre who refused to admit that they had done
anything wrong. It brings to light the reliability of this plan, whether any ulterior motives are
present.
Forest Peoples Program. Forest Peoples Program. FPP, 2014. Web. 26 Oct. 2014
By reading the Forest Peoples Program’s website, it can be gathered that twelve percent
of the world is made up of forests, and while most are inhabited, the government treats forests
like non-populated lands, forcing people off their land or denying them general rights. The Forest
People Program wants to represent the interests of indigenous people of the amazon while
protecting the community and growing sustainable living. It is a legally established non-profit,
non-government associated organization based in Peru, which was established in 1990 to talk
with the inhabitants of the forests to set up organizations advocating for their rights. The
founders of this program believe in the two main principles of: free, prior and informed consent
and self-determination.
This is not the first source to mention helping the indigenous population by forming
sustainable and economic living patterns for them. However, it is a major player in this line of
thinking and while it could certainly be useful to integrate the indigenous with the modern world
through the economy, would it be in cultures best interest? They would get to keep their land, but
would have to give up their choice to not interact with the western world. Not only would the
culture shock be significant, but the risk of exposing isolated groups to diseases they have not
had previous exposure to could be tragic.
Hamilton, Marcus J. et al. “Population Stability, Cooperation and the Instability of the Human
Species.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104 (2009): n. pag. Web. 27
Oct. 2014. PDF
Approximately 50,000 years ago, the breed of mammal modern humans evolved from,
spread out from Africa, where they originated. They quickly adapted to every major part of land
except for Antarctica and dominated other species, populating Earth. Generally speaking, it is
unlikely that a single species has survived so long, especially considering the fact that usually, a
higher population rate over a quick period of time equals a higher reproduction rate, and
although humans have a high fertility rate, their reproduction is slowed due to the unusually nonprimitive stages of growth they have for their offspring. This quick spread and conquering can
then be explained by the idea that resources and finite and although large groups provide
protection and efficiency, they hinder the resources allotted to each person. This caused people to
split up and spread out over Earth, but still stay within large groups for benefits such as
reproduction and protection.
While this source does not directly relate to the topic of coexistence, it shows how people
naturally fight for resources. Through a series of equations relying on density and rate of
population growth, time, intraspecific competition, equilibrium abundance, introspective
competition coefficient and the strength of the density. With world population growing, there is
going to be more and more people looking towards undeveloped areas, such as the Amazon, to
satisfy their needs. It also provides an insight into people’s adaptability to new environments, so
if, worst case scenario, coexistence is unable to happen, or occurs too late, hopefully the inbred
need to fit in with the current environment will protect indigenous people.
“History of Indigenous Peoples and the International System.” United Nations Forum
Indigenous Issues. United Nation, 2012. Web. 8 Oct. 2014. <
http://undesadspd.org/IndigenousPeoples/AboutUsMembers/History.aspx>.
Since the start of the “new age,” when indigenous people began to be pushed off their
own land, people who are separate have received fewer rights than the majority of society.
Today, there are over 370 million indigenous people spread out across 90 countries. In the past,
indigenous leaders wishing to speak with the international community were denied rights, but at
last, the U.N. has, “recognized that special measures are required to protect the rights of the
world’s indigenous peoples.” This statement was made in the early 1980’s, and while it is true
that certain measures have been made to ensure indigenous rights (such as the Working Group
on Indigenous Population – 1982), a permanent forum has yet to be put in place.
This source provided insight to the history of interactions between indigenous people and
the international government, from the government’s point of view. The source showed what the
government has or has not done, without focusing on mainly one or the other. This provided a
useful base to see where the U.N. stands on indigenous issues, but does not go into much detail
which is unfortunate.
“Indigenous People of the Rainforest.” Celebrate Brazil. Celebrate Brazil, 12 Sept. 2014. Web.
28 Oct. 2014. <http://www.celebratebrazil.com/indigenous-people-of-therainforest.html>.
There are about 700,000 people in the Brazilian part of the Amazon rainforest. Divided
up into about 200 different tribes, they speak about 170 different languages and each tribe has its
own culture. Sixty seven of these 200 tribes are isolated and have avoided contact with the
western world since the Europeans arrived in about 1500. They have actively pursued sustainable
living and have much medical knowledge, but have a dangerously low tolerance for diseases of
the outside world. They do not harm the rainforests ecosystem, in fact, many scientists argue that
they are beneficial to the Amazon’s survival. Unfortunately, many of these tribes believe that
the earth cannot be owned by any one person, and so they have not filed deeds for the land on
which they prosper. As a result, it is very easy to legally force these people off of their land for
development. But, when these people are forced into the modern world, they have literally no
experience with modern society and often end up in poverty.
This source has many obvious flaws. It has little credibility, a bordering on bias opinion
and is not approved by any scholarly source. However, underneath the article there is a place for
the public to leave responses to the information given, and there were many comments from
people who probably have never had direct contact with indigenous tribes. But, despite their lack
of contact, there was an overwhelming amount of support for indigenous rights, showing that
there are people who do care about what happens to the indigenous cultures, a reassurance that
despite all that has happened, there is still hope for coexistence.
Mirian Masaquiza, “Indigenous People, Indigenous Voices. Factsheet.” United Nations. N.D. 18
Sept. 2014. < www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/documents/5session_factsheet1.pdf >.
The indigenous people number over 370 million worldwide, spread out over 70 different
countries. They are descendants of those who inhabited Earth at a different time, before the
current ethnicities became prominent, and they still maintain unique traditions, passed down
from their ancestors. From the beginning of their development till now, they have kept their
culture alive, despite the new arrivals of settlers that often took over land via conquest,
occupation and settlement. The United Nations have addressed the issue of the indigenous people
and their rights, but is still hesitant to assign a worldwide definition of what is an indigenous
group, as they are so vastly different in practices. Most countries go by the guide lines that
indigenous people have: identified themselves as a separate group from society, have been
around since pre-settler times, have a strong link to their territories and natural resources, have a
distinct language and belief system, are non-dominant in the region in which they are located,
and want to maintain culture. Unfortunately, indigenous peoples often have little to no political
representation, which causes them to be overlooked and their traditions compromised or put at
risk.
This source provided a background on how the U.N. has addressed the worldwide groups
of native minorities. Many websites have linked particular acts the U.N. has passed regarding the
rights of the indigenous people, and this document provided a substantial baseline for informing
the reader of the stance the United Nation takes towards indigenous people. So far, (without any
other research done on the acts passed) it seems that the United Nations does not know yet how
they would like to act towards native groups.
Morrison, Megan Taylor. “A Healer’s Last Journey: Documenting Endangered Knowledge in the
Columbian Andes.” Huffingtonpost.com. Huffington Post, 5 Aug. 2014. Web. 12 Jan.
2015.
The destruction of portions of the Amazon, no matter how small, ultimately affects all
people in the Amazon basin. Not only are elders with valuable cultural and medical knowledge
unable to pass down their teachings, the environmental affects are countless. Areas plagued by
development, and in particular destructive mining include the Sibundoy Valley, which
“…represents a sort of mecca for ethnobotanists who study the extraordinary healing properties
of medical plants and their use by local shamans.” (Mark Plotkin) With recent increase in
mining, 25, 000 of the 3.7 million acres of paramos, flatlands where many medical plants
flourish, are destroyed each year. According to a recent study published in Global Ecology and
Biogeography, 50 percent of paramos could disappear by the end of the century, devastating
medical information and ecosystems that depend on them for plants water and carbon pools.
Mining and the traffic it brings (i.e. road development, need for cement etc.) is causing things
that once used to be dependable, to become useless, such as the Amazon river, after mining
companies used the sand for cement the once drinkable water became too dirty. The land is being
changed as trees are cut down and mountains are carved out for roads, metal is being pulled from
the ground causing toxic contamination and infrastructure projects, such as dams, do not allow
nature to fully recover.
This article reaffirms the idea that development harms the environment, but it also shows
that harming one part of the Amazon, affects all parts of the climate. Morals (which are
important in cases such as these) aside, this is still a complex issue that can not be solved with
short-term economic gain.
“New Report Analyzes 73,000 Mining, Oil and Agriculture Development; Most Involve land
that is Inhabited.” Rightsandresources.org. Rights and Resources, 29 Oct. 2014. Web. 7
Nov. <www.rightsandresources.org/news/communities-as-counterparties/>.
Recently, a report surfaced, concluding that in a study of eight tropical forests, 93% of
the land used for developing was home to indigenous tribes. The research, conducted by The
Munden Project showed that the government was selling indigenous land to the private sector for
mining, logging and oil and gas drilling, and they were often doing it without the knowledge or
consent of the indigenous tribes that lived there. Even when the government lets the indigenous
know of the development project, it is often after the plans have been drawn up, or even the
project started. Because of the lack of respect that the government has shown to and for the
indigenous people, there has been much conflict between the two. Already, 40% of Peru’s land
has been allocated for development, for comparison, 30% of the United States would be
everything east of the Mississippi River. However, in the past, if locals have been able to prove
that projects have been harming their lives, development has had to stop, with great cost being
spent to address the issue.
Although this article produces data and cites examples of negligence occurring, they are a
non-profit organization, which leaves plenty of room for bias. Also, most of the statistics that
they use come from the survey mentioned above, which was funded by the Rights and Resources
organization themselves. However, this article does agree with other sources, and was
recommended by an expert in the field as being reliable, so it is unlikely that the ideas presented
in the article are fabricated.
“Peru: Fighting Rampant Illegal Logging.” America Now, By: Dan Collyns. CCTV. 27 Oct.
2014. Television. 12 Nov. 2014.
About half of Peru is Amazon jungle, and using this area for timber has become one of
Peru’s number one industries, despite three fourths of the logging being illegal. The total amount
of illegal timber exports in 2012 has 600,000 million cubed, the projection of confiscated illegal
timber in 2014 being 60,000 million cubed. These loggers take all the area, trees and game that
local border villages need to survive. While there are millions of dollars spent trying to solve the
logging problem, little progress has been made. This is due in part to the fact that many local
governments, businesses and the police are being paid off by illegal loggers. Also, the Amazon
basin is far larger than control can reach and when organizations are sent in to make sure logging
is up to code, the loggers are uncooperative, even threatening. The reporter who constructed this
video, Dan Collyns, went out to a logging camp with said organization and was asked to leave by
two men who claimed to be Columbian cocaine farmers, whether this is true, or something made
up to get them to leave the camp is undetermined.
This source takes real stories by villagers affected negatively by the logger’s activity, so
there is a possibility of bias. However, it shows the urgency to act upon this problem, as
deforestation is seemingly increasingly hindering, or even destroying, people’s lives. Because it
uses direct interviews, the opinions are specific, but the interviewees are not in any organization
or company, they are regular citizens with, assumedly, the same problems as their entire village.
Plotkin, Mark. “What the People of the Amazon Know that You Don’t.” TedTalks. Ted Talks,
Oct. 2014. Web. 8 Dec. 2014. <http://www.ted.com/>
Evidence suggests that there are many treatments in the Amazon for illnesses that
Western medicine has not been able to treat. The indigenous groups who dwell in these regions
often know about these treatments, and use them to help cure or ease the pain of diseases. While
there is no denying the successes and result consistency western treatments provide, the
treatments have flaws (i.e. expense, where it is found). By using the materials around them and
the knowledge of their ancestors people in the rainforest, although they have considerably less
technology, are able to do things that have left the smartest doctors of the world helpless. As
Mark Plotkin, the speaker and Amazonian ethnobotanist puts it, “the rainforest holds answers to
questions we have yet to ask.” One example of this is when an ethnobotanist friend of Plotkin’s
was rescued, feverish, by an indigenous tribe who gave him a green monkey frog to lick, which
changed his blood pressure. When an Italian chemist read about his experience, he was able to
connect the experience to his research and was able to find a possible treatment for
staphylococcus aureus, a bacteria that is one of the most common causes for infection after injury
or surgery. However, when indigenous techniques are adopted like this indigenous people get no
credit or money to support their discovery.
Indigenous people are quickly being run out of their homes and information like this
could convince people how important it is to preserve areas like this. Whenever groups with such
extensive knowledge are destroyed, there can be little hope of regaining all that they have
Schertow, John Ahni. “Brazil: FUNAI Suspects Hunting of Indigenous People by Drug
Traffickers from Peru.” Internationacry.org. IC Magazine, 9 Aug. 2011. Web. 21. Sept.
2014
The indigenous people often face pressing obstacles, such as the interference from the
outside world. Many illegal enterprises take place in the Amazon jungle bordering Peru and
Brazil, and drug trafficking is just one of them. In 2011, a group of heavily armed men entered
the Amazon with plans to kill indigenous people to make room for cocoa growing. They carried
machine guns and rifles, but when the police tried to arrest them, they could only detain one
man. However, while the office of the Federal Police Superintendent in Arce has confirmed the
operation, they could not comment due to it being a sensitive topic. With little success, a group
of FUNAI representatives attempted to talk with the men, but were soon surrounded and had to
be helicoptered out.
While the outlook on the situation may seem bleak, it proved to the government that
indigenous people would continue to be a relevant issue. With them being a prevalent factor in
the Amazon, lives could be, and are, at stake whenever something violent, or even well meaning
enters the forest. Everything affects their outcome and how, ultimately, as a society look at
culture.
Society for Applied Anthropology. Society for Applied Anthropology. SfAA, 2014. Web. 12 Jan.
2015. <sfaa.net>.
This website pulls all the fields of anthropology together to a community in which
professional anthropologists can represent their findings in areas such as research, law, health,
business etc. This allows people to investigate their areas of interest and connect it to modern
world problems, in hope of changing the lives of humans everywhere. Originally founded in
1941, membership has expanded to 2,000 members and sponsors two major journals, Human
Organization and Practicing Anthropology. Its goal is to promote the study of human relations
and the integration of anthropological ideas in solving human problems. It showcases theories,
recommends education curriculum and promotes educational programs and expresses its
member’s interests to outside groups.
This website allows professional anthropologists of all different opinions and areas of
study to contribute their idea to a larger audience. And often, the people who study people are
the only link between indigenous tribes who either cannot or will not talk to outside forces. Once
the audience of indigenous issues is enlarged, it is more likely that focus will be put on solving
the problem, instead of it continuing to go ignored.
Survival International. National Indian Foundation of Brazil, N.D. website. 13. 9. 14
www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/uncontacted-brazil
Brazil’s Amazon contains over 77 uncontacted tribes. Although many have been reached
by FUNAI – the government’s Indian affairs department – many still remain adamantly isolated,
most likely from their history of violent invasions by the modern world (i.e. illegal loggers with
guns). Very little is known about these people, they do not follow any predicted stereotype,
ranging from nomadic hunter gatherer groups, like the Awa, to settled tribes that build homes
and plant crops such as manioc, a major sustenance source. Today, most of these tribes very
existence is threatened, by violent “government projects” such as dams and roads, illegal logging
and even viruses like the common cold, caught from outsiders. FUNAI is doing their best to help
the survival of these peoples by observing them, only stepping in when political or lifethreatening medical help is needed. Since 1987, many tribes have dwindled to only a handful of
survivors, or in one case, just one man: “the Man of the Hole”, known for the deep holes he digs
to protect himself from outsiders, as elusive as he is adaptable. It is suspected that he is the last
survivor of his people and continually rejects outside, or tribal, contact.
This article was provided by a group titles Survival International, an esteemed collection
of journalists and scholars studying the ways of life of uncontacted tribes in the Brazilian
Amazon. The article brings to mind questions of the desperate, perhaps futile, attempts to save
indigenous culture. Is it really tribal culture, true survival of the Earth, if said survival is
monitored by, however well-meaning, government programs. Whether it is or it is not, there is
certainly an urgency to make a decision, the future is growing ever more threatening by the day
to these people.
Survival International. National Indian Foundation of Brazil. N.D. website. 15. 9. 14
www.survivalinternational.org/about/funai
FUNAI – or the National Indian Foundation of Brazil, is a government body that creates
and enforces policies that have to do with the indigenous peoples of that area (most of which are
located in the Amazon jungle). Many tribes in this area live in differing extremes of isolation and
are constantly threatened by the invasion of outsiders, such as miners, ranchers and loggers, that
illegally trespass onto their land, bringing with them violence for any indigenous people they see,
destruction of natural resources, and the risk of exchanging viruses for which tribes have not
built up an immune system for. All of the side effects can be disastrous for these people, often
decreasing tribes by half, if not wiping them out completely. FUNAI works to uphold the rights
indigenous people are given by the Brazilian Constitution and the Indian Stature, while still
remaining “out of site” so as not to promote destruction of culture. It contains the department
CGII (General Coordination Unit of Uncontacted Indians), founded by Sydney Possuelo, the
only government unit in the world that protects indigenous people without contact. Before
FUNAI, most “Indian Protection” programs thought that the best way to “protect” indigenous
tribes was to bring them into modern culture, which destroyed a total of 80 tribes and gave away
much of their land. Also, many newly “reformed” Indians suffered horrible sicknesses because
of their lack of immunity to common diseases.
Since FUNAI’s construction, tribal decline has slowed, but not stopped. The organization
is doing everything possible to create an environment in which tribes can lie individually without
fear. At this point, it is impossible to say if that will be possible or not, but this is a good source
because it does show that there is some government programs dedicated to help preserve
indigenous culture’s individuality.
Valle, Sabrina. “’Uncontacted’ Tribes Fled Peru Logging, Arrows Suspect.” National
Geographic 6 Aug. 2008. Web. 7 Oct. 2014.
<http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/10/081006-uncontacted-tribes.html>.
Indigenous activists and scholars became aware of the abandoned arrows and huts located
between areas of deforestation, and are claiming it to be proof of the isolated tribes hasty escapes
from the illegal loggers on the Peru side of the Amazon. Further proof includes the siting of logs,
apparently illegally cut down in Peru, floating downriver to Brazil; the fact that there seem to be
new style of camps on the Brazil side that resemble the Peru style and the conversations between
the CIPIACI and the less-isolated tribes, only confirming their suspicions. The Peruvian
government has done little to address the issue. In 2007, Peru’s president even suggested that the
tribes were a hoax, despite scholars and the Brazilian government already recognizing them.
Also, the increased amount of deforestation has pushed tribes that used to never see each other,
into close contact, forcing inner-tribal fighting over food and territory.
This source has shown the struggle cause by lack of government interference. Usually,
problems arise when the government plays too large a part in trying to assimilate indigenous
culture, but in this article it becomes clear that by not helping at all, the modern world will
eventually destroy the culture anyways. This brings up the question of how little/how much
should the government be involved? It would be helpful to find more articles on different stages
of the spectrum to determine which level of government assistance works best.
World Wide Fund for Nature World Wide Fund for Nature. WWF, 2015. Web. 12 Jan. 2015.
<wwf.amazon.org.>
This website allows people who access to information on a number of documented tribes,
promoting a better understanding of average citizens to life inside the Amazon. Originally called
the World Wildlife Fund; it changed its name to World Wide Fund for Nature in 1986, as its
goals changed. It is an independent foundation registered under Swiss law but has offices in
more than 80 countries around the world and has started $13.000 projects. It showcases articles
that focus on the deteriorating climate and its affects on people, animals and economics.
Like any corporation that employs people and relies on money, there is certainly a degree
of bias; it is impossible to tell how corrupt or well meaning their investments are. However, the
new articles published on the site advocate for individual rights; protecting culture and wildlife.
It’s mission is to conserve the worlds diversity, making sure that resources remain sustainable
and decreasing the use of overall pollution to the world.