Indigenous people
There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...
of
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
living in the
Amazon rainforest
The Amazon rainforest, also called the Amazon jungle or Amazonia, is a Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist broadleaf tropical rainforest in the Amazon biome that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America. This basin ...
. There are approximately 350 members, and 100 of them have no contact with the outside world. They are considered highly endangered because of conflicts with
logging
Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, trucksGuajá, a Tupi–Guaraní language. Originally living in settlements, they adopted a nomadic lifestyle around 1800 to escape incursions by Europeans.
History
During the 19th century, the Awá came under increasing attack by European settlers in the region, who cleared most of the forests from their land. Beginning around 1800, the Awá people adopted an increasingly
nomadic
Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...
lifestyle in order to avoid European invaders.
From the mid-1980s onward, some Awá moved to government-established settlements. However, for the most part, they were able to maintain their traditional way of life. Sustaining themselves entirely from their forests in nomadic groups of a few dozen people, and with little or no contact with the outside world.
In 1982, the
Brazilian government
The politics of Brazil take place in a framework of a federal presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. The political and administrative ...
received a loan of US$900 million from the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...
and the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
. One condition of the loan was that the lands of certain Indigenous peoples, including the Awá, would be
demarcated
{{Refimprove, date=January 2008
A political demarcation line is a geopolitical border, often agreed upon as part of an armistice or ceasefire.
Africa
* Moroccan Wall, delimiting the Moroccan-controlled part of Western Sahara from the Sahrawi-c ...
and protected; this held particular importance for the Awá, whose forests were being increasingly invaded by outsiders, with many cases of tribespeople being killed by settlers, and the forest on which they depended being destroyed by logging and land clearance for farming.
Without government intervention, it seemed very likely that the Awá and their culture would become extinct. However, the Brazilian government was extraordinarily slow to act on its commitment. It took 20 years of sustained pressure from campaigning organisations such as
Survival International
Survival International is a human rights organisation formed in 1969, a London based charity that campaigns for the collective rights of Indigenous, tribal and uncontacted peoples.
The organisation's campaigns generally focus on tribal people ...
and, earlier, the
Forest Peoples Programme
Forest Peoples Programme (FPP) advocates an alternative vision of how forests should be managed and controlled, based on respect for the rights of the people who know them best. FPP works with forest peoples in South America, Africa, and Asia, t ...
before, in March 2003, the Awá's land was finally demarcated.
Meanwhile, encroachment on their land and a series of massacres had reduced their numbers to about 300, only about 60 of whom were still living their traditional
hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living in a community, or according to an ancestrally derived Lifestyle, lifestyle, in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local naturally occurring sources, esp ...
way of life.
In late 2011, illegal loggers burned an 8-year-old Awá girl alive after she wandered out of her village. The murder happened inside a protected area in the state of
Maranhão
Maranhão () is a States of Brazil, state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of and it is divided into 217 municipalities. Clockwise from north, it ...
. Luis Carlos Guajajaras, a leader from another people, said that the girl had been killed as a warning to other native peoples living in the protected area.
According to the Indigenous Missionary Council, about 450 Indigenous people were murdered between 2003 and 2010. An investigation discovered the Awá camp in question had been destroyed by loggers. According to
Survival International
Survival International is a human rights organisation formed in 1969, a London based charity that campaigns for the collective rights of Indigenous, tribal and uncontacted peoples.
The organisation's campaigns generally focus on tribal people ...
, a
human rights
Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...
organization which campaigns for the rights of Indigenous tribal peoples and considers them to be the "earth's most threatened tribe," Awá forests are now disappearing faster than in any other Indian area in the
Brazilian Amazon
Brazilian commonly refers to:
* Brazil, a country
* Brazilians, its people
* Brazilian Portuguese, its dialect
Brazilian may also refer to:
* "The Brazilian", a 1986 instrumental music piece by Genesis
* Brazilian Café, Baghdad, Iraq (1937)
* Bra ...
.
In April 2012,
Survival International
Survival International is a human rights organisation formed in 1969, a London based charity that campaigns for the collective rights of Indigenous, tribal and uncontacted peoples.
The organisation's campaigns generally focus on tribal people ...
launched a worldwide campaign, backed by the actor
Colin Firth
Colin Andrew Firth (born 10 September 1960) is an English actor and producer. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Colin Firth, several accolades, including an Academy Award, two British Academy Film Awards, BAFTA Aw ...
, to protect the Awá people.
In September 2012, Brazil's Indian Affairs Department claimed that loggers were only away from the Awá.
In 2019, Mídia Índia, an indigenous film-making association, released a rough cut video of uncontacted tribe members, as
activists
Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...
warn of growing threats to this tribe from loggers who are nearing their traditional hunting ground. It was shown on Brazil’s Globo TV on July 21, 2019, and features in the documentary, “Ka’a Zar Ukize Wá – Forest Keepers in Danger” by Mídia Índia. It was made in collaboration with the and the with the support of organizations including Instituto Makarapy, If Not Us Then Who and
Survival International
Survival International is a human rights organisation formed in 1969, a London based charity that campaigns for the collective rights of Indigenous, tribal and uncontacted peoples.
The organisation's campaigns generally focus on tribal people ...
. In July 2021, it was confirmed that one of the tribe's members, Karapiru Awá Guajá, had died of
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
earlier in the month, at an estimated age of 75. Guajá, who campaigned against the destruction of Awá land and for the rights of Indigenous Brazilian peoples, had been vaccinated against the virus.