Brazil’s indigenous agency fails to protect uncontacted Amazon peoples

Between August and October last year, an expedition by Brazil’s National Indigenous Foundation (Funai) encountered a group of uncontacted indigenous people in the south of Amazonas state. According to experts, the community is made up of a few dozen individuals living in a forest close to the town of Lábrea, some 720 kilometers from the state capital of Manaus. The region is outside the limits of any of Brazil’s sanctioned indigenous territories, meaning they are completely unprotected against the threat of violence or trespassing.

The discovery was confirmed after coming across a series of artifacts — such as pans, baskets, bows, clubs, and shelter materials — close to where the group is believed to fish and collect items from the forest. Funai officials heard the uncontacted community a short distance away, at which point the expedition was immediately suspended. Upon returning to their base of operations, the team requested a series of urgent measures to protect this previously unknown community, such as closing off the entire region of the forest.

By Brazilian law, uncontacted indigenous groups are those which find refuge in remote areas and do not have any regular or significant...