PeopleofTheirNativeLand

ByCarmenLauchu

Introduction

Thetreestowerintotheair,tallerthanskyscrapers.Yourfeetthudonthe
soft,springyAmazonrainforestfloorandyoucanhearthesoundsofsomany
animals,nearandfaraway.Allyoucanseeforyardsandyardsaregreen,
greenandmorerichgreenoftheplantsandtreesthatcouldsavelivesifthey
wereidentified.Youlookovertoyourguide,Bei.Hesmiles,seeingyourwide
eyedexpressionofamazement,andputsafingertohislips.
ThereisamajorproblemintheAmazonwemaynotbeawareof-native
peopleslandrightsandtheirdisappearingwayoflife.
WhyaretheNativesImportant?

WhyisthisanIssue?
Youmayask,whoarethesepeople?Whataretheydoing?Theansweristhat
theseindigenouspeople(natives)liveintheAmazonRainforest.This
rainforestistheirhome.Butthemanytribesarethreatenedbyloggers,miners
andfarmerseagertoexploittheAmazonandthepeopleinit.Thisisanissue
becausemanytribeshavegonevirtuallyextinctbecauseoftheeager
exploitersoverhundredsofyears.YoucouldusetheYanomamiasan
example,butthereareover300tribesinwhichyoucoulduse.Thesepeople
havenorightsontheirlandandtheyarea0.4%minorityinBrazil.They
belongtotheAmazon.Andwecanhelpthem.
History
ThefirstYanomamithatmovedtotheamazoncamepossiblymorethan
20,000yearsago,probablymigratingacrosstheBeringStrait.TheEuropeans
camearound1500toraidthesepeopleinthenameofwealthorGod.They
broughtwiththemsickness,disease,slavery,anddeathandsmallgenocideof
indigenouspeople.Inthe1970s,Brazilianmilitarydictatorsletworkersbuilda
roadstraightthroughthethenorthernfrontieroftheAmazon,nearly
decimating2nativevillages.Inthe80sover40,000minersinvadedvillages
and20%oftheYanomamidiedin7years.Rightnow,theyarestillsufferingat
thehandsofmodernpeoplebynotgettingcriticalmedicalsuppliestheyneed
tonotgetsickandstayhealthy.

TheFightfortheirRights
AccordingtoNewsela.organdSurvivalInternational,thesetribesdonothave
thecollectivelandownershiptheyareentitledtounderinternationallaw.That
internationallawistheParisAgreement,aglobalclimatechangedeal.But
rightnow,167of188countrieshavechosennottorecognizenativeland
rights.
TheirWayofLife

SomeoftheTribes
Itisthoughtthatthereareatleast100uncontactedtribeslivinginthe
Amazonatthistime.Somearealsouncontactedandtheychosetobe.Here
aresomequickstatsonsometribes.
Guarani,Kaingang,PataxoHaHaHae,Tupinamba
Guarani-largestat51,000
Yanomami-14,000
Tikuna-40,000
Akuntsu-5
Awa-450
Thesmallesttribeismadeupofoneman,wholivesinasmallhut.
ASampleofLifeintheTribes
YournameisTari,andyouarean11yearoldboy.YouareaYanomamiand
youliveontheAltoOrinocoCasiquiareBiosphereReserve.Buttoyou,itis
home.Yougohuntingwithyourfather,Akealmosteveryday.Youdon'tcatch
muchsometimes.Youlikefishingthemost.Yourfatherandyousharethe
meatthatyoucatchbecauseyouwillgetsomefromanotherhunter.You
greatlyrespecttheshaman,andhehascuredyouofanillnessfromsome
timeago.Youusedtouseblowgunsandarrows,butonlyyourfatherhandles
thegun.
YournameisMatcha,andyouarea10yearoldgirl.Youmostlystayinyour
sectionofyourcommunalhouse,oryano/shabonowithyour3sistersand
mostofthewomenandgirlsinyouryano.Youarelearninghowtocookthe
foodthatthemenbringbackfromyourhumblehearth.Thefireisalways
burningandyousleepneartheflickeringflamesmostnights.
Some50tribesthathaveneverhadcontactwiththeoutsideworld
don'twearclothes.Morecivilizedtribesonlywearminimalclothing.

Tourism
ThisisasmallparagraphbasedonatriptotheAmazonHuaoranivillageby
StanleyStewartfromCondeNastTraveller.
ThemuggyAmazonairmakesyourclothessticktoyourbody.The
Huaoraniguideshowsyoutothelodgeandgivesyouyourthings.Youwalk
insidetoseethesummer-campsimplicityofyourhomeforthenext2weeks.
Itisasmallthatchedhouseswithanen-suitebathroomandwalledwith
screenstoseetheforestwithoutgettingeatenalivebymosquitos,andtwin
beds,hooksforclothes,andacouplechairsmakingupasmallrestarea.You
seefartheralongapatharethekitchens,diningfacilities,andacommunal
porch.Yousighandflopontothebed.You'retiredfromthelongflightand
thinkanafternoonnapisinorder.

Thisisonlyonecompanyoflodgesandonlyoneexampleoutofmanyother
tribesthathavestartedthisnewtrend.Itisasourceofincomeforthesetribes
whohavenorealstanceinthemodernworld.Withthisresourcetheywillbe
abletostandfortheirrights.


TheConflictBetweenNativesandOutsiders

Don'tCutDowntheTrees,They'reImportant!
Youmaythinkthatsavingthetreesismoreimportantthansavingthe
AmazonPeople.
Honestly,it'sreallycomplicated.
Ifyoucutdownthetrees,youcouldessentiallyhurttheAmazonpeopleas
wellastheanimals,soil,water,trees,andoxygen.
Basically,everything.
TheAmazonsrespecttheforestanduseonlywhattheyneed,andtheyuse
thetreesnon-invasivelytolookforpreyandfindanimals.

Ontheotherhand,ourmoderncivilization(andthebusinessempire)hasa
growingneedformaterialthings,likefurniture,food,electronics,everything.
Also,the7countriesthatthelandencompassesarealldevelopingcountries,
andtheywanttobeuptospeedwithdevelopedcountriesliketheUS.
Thesebotharevaluableargumentsthatcouldbeproveneitherway.

Conclusion-HowYOUcanhelp
HowcanyouhelptheseAmazontribestohavetheirownland?
Coolearthisthecharitythatworksalongsideindigenousvillagestohalt
rainforestdestruction.(coolearth.org)
Youcandonatetotheirorganizationorvisittheirwebsitetolearnabouttheir
differentapproachtodeforestation.
FUNAIistheBrazilianGovernment'sIndigenousAffairsorganization(but
everythingisinSpanishifyoudonttranslateit.)andyoucanlearnabouthow
theydealwiththelossofindigenouspeoples.
Butitsnotliketheycan'ttalk.HereisaquotefromDaviYanomami-Forus
Indians,thislandbelongstoussowecanplant,hunt,andbehealthy.Ourland
isourheritage,aheritagewhichprotectsus.
Thereisnoquicksolutiontothislargeandcomplicatedproblemofthe
indigenouspeople,butevencaringalittlecangoalongway.

THE FOREST IS LIFE FOR US
Macario Lopez, Parijaro Village

Glossary

Indigenous-originatingoroccurringnaturallyinaparticularplace;native.

BeringStrait-astraitbetweenAlaskaandtheRussianFederationinAsia,connectingtheBeringSea

andtheArcticOcean.36miles(58km)wide.

Decimate/Decimating-todestroyagreatnumberorproportionof:

EnSuite-insuccession;inaseriesorset.

Non-Invasive-notinvadingadjacenthealthycells,bloodvessels,ortissues;localized:

DevelopingCountries-acountryhavingastandardoflivingorlevelofindustrialproductionwell

belowthatpossiblewithfinancialortechnicalaid;acountrythatisnotyethighlyindustrialized.


WorksCited

FUNAI.Web.11Apr.2017.

"Dictionary.com."Dictionary.com.Dictionary.com.Web.11Apr.2017.

"EnvironmentalGroupsAskNationstoGiveLandtoNativesfor

Protection."Newsela|EnvironmentalGroupsAskNationstoGive

LandtoNativesforProtection.Web.10Apr.2017.

International,Survival."Brazil:GovernmentCutsThreatentoDestroythe

TribeinthePhotos."Brazil:GovernmentCutsThreatentoDestroy

theTribeinthePhotos-SurvivalInternational.Web.11Apr.2017.

International,Survival."Yanomami."Yanomami-SurvivalInternational.

Web.10Apr.2017.

"JourneyintotheAmazon."Traveller.Web.10Apr.2017.

"WorkingtoHaltRainforestDestruction."CoolEarth.Web.11Apr.2017.