Dramatic photographs of previously unfound Amazon Indians have highlighted the precariousness of the few remaining “lost” tribes and the dangers they face from contact with outsiders. (Click here for a slideshow of the tribe.)
Rather than “lost”, Amazon expert Thomas Lovejoy said the tribe has likely had contact with other indigenous groups over the years.
“I think there is an ethical question whether you can in the end keep them from any contact and I think the answer to that is no,” Lovejoy said.
“The right answer is to have the kind of contact and change that the tribes themselves manage the pace of it.”
Jose Carlos Meirelles, an official with Brazil’s Indian protection agency who was on the helicopter that flew over the tribe, said they should be left alone as much as possible.
Should modern civilization attempt to contact isolated tribes?
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absolutely no…leave them out of this mess of a world we have made
- Posted by cassy massachusettsI am shocked at the amount self loathing in a lot of these comments. The “we are so destructive and evil, and these poor tribes people have got the sense to live properly” attitude is a little disturbing to say the least. You may feel that you are presenting an enlightened view, but let me tell you why you are wrong.
Let’s consider what we know about these people. I think the phrase “Sod All” sums it up faily well. I mean come on guys, just because they’ve been living on their own for a few years doesn’t mean they have the formula for a peaceful balanced existence. The reason they are totally isolated could be that they murdered everyone in a 200 mile radius. The truth is we know nothing about these people, just as they know nothing about us. As we saw they acted violently towards the Helicopteras they most likely percived it as dangerous, but there is nothing to say that if we explained the mechanics of how a helicopter works that one of them couldn’t figure out how to make it better, or even invent a whole new mode of air travel. My point is that just because they may look “primitive” does not mean they may could not contribute to modern society.
I think it would be negligable not to at the very least approach these people, all be it very carefully and gradually, and present the CHOICE of either staying where they are or venturing into this globally society we ourselves are fumbling about in.
- Posted by Mik OsborneHAHAHA i cant believe some of the comments I have read.
What would you want if you were in their shoes? I would prefer modern medicine, an average life span of +70 years, easier means of acquiring food/shelter, etc. I don’t see a lot of people on this post trading in their modern/evil “materialistic” technology for a more primitive lifestyle - I see quite the opposite: people posting comments in the comfort of their homes on the internet. Everyone that votes to leave them alone is hypocrite - either drop your starbucks and broadband internet connection or let them enjoy the same comforts as you.
- Posted by DB
DB, what we have today, they will fear. They wont find it a “comfort”. They wont miss what they have never had before. We just have to leave them alone, we should not contact them for reason that will just go on. We will miss internet and all the good things in “our life” because that is the world we live in, but its not the world they live in.
I think people should think about what they are saying and think about how they are as humans to what we are. We went through life in stages, you cant take people that still live in huts and dont even know we are here to now 2008.
Yes I find it very interested but seriously.
- Posted by KerrynLeave them the f alone..i agree with Merlin, they would think this thing flying over is some evil spirit..no wonder there trying to bring it down with bows and arrows..just let them be.. if they have been there for this long why hassel them now!..
- Posted by Ellyof course we should to spread the gospel by the way…..if u died tonight…would you go to heaven or to hell??? ask your self that question…
- Posted by joshMaybe it is we who are lost.
- Posted by Merlin
EXACTLY MY THOUGHT!
They aren’t lost, they have been living this way since the beginning of time, They know where they are.
We are the ones who are lost.
- Posted by KaneThose poor people, they have NO idea what the hell a plane is, and suddenly it goes flying over them. THey would be going CRAZY. They are living with NO electricity, meanwhile the USA is the country with the most electricity power. Leave these poor people alone, go to your mcdonalds.
Just leave them alone. Why do they even need to be contacted anyways? The way I see it, the more isolated they are from the host of men eagar to examine them like animals, the better off they’ll be.
- Posted by AgateMaybe we should look at ourselves before we go calling others primitive: do the old in their culture suffer because no one protects them? Does one group of people have much while the others have little?
If not, then perhaps we can go to them, with humility and respect and ask them to teach and civilise us.
As Ghandi said when asked what he thought of American Civilisation: “It would be a good idea”.
PS Melody: look at the mess the world is in because of Jesus Allah and who knows who else. Everyone claims God to be on there side, I often wonder if anyone is left on his.
- Posted by cynicviewit is better that president BUSH give them democracy as a gift
- Posted by pooyanwe need to let them be
- Posted by Rubyyes we can watch them over the years but dont do anything
dont you see what we have become with the new technology?
why ruin the potential of these tribes with cell phones and high gas prices? obviously their fine on their own if they have existed for so long
I agree with most here, Leave them alone, they arnet hurting anyone, just let them carry on with their lives.
- Posted by debby“What right have we to say to our fellow man “You are better off where you are,” when where they are is absolute poverty? Little comfort their thatched slum may be when their children are dying of malnutrition and disease.”
I feel like I’m living in the 1800s. First of all, these “lost” (I’ve never heard anything so ethnocentric in contemporary mainstream media) people may be living in poverty. I don’t think they have any money. By god, maybe we should send them some money so they can have an easier way to start their fires. As for them starving, they’re growing their own food, living off the forest. I think they’d be starving more if we sent in some subsidized American-grown corn and a fork, you nimwits.
They have taken care of themselves for a thousand years, and if we feel like we’re leaving our fellow men out of a fabulous secret of what we call society: capitalism, materialism, money=god…just do some reading about how well just about every indigenous culture that has ever existed has felt about being introduced to europeans. And as for diseases, those of you that think they’re diseased now and need to be introduced to Western medicine…just wait ’til we contact them. They’ll need all the western medicine we have.
As for their ‘hostile nature’, what would you do if a big loud angry monster with spinning arms hovered over your village…would you feel threatened? Does anyone actually think they saw the helicopter and thought? Oh, look, a helicopter with photographers! We’re going to be discovered! We had better shoot at them!
I think they were scared and had no idea what sort of contraption was hovering over their village, and probably felt like their families were being threatened.
- Posted by CJI completely agree with Brett.
- Posted by PuffHey,Attack those terrorists,they have weapons of mass destruction and they are trying to reach nuclear weapons,or maybe they already have some.lets spread freedom in the world.Do not forget the “devil’s axis”.
- Posted by ArmanLeave them alone…
- Posted by Dave BeechamNo.
- Posted by A.Y.They are not “LOST” Contacting them? For what reason? Have we become so greedy that we feel anything we find or discover has to be destroyed in our pursuit of self declaration?
- Posted by Gerald Von RiesenLeave them alone. They are the only true sustainable society.
- Posted by LuisI love Nestor Makhno’s commentary…hmmm…by the way, is there oil in that part of Brazil? If so, maybe we could resurrect the Monroe Doctrine and take it! Or hey, maybe we could buy all their land for some shiny beads like we did with the Native Americans in Manhattan. Come to think of it, we shouldn’t give them any of our valuable shiny beads, let’s give them some good old fashioned subprime paper held by the Fed…yep, that ought to do it!
- Posted by PatrickThey must be told about Jesus. Jesus Christ will not return to the earth until everyone has heard the good news.
- Posted by Melody