Amazonian tribe not so “lost” after all

Remember the isolated Amazonian tribe which was “discovered” by Brazilian officials last month? Apparently it was all a hoax:

But it has now emerged that, far from being unknown, the tribe's existence has been noted since 1910 and the mission to photograph them was undertaken in order to prove that 'uncontacted' tribes still existed in an area endangered by the menace of the logging industry.

The disclosures have been made by the man behind the pictures, José Carlos Meirelles, 61, one of the handful of sertanistas – experts on indigenous tribes – working for the Brazilian Indian Protection Agency, Funai, which is dedicated to searching out remote tribes and protecting them.

According to Meirelles, he was justified since indigenous peoples have come under increasing encroachment by the outside world. Furthermore, he claimed that the images of the tribe proved that the government policy of not forcing isolated tribes to integrate with society was working.

Yet do the ends justify the means? It is important for these indigenous tribes to be protected and allowed to live their lives in the dense rain forest. Yet Meirelles’ actions may backfire and lead to a backlash by certain windbags.

Image- BBC News

Sources- Al Jazeera English, Guardian UK, AHN, The Latin Americanist, Gawker