What Gold Miners In A Bar Boasted They’d Done To A Never Before Contacted Amazonian Tribe, Is Truly Disturbing
13. How Could This Happen?
Many look to the issues that FUNAI has been facing as a possible cause for any violence against the tribes. In April of 2017, lack of federal funding forced FUNAI to shut down 5 of its bases that were being used to defend and monitor uncontacted tribes. “The slashing of FUNAI’s funds has left dozens of uncontacted tribes defenseless against thousands of invaders – gold miners, ranchers, and loggers – who are desperate to steal and ransack their lands,” said Stephen Corry, the director of tribal rights organization Survival International.
Now only 14 bases remain and even those 14 bases have been hit with drastic staffing cuts. Three of the five bases that were shut down were in the Javari Valley – a 33,000 square mile territory in remote western Brazil. This territory is also the 2nd largest reserve in the entire country where more than 100 uncontacted tribes are believed to live there which is more than anywhere else on the planet.
