Video » Brazilian Indians

The Matis, who live in the Javari Valley near the Peruvian border, were first contacted in 1978. The consequences were catastrophic: over half of them rapidly died. By 1983, only 87 had survived. This clip was filmed in 1996; the men are hunting in the forest using blowpipes. Like all Amazonian Indians who use blowpipes, the Matis' darts are tipped with curare poison, and they wrap a small piece of wild cotton around the dart to make an airtight seal before it is fired.
3 mins.
Watch »

Brazil's Indian Affairs Agency FUNAI made contact with some of the Korubo tribe in 1996, as their lands were being invaded by loggers. FUNAI feared that an uncontrolled contact between loggers and the Korubo would turn violent, as there had been a history of conflict between the two sides. The tension of the encounter is clearly visible on the Korubo's faces. This group is still living in the forest, and the area in which their territory lies  - the Javari valley - has now been demarcated as an Indian territory following a twenty-year campaign by Survival and others.
8 mins. Watch »

Exclusive footage from a Survival campaigner. The Enawene Nawe of Mato Grosso state set up seasonal fishing camps; here, they have a dammed a river, and set basket traps for fish. Large amounts of fish are caught and smoked, which provides them with food for several months. The frontier of forest clearance for soya cultivation is fast approaching their lands.
5 mins. Watch »