Uncontacted peoples and voluntary isolation

Lesson 1 of 5 in "Peoples today", about 6 minutes

'Uncontacted' is a common but imperfect word. It describes peoples who have no peaceful, regular contact with the wider society. Specialists prefer 'peoples in voluntary isolation', because the isolation is a choice. These groups know that outsiders exist. They see aircraft, find metal tools and meet neighbouring peoples. They have decided to keep away, and they make that clear when approached.

Where they live

Most are in the Amazon basin. Brazil's indigenous affairs agency holds records of more than 100 isolated groups, of which a smaller number are confirmed, many in the Javari valley near the border with Peru. Peru has several, including the Mashco Piro. Others live in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela, and the Ayoreo of Paraguay's dry Chaco forest include families still in isolation. A few groups live in New Guinea.

Why they stay away

Isolation is usually a response to violence. During the rubber boom in the Amazon around 1900, indigenous people were enslaved and killed in large numbers. Many of today's isolated groups are thought to descend from survivors who fled deep into the forest. More recent meetings with loggers, miners and drug traffickers have often ended in killings. From their side, avoiding outsiders is simple prudence.

The danger of disease

The greatest risk in contact is infection. Isolated peoples have no immunity to common illnesses such as influenza, measles and even the common cold. Past contacts in the Amazon were repeatedly followed by epidemics that killed a large share of a group within a few years, sometimes more than half. A friendly visit can be as deadly as an attack.

The no-contact policy

For most of the twentieth century, governments and missionaries set out to contact isolated peoples, with terrible results. In the late 1980s Brazil changed course. Its policy since then has been to locate isolated groups from a distance, mark out and protect their territory, and make contact only if the people themselves seek it. Peru, Colombia and other countries have adopted similar rules.

How they are protected without contact

• Evidence is gathered from afar: aerial photographs, satellite images, abandoned camps, footprints and reports from neighbours.
• A territory is declared off limits to outsiders.
• Guard posts on rivers and trails turn back intruders.
• Neighbouring communities, who often act as the first line of defence, are vaccinated and supported.

Recently contacted peoples

A related category is peoples in 'initial contact', who have recently begun to deal with outsiders. The Jarawa of the Andaman Islands began friendly contact with nearby settlements in the late 1990s. A road built through their reserve brings traffic and tourists hoping to see them. Courts and campaigners in India have condemned such 'human safaris' as demeaning, and the practice is banned.

Common misunderstandings

Isolated peoples are not relics of the Stone Age. They are our contemporaries, with histories as long as anyone's, and they have adapted to pressure by retreating. Nor are they necessarily unchanged. Many use metal obtained by trade or taken from camps. Some were farmers who gave up their gardens to stay mobile and hidden.

The threats

Their lands are under pressure from logging, gold mining, oil and gas exploration, cattle ranching, roads and drug trafficking. Some missionaries still attempt contact in defiance of the law. A further risk comes from curiosity. Filming or approaching isolated groups for adventure or publicity puts lives in danger on both sides.

The principle that follows is clear and widely accepted. These peoples have the same right to self-determination as any other, and they are exercising it by staying apart. The duty of everyone else is to protect their land and leave the decision about contact to them.

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