Amazon's last uncontacted tribes are having to move for their own survival

Uncontacted tribes in the Amazon are being forced to move on for the sake of their own survival.

Recently, the last surviving member of one of the Amazon's indigenous tribes died, marking the passing of a people and culture as nobody living knows their language or history.

Known to outsiders as 'the man of the hole', he had lived alone for years after the rest of his tribe had died out from a series of attacks from farmers during the 80s and 90s.

He got his nickname from the holes he dug around his territory and used both as shelters and traps.

Paralaxis / Alamy Stock Photo

His tribe is not the only one to be whittled down into nothing due to time and the encroachment of aggressive settlers who want to take their land and destroy the rainforest in order to access natural resources.

Some tribes have succumbed to disease, others have been massacred, while certain tribes have dissolved and assimilated into Brazil's population.

According to The Times, over the centuries, the number of South American tribes has dropped from several thousand to around 790.

Brazil's agency for the protection of indigenous tribes, Funai, says they have evidence of 114 as yet uncontacted tribes still living in the Amazon, though only 28 have been confirmed.

Those tribes that remain are having to move further and further away if they want to survive, as time and experience has proven that living near settlers has not paved the way for peaceful co-existence.

As more of the Amazon Rainforest is being subjected to deforestation, the lands these the uncontacted tribes live on is vanishing, and they have been the victims of brutal violence when they have tried to defend themselves.

The 'man of the hole' lived in a veritable island of surviving rainforest amidst a sea of devastation and resisted all attempts at communication, even once firing arrows at researchers who attempted to make contact.

Paralaxis / Alamy Stock Photo

For decades, Brazil's government policy towards the Amazon's tribes has been one of no contact, but that hasn't stopped the destruction of tribal lands and the deaths of people.

In recent years, Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has been accused of undermining government protection for the tribes as deforestation of the Amazon hit a 15 year high in 2021.

Bolsonaro also fired the last head of Funai in 2019 for opposing efforts to downgrade forest preservation measures and replaced him with a former police officer with connections to the agricultural sector.

If they stay, they face a loss of their homes through deforestation measures and violence, so it is ultimately unsurprising that for the few uncontacted Amazon tribes remaining moving away is becoming the only safe choice.

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