Rare up-close footage shows member of remote Amazon tribe
Rare close-up footage has been captured of one of the last remaining uncontacted tribes living in the Amazon rainforest.
The video purports to show members of the isolated Awá tribe in Maranhao state, eastern Brazil.
It was reportedly filmed by the neighbouring Guajajara tribe, and released by activists who are trying to protect the area from logging, according to human rights groups.
Illegal miners and loggers represent one of the most pressing threats to the uncontacted peoples in the Amazon and have been blamed for introducing new diseases and polluting the rivers and forest.
Intense logging is encroaching on the secluded homes of remote tribespeople.
According to data from the government’s data from the government’s satellite monitoring agency, in May deforestation hit an all time high, with the rainforest losing almost the equivalent of two football fields every minute during the month.
The video shows a bare-chested man with a large knife, wandering through the rainforest and at one point he appears to look directly at the camera.
According to Survival International, an NGO which advocates for the protection of the world’s uncontacted tribes and indigenous groups, the Awá people are among the world’s most threatened communities.
Due to the threat of intensive logging as well as illegal mining operations in the Amazon, some tribes have been forced out of their homes. However some members remain in self-imposed isolation.
In 2017, The New York Times reported that about 10 members of a remote Amazon tribe were allegedly massacred by Brazilian gold miners.
“Under President Bolsonaro, loggers and ranchers have been emboldened to increase their assault on indigenous lands,” Survival International said when sharing the latest footage.
The video featured on Brazilian TV this week and is part of an upcoming documentary.
“How sad, to have to live in constant fear,” the documentary filmmaker Sonia Bridi tweeted after the vision went to air.
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, download the Yahoo News app from iTunes or Google Play and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoo’s daily newsletter. Sign up here.
