Malaria, mercury, and miners threaten Brazil’s Munduruku indigenous

Until the 19th century, the Tapajós river valley in the southwest of the Brazilian state of Pará was culturally dominated by the warriors of the Munduruku indigenous community. Today, with a population of slightly more than 14,000, the Munduruku people are fighting for survival, trying to hold on to the small slice of land they have left.

However, as it may have been in days gone by, the Munduruku are not under threat from a rival tribe. This time, their adversary is capital, represented by the interests of illegal gold miners and hydroelectric energy projects.

Alongside two neighboring lands, the Munduruku indigenous reserve is home to 145 villages, spread over 30,000 square kilometers of forest, springs, and sacred sites which are protected by Brazilian law. Yet, just 30 meters underneath this remote part of Brazil’s Amazon lies one of the world’s largest gold deposits: the so-called Tapajós Auriferous Province.

A group of Brazilian anthropologists spent the last seven months documenting the current situation in the Tapajós river valley, concluding that the main threat facing the local Munduruku people comes from wildcat gold mining. A study published in 2020 found worryingly high levels of mercury in blood samples taken from the region’s indigenous population. 

Many artisanal and wildcat gold mines use mercury, mixing it with materials that contain gold to obtain an amalgam of the two metals. The mercury is then vaporized, leaving the gold behind. Much of this poisonous metal is then discarded in rivers, which serve as crucial sources of water and food for nearby...