Newly Discovered Indigenous Tribe

[Ed Wetschler]

Peruvian authorities have sighted another group of Indians who've had no contact with the outside world, this time near a touristed part of Manu National Park. What's your prognosis?

[Jacquie Whitt]

Very cool that there are remnants of humanity's aboriginal origins still undiscovered.  If they are truly "virgin indigenous" I think the rest of the world should leave them alone.  They may be curious now and perhaps will seek opportunities to explore the people who are observing them.  

The prognosis could be bad for them.  Once contact is made, they could eventually get swallowed by the bigger society. 

If Peruvian authorities manage the situation properly,  there may be a way for the tribe to have knowledge of the modern world without becoming part of it.  There are still many places in the Amazon & the Andes Mountains where locals have not had much contact with travelers.  Even in villages in the Sacred Valley near Cusco.  Rather like the Amish do in the mid-west US, except I think the Amish do ultimately get to choose their way of life and the Andes locals don't have a choice.

It's a very intriguing story! 

[Kat Morgenstern]

While acculturation is the eventual loss these and other tribes face when they come into contact with the dominant society, be it through representatives of the government, missionaries or tourists, the immediate and greatest concern is for their health. Indigenous people who have not been in contact with outsiders are highly susceptible to our germs which they have never encountered previously either. Contact, even friendly contact, can be fatal to them - almost immediately. It is absolutely imperative that these people are being left alone and receive proper protection.

[Tony Dunnell]

It's too early to pass judgement on President Ollanta Humala, but in this case he could be a blessing. Much of his campaign was based on protecting indigenous rights, something that his predecessors often ignored or abused (President Alan Garcia referred to indigenous protesters as 'savages' and 'second-class citizens').

Whether he can control illegal logging and mining -- arguably the greatest threat to these tribes -- is a different matter. In terms of disease, hopefully the tribes will have a greater immunity than, for example, the Incas. In earlier photos of tribespeople along the Peru-Brazil border, metal pans and modern machetes are clearly visible. Even if these items were obtained through inter-tribal trading, it might still suggest a degree of contact with the "outside world" and, perhaps, a greater tolerance to modern diseases. But that could be wishful thinking on my part...

Restricting (or denying) access to the tribal areas is the obvious solution, but illegal loggers, miners etc won't respect any such boundaries. The tribe is probably nomadic, which further complicates matters.

A very interesting, but very tricky, situation....

[Northeast News]

You all make very good points. Your comments lead me to ask, should we expose these people to modern medicine, if nothing else? And if so, how would they react to all this whizz-bang stuff around them? Would they want it?

Or do we just resolve to deny it?

Tricky.