Comments on Power to the People: Death in the Amazon: Uncontacted Tribes

Well they had me fooled, but then South American t...

2008-06-24T16:07:00.000-04:00

Well they had me fooled, but then South American tribes aren't my strong point.

Shame really because I've never found that trying to hoodwink people is a good way to disseminate your message - however valid or well-meaning your message may be.

BAMBOOZLED!Even in an age when cynical sleuths can...

2008-06-24T08:59:00.000-04:00

BAMBOOZLED!

Even in an age when cynical sleuths can hyper-analyze stories for truth and accuracy, the occasional hoax still slips through the cracks. Such was the case with a so-called "lost Amazon tribe."

A few months ago, mainstream news outlets (including, ahem, Yahoo!) reported that a photographer had found a lost tribe of warriors near the Brazilian-Peruvian border. Photos of the tribe backed up his claim.

As it turns out, the story is only half true. The men in the photo are members of a tribe, but it certainly ain't "lost." In fact, as the photographer, José Carlos Meirelles, recently explained, authorities have known about this particular tribe since 1910. The photographer and the agency that released the pictures wanted to make it seem like they were members of a lost tribe in order to call attention to the dangers the logging industry may have on the group.

The photographer recently came clean, and news outlets, perhaps embarrassed at having been taken for a ride, have been slow to pick up the story. Now, the word is starting to spread and articles in the Buzz are picking up steam. Expect a lot more brutal truth in the coming days.

exactly highlander!the tribes don't need "civiliza...

2008-06-17T09:18:00.000-04:00

exactly highlander!

the tribes don't need "civilization", if the tribes couldn't provide their own means of subsistence, they would of died off hundreds of years ago. Heck, their daily labor is probably half of ours, but they still have enough to feed themselves. How many in America living from paycheck to paycheck can say the same?

As in the article,

"The missionaries said they wanted people to know their God, but Tarzan didn't see it that way: "Now we know money." Further, thanks to the missionaries, he says: "Now we know we lack money, which we hadn't known we lacked before."

Saw the pictures at the time and, as you highlight...

2008-06-17T04:16:00.000-04:00

Saw the pictures at the time and, as you highlight, the message couldn't be clearer. I am constantly amazed at the arrogance shown by people purporting to offer "civilization" to these tribes. Their in-built idea that they are somehow superior, and why wouldn't these people want what they have to offer, is staggering. I just hope they are left alone and the forests preserved for their futures - not ours.

Yah Blackstone, I miss the your coverage of news s...

2008-06-15T20:00:00.000-04:00

Yah Blackstone, I miss the your coverage of news stories that I don't read about anywhere else.

Also, you've been tagged.

its amazing, some of these tribes aren't uncontact...

2008-06-15T12:21:00.000-04:00

its amazing, some of these tribes aren't uncontacted because they live in such remote areas, but just because they want to be left alone! They want nothing to do with "civilization" and all the death, disease and destruction it brings.

Good to see the blog's back in action, comrade. I ...

2008-06-15T12:08:00.000-04:00

Good to see the blog's back in action, comrade. I had heard about this story but haven't seen any of the images up until now. I can only add my call to the rest opposed to disturbing these tribes.