In an extremely rare event, an uncontacted tribe has been photographed on a riverbank in the remote Peruvian Amazon.
The reason for this unprecedented emergence has somewhat troubling undertones, though. This sighting, amid other developments in the region, may mean that potentially violent problems are on the horizon.
The Sighting
More than 50 members of the Indigenous, uncontacted Mashco Piro tribe were recently photographed on a riverbank in the remote Peruvian Amazon.
Believed to be the world’s largest uncontacted tribe, encounters with the Mashco Piro are extremely rare. This sighting of members of this incredibly reclusive community is a noteworthy event.
The Mashco Piro
It’s believed that the Mashco Piro tribe consists of more than 750 members, which would make it the largest tribe on the planet to remain uncontacted.
The Mashco Piro managed to maintain their independence from the rest of the world and continue in isolation, surviving the massacres and enslavement of the 19th-century rubber boom.
Where They Were Sighted
About 50 members of the tribe were spotted in an area where the Peruvian government has granted concessions to logging companies.
They appeared near the southeastern village of Monte Salvado that belongs to the Yine people. A smaller group of around 17 Mascho Piro tribe members also appeared near a neighboring village.
Previous Reports of the Tribe
The Yine people speak a similar language to the isolated Mashco Piro, meaning a degree of communication has been possible with the uncontacted tribe.
The Yine have previously reported that the Mashco Piro tribe has been angered by the presence of loggers on their land, according to Indigenous rights group Survival International.
Irrefutable Evidence
President of the local Indigenous rights group FENAMAD Alfredo Vargas Pio spoke of the encounter and the Peruvian government’s overall handling of the uncontacted Amazonian tribe.
In a statement from Survival International, he said: “This is irrefutable evidence that many Mashco Piro live in this area, which the government has not only failed to protect, but actually sold off to logging companies.”
More Frequent SIghtings
According to FENAMAD, the uncontacted tribe has been seen with increasing frequency, but this isn’t an attempt to make contact.
Tribe members have been spotted leaving the rainforest more often in recent weeks in search of food and to avoid loggers. This is the impact of deforestation and logging operations in action.
Not the First Emergence of the Tribe
This isn’t the first time logging operations in the area have prompted an appearance from members of the Mashco Piro.
In 2013, the tribe made multiple attempts to make contact with the outside world, including a tense standoff with a riverside community that seemed to stem from anger over illegal logging operations in the area.
Things May Get More Heated This Time Around
Some fear that encounters with the tribe could become hostile if these recent emergences of the uncontacted Mashco Piro are indeed an indication of anger over logging operations in their territory.
FENAMAD’s Vargas Piro warns that this time around, there’s the “risk of violence on either side” in meetings between the Mascho Piro and loggers or local inhabitants.
Extensive Logging Operation
Logging operations in the area are pretty extensive. One company in particular, Maderera Canales Tahuamanu SAC, has built more than 120 miles of road to enable its logging trucks to extract timber, according to Survival International.
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), a nonprofit group that certifies responsibly managed forests, has certified Canales Tahuamanu.
Cancel Their Certification
There are some who feel that the FSC should cancel the certification of Canales Tahuamanu, who currently holds over 130,000 acres of certified forest, in light of this Mashco Piro encounter. Peru’s government acknowledges that the company was logging within Mashco Piro territory eight years ago.
Survival International Director Caroline Pearce says that not revoking certification would be a “mockery of the certification system” and that throwing the loggers out and protecting the Mashco Piro territory is vital to preventing a “humanitarian disaster in the making.”
The Overtures of a Disaster?
This contact with what is historically such an isolated tribe really speaks to the increasing industrial encroachment into the Amazon.
This is one of the lesser-considered impacts of logging and deforestation in the area. This contact is forced by the destruction of the tribe’s territories. With this creates tension that means future encounters with the tribe have the potential for hostility.
