|
|
|
Unknown tribe found in the Amazon mongabay.com June 4, 2007
The Metyktire tribe, with about 87 members, was found in late May around 1,200 northwest of Rio de Janeiro. Brazil's Federal Indian Bureau (FUNAI) says the tribe is a subgroup of the Kayapo tribe and lives on the Kayapos' 12.1-million-acre Menkregnoti Indian reservation. Two Metyktire tribe members appeared in a Kayapo village. It is unclear why they established contact with the Kayapo but a medical team has been allowed access to the isolated group. The Indigenous People's Cultural Support Trust in London, a nonprofit group working in the area, reports in a blog entry that Metyktire speak an archaic version of the Kayapo language. Men are naked except for penis sheathes and large lip-plates, while females shave the top of their heads.
In Brazil there are some 700,000 Indians, of whom 450,000 lives on indigenous reserves which cover 12.5% of the country and 26% of the Brazilian Amazon. The size of Indian territories is almost double the size of all state and federal protected areas. Research published last year by scientists at the Woods Hole Research Center and the Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazonia showed that indigenous reserves in the Amazon help slow deforestation and reduce the incidence of fire. The Amazon has lost about 700,000 square kilometers (270,000 square miles) of forest since the early 1970s, though deforestation has slowed in recent years due to economic trends and government efforts. Related Second "uncontacted" tribe in Amazon rain forest threatened by loggers. PORTO VELHO, Brazil (Reuters) -- A Brazilian Indian tribe armed with bows and arrows and unseen for years has been spotted in a remote Amazon region where clashes with illegal loggers are threatening its existence. Comments? News options News index | RSS | Add to MyYahoo! Advertisements: Organic Apparel from Patagonia | Insect-repelling clothing |
MONGABAY.COM
T-SHIRTS 
CALENDARS 
CANVAS BAGS 
|
Kayapo woman and child. Photo by Daniel Farias / FUNAI
|
|
