- Crisis escalating between isolated tribes and villagers
- Climate change, illegal activities driving contact
- Protection agents face lack of resources
On a cloudy afternoon in April, Nolasco Torres and Freddy Capitan glide their canoe through a dense, jungle-covered ravine. Along their path, they search for footprints and broken branches – signs of the possible return of isolated tribes in this remote region. After navigating a curve, they steer towards Nueva Vida, a small Indigenous village hidden in Peru’s eastern Amazon, around 100 kilometers (62 miles) from the Brazil border.
“When this ravine dries, they’ll return here,” Torres says. “Summer is coming. We need to ensure our communities are ready.” Torres, 47, and Capitan, 33, are Indigenous Huni Kuin leaders. They are also friends and neighbors of Nueva Vida’s 30 villagers. But their visit isn’t social. Clad in khaki vests marked “PIACI” (Indigenous Peoples in Isolation and Initial Contact), they’re part of a group of 50 Indigenous protection agents employed by Peru’s Ministry of Culture. Their mission has brought them to the Curanjillo Ravine, where contact is increasing.
Last August, during the annual drought, more than two dozen isolated Mastanahua appeared at Nueva Vida’s edge, naked and holding bows and arrows. Frightened villagers retreated as the group took machetes, food, and buckets before heading back into the forest. This encounter ended peacefully, but recent years have seen several tense interactions between isolated tribes and villagers, triggering widespread fear.
As the dry season nears, rivers shrink, pushing tribes closer to populated areas in search of resources. The leader of Nueva Vida, Rafael Montes, 30, voiced concern in April: “We sleep in fear. Our only defense is shotguns.” Torres and Capitan frown at the mention of violence. The state’s protocols urge calm and prompt contact with protection agents, but many villages lack reliable communication and secure refuge, making these instructions hard to follow.
In June, two months after Torres and Capitan visited Nueva Vida, a group of 30 Mastanahua returned, and this time, the entire community fled. Today, Nueva Vida is deserted, with homes and crops overtaken by the jungle.
A Growing Crisis
In Peru’s eastern Amazon, contact with some of the world’s most isolated tribes is increasing, turning the region into a flashpoint. The Mastanahua and Mashco Piro tribes have avoided contact with the outside world for generations, but growing encounters are creating a dangerous situation. This raises concerns about deadly confrontations and leads to entire villages evacuating. It also prompts questions about Peru’s commitment to safeguarding these tribes amid growing encroachment on their land.
Experts attribute the increasing contact to a combination of extractive industries, illegal activities, and climate change. “The region is in a severe crisis,” said Beatriz Huertas, an anthropologist working with Indigenous communities. She explains that illegal logging, drug trafficking, and state neglect are threatening isolated tribes’ territories. Although Peruvian law recognizes the land rights of isolated peoples, it allows natural resource exploitation deemed a “public necessity,” leading to logging and fossil fuel extraction in protected areas.
Displaced Tribes
Peru hosts the second-largest population of isolated tribes globally, following Brazil. Around 7,500 people from 25 ethnic groups live in isolation or are in initial contact. These groups are often mistakenly viewed as “lost” or living in the distant past. However, many have endured violence and disease due to historical contact with outsiders, especially during the rubber boom from the 1890s to the 1920s. After suffering population decimation, many tribes fled to remote areas, where some remain today.
The greater Purus region, extending into Brazil, is home to the largest concentration of isolated tribes, including the Mashco Piro, the world’s largest known isolated tribe, and the Mastanahua, who share linguistic ties with the Huni Kuin and other tribes. During the Amazon summer, these tribes trek hundreds of kilometers along dried streams in search of resources, but climate change is disrupting their habitats.
Watchmen of the Forest
Navigating another ravine, Torres and Capitan search for signs of isolated tribes. They inspect the area for evidence of human activity and listen for sounds mimicking wildlife, a tactic used by these tribes. “We are like watchmen,” Torres says. Their job is to report findings to the authorities.
Due to increased contact with isolated tribes, the Peruvian government recruits local Indigenous villagers like Torres and Capitan as protection agents. Their knowledge of the forest and ability to communicate government protocols in native languages make their role essential. They patrol for days, documenting evidence and sending reports to Peru’s Ministry of Culture.
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However, Purus’s forests have also become a corridor for drug smuggling. In 2023, nearly 230,000 acres of coca were cultivated in Peru, with over 43,000 acres inside protected areas. Drug traffickers, along with illegal loggers and hunters, are pushing isolated tribes into more populated areas. Torres and Capitan are tasked with calming communities and ensuring government protocols are followed during encounters.
Despite the protection agents’ efforts, they face challenges. “Government officials in Lima don’t understand our reality,” Capitan says. A shortage of personnel, poor communication, and unreliable equipment hinder their ability to protect villagers and tribes alike. Without proper measures, tensions in the region will continue to escalate.
A Deadly Encounter
In 2020, three members of a Mastanahua family, once isolated but drawn out by missionaries, were killed near the Cetico Outpost. Their deaths remain unexplained, but the suspected culprits are the Mashco Piro. These incidents, along with other attacks in the region, show the growing aggression of the Mashco Piro, driven by external pressures.
Following the killings, the government abandoned the Cetico Outpost. Four years later, nearby villages remain deserted.
A Call for Action
Torres and Capitan live in Balta, a Huni Kuin community bordering the Alto Purus National Park. Their work is dangerous, but they remain dedicated. “We could be killed any moment,” Torres says. But they believe that isolated tribes have the right to live according to their customs. The state’s failure to protect these tribes is evident, as requests for communication tools and safehouses go unaddressed.
Experts like Huertas believe stronger alliances between the state and local communities are necessary to protect these tribes. Meanwhile, villagers live in fear, uncertain of when the next raid may come.
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