Vale do Javari (

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

: Javari Valley) is one of the largest indigenous territories in

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, encompassing 85,444.82 km ² (32,990 mi ²) – an area larger than

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. It is named after the

Javari River The Javary River, Javari River or Yavarí River ( es, Río Yavarí, links=no; pt, Rio Javari, links=no) is a tributary of the Amazon that forms the boundary between Brazil and Peru for more than . It is navigable by canoe for from above its ...

, the most important river of the region, which since 1851 has formed the border with

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. It includes much of the

Atalaia do Norte Atalaia do Norte is the most western municipality in the Brazilian state of Amazonas. As of 2020, its population was 20,398 and its area is 76,355 km², thus making it the third largest municipality in Amazonas and the seventh largest in Braz ...

municipality as well as adjacent territories in the western section of Amazonas state. Besides the Javari it is transected by the

Pardo ''Pardos'' (feminine ''pardas'') is a term used in the former Portuguese and Spanish colonies in the Americas to refer to the triracial descendants of Southern Europeans, Amerindians and West Africans. In some places they were defined as ne ...

, Quixito, Itaquai and Ituí rivers.

Inhabitants

Vale do Javari is home to 3,000

indigenous peoples of Brazil Indigenous peoples in Brazil ( pt, povos indígenas no Brasil) or Indigenous Brazilians ( pt, indígenas brasileiros, links=no) once comprised an estimated 2000 tribes and nations inhabiting what is now the country of Brazil, before European con ...

with varying degrees of contact, including the

Matis The Matis people (also called Matsë in their own native language) are an indigenous people of Brazil. The Matis are commonly named as the Jaguar people by tourists and filmmakers, but they do not like to be called like this. They live in thre ...

, the Matses, the Kulina, and others. The

uncontacted Uncontacted peoples are groups of indigenous peoples living without sustained contact with neighbouring communities and the world community. Groups who decide to remain uncontacted are referred to as indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation. L ...

indigenous peoples are estimated to be more than 2,000 individuals belonging to at least 14 tribes including the ''Isolados do Rio Quixito'', ''Isolados do Itaquai'' (

Korubo The Korubo or Korubu, also known as the Dslala, are an indigenous people of Brazil living in the lower Vale do Javari in the western Amazon Basin. The group calls themselves 'Dslala', and in Portuguese they are referred to as ''caceteiros'' (clu ...

), ''Isolados do Jandiatuba'', ''Isolados do Alto Jutai'', ''Isolados do Sao Jose'', ''Isolados do Rio Branco'', ''Isolados do Medio Javari'' and ''Isolados do Jaquirana-Amburus''. These are believed to be living deep inside its reservation areas. The uncontacted tribes live in some 19 known villages identified by air. According to Fabricio Amorim from

Fundação Nacional do Índio Fundação Nacional do Índio (, ''National Indian Foundation'') or FUNAI is a Brazilian governmental protection agency for Amerindian interests and their culture. Original founding as Indian Protection Service In 1910, the Indian Protecti ...

, the region contains "the greatest concentration of isolated groups in the Amazon and the world". The Brazilian government has made it illegal for non-indigenous people to enter the territory; the area (along with its inhabitants) is observed by the government from the air.

Illegal economic activities

The region is known for being a trafficking route for cocaine. Illegal activities, like fishing (mostly to export ''

pirarucu The arapaima, pirarucu, or paiche is any large species of bonytongue in the genus ''Arapaima'' native to the Amazon and Essequibo basins of South America. ''Arapaima'' is the type genus of the subfamily Arapaiminae within the family Osteoglos ...

'' and ''

piracatinga ''Calophysus macropterus'' (also known as the Piracatinga, Vulture Catfish, or Zamurito) is a species of catfish (order Siluriformes) of the monotypic genus ''Calophysus'' of the family Pimelodidae. This fish has also been placed in its own fam ...

''), logging and mining, help criminal groups linked to drug trafficking to

launder money Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...

and import more drugs to Brazil.

In the media

In October 2009, a plane with eleven people aboard emergency-landed in the middle of the reservation. People from the Matis tribe found the wreckage and alerted local authorities, who dispatched a rescue mission that flew nine survivors out of the reservation. Vale do Javari is the setting of the 2011 report ''The Unconquered: In Search of the Amazon's Last Uncontacted Tribes'' by ''National Geographic'' writer Scott Wallace. It details a 76-day expedition in 2002 led by

Sydney Possuelo Sydney Ferreira Possuelo (born 19 April 1940, in Santos Dumont), is a Brazilian explorer, social activist and ethnographer who is considered the leading authority on Brazil's remaining isolated Indigenous Peoples. Life and career Sydney Possuel ...

to find the status of the " Arrow People", an uncontacted tribe. In June 2022, British freelance journalist

Dom Phillips Dominic Mark Phillips (23 July 1964 – 5 June 2022) was a British freelance journalist. He wrote for ''The Guardian'' and ''The Washington Post'', and contributed to ''The Times'', the ''Financial Times'' and Bloomberg News, among others. On ...

and Bruno Pereira, a Brazilian expert on indigenous peoples of Amazonas, were murdered for helping to protect indigenous people from illegal drug traffickers, miners, loggers, and hunters.

Notes

External links

Unknown Tribes of Javari Valley
Indigenous Territories (Brazil) Indigenous topics of the Amazon Uncontacted peoples {{AmazonasBR-geo-stub