Exclusive: Automatic cameras in the Brazilian rainforest show images of the Massaco people, who are flourishing despite environmental threats

Summary

Images from automatic cameras reveal the first detailed glimpse of the isolated Massaco community in the Brazilian Amazon, estimated to have doubled in size since the 1990s to 250 people.

Despite threats from ranchers, loggers, and miners, the Massaco remain resilient, using strategies like spikes to deter outsiders.

Brazil’s no-contact policy, initiated in 1987 to protect isolated Indigenous peoples from disease and exploitation, has led to population growth among similar groups.

However, chronic underfunding and illegal encroachments continue to threaten these communities and the forests they protect.

  • xmunk@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    0·
    3 months ago

    First glimpse?

    So uncontacted is a highly temporary state.

    Personally I’m pretty divided on uncontacted tribes - I’d like everyone to be able to chose their own lifestyle including highly traditional lifestyles… but to make an informed decision you need to actually know what other options there are. Like - everyone raised in insular communities deserves a Rumspringa when they can experience other ways of life.