HIV reaches Yanomami in Amazon

2010-01-27T12:04:52+00:00

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Brazil’s National Health Foundation, FUNASA, has confirmed the first case of HIV amongst the "Yanomami":http://www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/yanomami Indians in northern Brazil. FUNASA says that there are 28 cases of HIV amongst Indians in the Amazonian state of Roraima, where many Yanomami live. The majority of these cases are women, and two are children. The Yanomami are one of the largest relatively isolated tribes in South America. Today their population stands at about 32,000 and straddles the border of Venezuela and Brazil. In 1992, the 9.6 million hectare Yanomami Park was created on the Brazilian side of the border, following the recognition of the Yanomami’s right to live undisturbed on their land. In Venezuela, the Yanomami live in the 8.2 million hectare Alto Orinoco – Casiquiare Biosphere Reserve. However, the Yanomami still suffer from invasion of their land. Over 1,000 gold-miners are now working illegally in the Yanomami territory, polluting the rivers and forest with mercury, and transmitting deadly diseases like malaria and possibly HIV/AIDS. Cattle ranchers are also invading and deforesting the eastern fringe of their land. The Yanomami organization, Hutukara, has made several urgent appeals to the Brazilian authorities to remove all the illegal goldminers and ranchers from their land. So far the government has taken no action. Survival's report "'Progress can kill: how imposed development destroys the health of tribal peoples'":http://www.survivalinternational.org/progresscankill explains that outsiders in tribal peoples’ territories can bring prostitution, the abuse of tribal women and children, and sexual diseases.

2010-01-27T12:13:10+00:00

Brazil’s National Health Foundation, FUNASA, has confirmed the first case of HIV amongst the Yanomami Indians in northern Brazil.

http://bit.ly/9woBJN

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HIV reaches Yanomami in Amazon

2010-01-27T12:13:12+00:00

2010-01-07T14:22:06+00:00

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Two Yanomami men have contracted the swine flu virus, and it is suspected that a ten year old boy from the same community has also been infected. The two men were confirmed to have swine flu at the end of December, but the news has only just emerged. Brazil’s National Health Foundation, FUNASA, has taken the Yanomami boy by helicopter to the town of Santa Isabel do Rio Negro for treatment. Tests are being carried out to confirm whether the boy has swine flu, and FUNASA says the results will be available soon. The Yanomami are the largest relatively isolated tribe in the Amazon rainforest, with a population of about 32,000. They live in the remote tropical forest on the Venezuela-Brazil border. Due to their isolation they have very little resistance to introduced diseases such as flu. Past epidemics among the Yanomami have shown how quickly flu can spread and how it can rapidly weaken an already weak immune system and lead to dangerous and potentially fatal secondary diseases such as pneumonia. Last November, "seven Yanomami from the Venezuelan side of the border died in an outbreak of swine flu within the space of two weeks":http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/5173. It is feared that the current cases of swine flu could indicate the start of a similar outbreak. In October 2009, Survival published a "report":http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/4958 highlighting the special threat that swine flu presents to indigenous people around the world.

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2010-01-07T14:22:00+00:00

Two Yanomami men have contracted the swine flu virus, and it is suspected that a ten year old boy from the same community has also been infected.

http://bit.ly/5StffQ

Two Yanomami men have contracted the swine flu virus, and it is suspected that a ten year old boy from the same community has also been infected.

Swine flu hits Yanomami in Brazilian Amazon

2010-01-08T10:36:11+00:00

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2009-11-03T18:25:59+00:00

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Seven "Yanomami Indians":http://www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/yanomami in Venezuela have died from an outbreak of suspected swine flu in the last two weeks. Another 1,000 Yanomami are reported to have caught the virulent strain of flu. The Venezuelan government has sealed off the area, and sent in medical teams to treat the Yanomami. The regional office of the World Health Organization has confirmed the presence of swine flu. There are fears that the epidemic could sweep through the Yanomami territory and kill many more Indians. The Yanomami are the largest relatively isolated tribe in the Amazon rainforest, with a population of about 32,000 that straddle the Venezuela-Brazil border. Due to this isolation they have very little resistance to introduced diseases such as flu. "In the 1980-90s, when goldminers invaded their land":http://www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/yanomami/intruders#main, one fifth of the Yanomami in Brazil died from diseases such as flu and malaria introduced by the miners. Their future was only secured after a major international campaign led by the Yanomami themselves, Survival and the Pro Yanomami Commission. Health care is already extremely precarious on both sides of the border. Many Yanomami communities have no access at all to health care and this mountainous, forested region presents many challenges in the provision of emergency medical aid. The Yanomami territory lies on the border of northern Brazil and southern Venezuela and is the largest indigenous territory in tropical rainforest in the world. Last month Survival published a "report":http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/4958 highlighting the special threat that swine flu presents to indigenous people around the world. Stephen Corry, director of Survival said, ‘The situation is critical. Both governments must take immediate action to halt the epidemic and radically improve the health care to the Yanomami. If they do not, we could once more see hundreds of Yanomami dying of treatable diseases. This would be utterly devastating for this isolated tribe, whose population has only just recovered from the epidemics which decimated their population 20 years ago.’

The Yanomami are the largest relatively isolated tribe in the Amazon

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2009-11-04T10:02:00+00:00

Seven Yanomami Indians in Venezuela have died from an outbreak of suspected swine flu in the last two weeks. Another 1,000 Yanomami are reported to have caught the virulent strain of flu.

http://bit.ly/bpVVz

Venezuela: Isolated Amazon Indians die in ‘swine flu epidemic’

Isolated Amazon Indians die in ‘swine flu epidemic’

2009-11-24T16:24:34+00:00

Davi Yanomami asks Brazil’s President to remove goldminers

2009-09-18T01:00:00+01:00

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<a href="../../../../../tribes/yanomami">Yanomami</a> spokesman and shaman Davi Kopenawa met with President Lula this week and asked him to remove all the goldminers working illegally in the Yanomami territory in north Brazil. Hutukara, the Yanomami Association, has repeatedly asked the authorities to take urgent action as <a href="http://assets.survival-international.org/pictures/392/mapa_provaveis_garimpos_screen.jpg">clandestine mining camps</a> are growing, posing serious health risks, and contaminating rivers.Some goldminers are violent towards the Indians. Earlier this year a <a href="../../../../../news/4133">Yekuana Indian was killed</a> by miners when he refused to take them into the Yanomami territory. The miners spread diseases like malaria and flu to which the Yanomami, a relatively isolated people, have little resistance. In a letter to the President, Hutukara also demands more input and participation of the Yanomami communities in a new health care programme which is to replace the current model which has been hampered by massive corruption and bureaucracy. In recent months hundreds of Yanomami have caught malaria and children have died from the disease as medicines are not reaching many communities.<table border='0' cellspacing='0' cellpadding='0' width='250' style='float: right; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 0.3em'> <tbody><tr> <td style='padding: 0;'><a href='http://assets.survival-international.org/pictures/391/ajarani_invasao_screen.jpg' rel='image' class='lightview' title=' :: © '><img style='border: 1px solid #3d3d3d' src='http://assets.survival-international.org/pictures/391/ajarani_invasao_news_medium.jpg' width='249' height='166' alt='Ranchers and farmers illegally encroaching on Yanomami land' /></a></td></tr><tr> <td style='font-size: 0.85em; margin-top: 0px; padding-top: 0; color: #3d3d3d;'>Ranchers and farmers illegally encroaching on Yanomami land © Hutukara/ISA</td> </tr> </tbody></table>Hutukara also demands that a group of ranchers and farmers who have <a href="http://assets.survival-international.org/pictures/391/ajarani_invasao_screen.jpg">illegally encroached on land belonging to the Yanomami of Ajarani</a> community be removed because they are causing huge damage to the environment and intimidating the Yanomami in this area. The letter ends with a powerful critique of imposed development and large scale mining and explains how the Yanomami themselves see development: ‘You [non-Indians] say that we are poor and that our lives will get better. But what do you know about our life to say that it will get better? Just because we are different to you and live in a different way and value different things does not mean that we are poor. 'We Yanomami have other riches left to us by our ancestors which you, the white people, are not able to see: the land that gives us life and clean water which we drink, and our children who are happy…. We want our right to choose what is best for us guaranteed.’<a href="http://assets.survival-international.org/documents/82/letter_to_president_lula.pdf">Read the Hutukara letter in Portuguese</a>

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Illegal airstrip on Yanomami land, serving goldminers

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2009-09-18T01:00:00+01:00

Yanomami spokesman and shaman Davi Kopenawa met with President Lula this week and asked him to remove all the goldminers working illegally in the Yanomami territory in north Brazil.

http://bit.ly/25Adfl

Davi Yanomami asks Brazil’s President to remove goldminers

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2009-09-18T11:33:05+01:00

Brazil’s ‘Dalai Lama of the rainforest’

2009-06-08T01:00:00+01:00

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A <a href="../../../../../tribes/yanomami">Yanomami</a> Indian shaman from the Brazilian Amazon, dubbed ‘the Dalai Lama of the rainforest’, today denounced the <a href="../../../../../news/4640">violence in Peru</a> during his visit to London. Davi Kopenawa Yanomami said today, ‘This news about my Peruvian brothers and sisters is very bad. It's a crime what the Peruvian government is doing to them. The indigenous peoples in Peru are fighting for their rights and to live in their own lands. They have lived there for many, many years. They were born there, grew up there and have looked after the earth and planted it for their food. I give this message to help. I am far away but as a shaman, my soul and my shamanic spirits know what is happening to my Peruvian brothers and sisters.’ Davi will also tell MPs at the British Houses of Parliament that the world’s rainforests cannot be bought, and can only be saved if indigenous peoples’ land rights are recognized. •    Press conference: Wednesday 10 June, 10.30 am, Survival International, 6 Charterhouse Buildings, Goswell Road, London EC1M 7ET (For journalists only – please contact Survival if you wish to attend) •    Photo opportunity: Wednesday 10 June, 3.00 pm, Westminster Green, Houses of Parliament •    Royal Commonwealth Society panel discussion on indigenous peoples, Thursday 11 June, 6.15 pm at the Commonwealth Club. Details on <a href="http://www.thercs.org">www.thercs.org</a> Davi says, ‘We must listen to the cry of the earth which is asking for help. The earth has no price. It can’t be bought, or sold or exchanged. It is very important that white people, black people and indigenous peoples fight together to save the life of the forest and the earth. If we don’t fight together what will our future be? Your children need land and nature alive and standing. We Indians want respect for our rights. You can learn with us and with our shamans. That is important not only for the Yanomami but for the future of the whole world.’ He will also speak at a panel discussion on indigenous rights organised by the Royal Commonwealth Society, together with Survival Director Stephen Corry. He has just arrived from Spain, where he was honoured by the Spanish government’s Bartolomé de las Casas prize, and will travel on to Norway where he will meet with other indigenous representatives at a climate change conference. Davi led his people, the Yanomami, from the brink of extinction by spearheading the campaign to establish the Yanomami Park, created in 1992. A fifth of the Yanomami died in just seven years due to the invasion of their land by illegal goldminers in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Since 1992 their numbers have recovered, but goldminers have returned in recent years, posing new threats to their health and security. Stephen Corry, director of Survival, says, ‘The German press was right when it called Davi Yanomami the ‘Dalai Lama of the rainforest’. What he has to say goes far beyond national frontiers; it’s for all peoples and all times. Survival has been giving a platform to Davi’s prophetic message for over 20 years. It’s now more urgent than ever that we all listen.’ Dr Mike Edwards, climate change advisor at CAFOD, says, ‘We need to listen to people such as Davi who are warning us that our resource consuming behaviour is destroying the biophysical systems upon which all life depends. Climate change is a clear indication that we in Western industrialised societies are living beyond the carrying capacity of the Earth.  If we choose not to heed Davi's words, then we will be facing a very bleak future.’ Davi Yanomami will be available for interview. For more information, images and footage please contact Miriam Ross at Survival International on (+44) (0)20 7687 8734 or (+44) (0)7504 543 367 or email <a href="mailto:mr@survival-international.org">mr@survival-international.org</a> Davi’s visit to the UK is sponsored by Survival and CAFOD

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Davi Yanomami: 'The earth has no price. It can’t be bought, or sold or exchanged.' ©Fiona Watson/ Survival

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2009-06-08T01:00:00+01:00

A Yanomami Indian shaman from the Brazilian Amazon, dubbed ‘the Dalai Lama of the rainforest’, today denounced the violence in Peru during his visit to London.

http://bit.ly/Oj1AJ

‘Dalai Lama of the rainforest’ condemns Peruvian violence

4644

2009-06-09T21:24:00+01:00

'Dalai Lama of the rainforest' brings climate change warning

164

2009-05-28T01:00:00+01:00

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A <a href="../../../../../tribes/yanomami">Yanomami</a> Indian shaman from the Brazilian Amazon, dubbed ‘the Dalai Lama of the Rainforest’, will journey to Europe in June to give a message to world leaders in advance of the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen in December. Shaman Davi Kopenawa Yanomami will tell MPs at the British Houses of Parliament that the world’s rainforests cannot be bought, and can only be saved if indigenous peoples’ land rights are recognized. •    Press conference: Wednesday 10 June, 10.30 am, Survival International, 6 Charterhouse Buildings, Goswell Road, London EC1M 7ET (For journalists only – please contact Survival if you wish to attend) •    Photo opportunity: Wednesday 10 June, 3.00 pm, Westminster Green, Houses of Parliament •    Royal Commonwealth Society panel discussion on indigenous peoples, Thursday 11 June, 6.15 pm at the Commonwealth Club. Details on <a href="http://www.thercs.org">www.thercs.org</a> Davi says, ‘We must listen to the cry of the earth which is asking for help. The earth has no price. It can’t be bought, or sold or exchanged. It is very important that white people, black people and indigenous peoples fight together to save the life of the forest and the earth. If we don’t fight together what will our future be? Your children need land and nature alive and standing. We Indians want respect for our rights. You can learn with us and with our shamans. That is important not only for the Yanomami but for the future of the whole world.’ He will also speak at a panel discussion on indigenous rights organised by the Royal Commonwealth Society. He will take his message to Spain, where he is to be honoured by the Spanish government’s Bartolomé de las Casas prize, and to Norway where he will meet with other indigenous representatives at a climate change conference. Davi led his people, the Yanomami, from the brink of extinction by spearheading the campaign to establish the Yanomami Park, created in 1992. A fifth of the Yanomami died in just seven years due to the invasion of their land by illegal goldminers in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Since 1992 their numbers have recovered, but goldminers have returned in recent years, posing new threats to their health and security. Stephen Corry, director of Survival, says, ‘The German press was right when it called Davi Yanomami the ‘Dalai Lama of the rainforest’. What he has to say goes far beyond national frontiers; it’s for all peoples and all times. Survival has been giving a platform to Davi’s prophetic message for over 20 years. It’s now more urgent than ever that we all listen.’ Dr Mike Edwards, climate change advisor at CAFOD, says, ‘We need to listen to people such as Davi who are warning us that our resource consuming behaviour is destroying the biophysical systems upon which all life depends. Climate change is a clear indication that we in Western industrialised societies are living beyond the carrying capacity of the Earth.  If we choose not to heed Davi's words, then we will be facing a very bleak future.’ –ENDS– Davi Yanomami will be available for interview. For more information, images and footage please contact Miriam Ross at Survival International on (+44) (0)20 7687 8734 or (+44) (0)7504 543 367 or email <a href="mr@survival-international.org">mr@survival-international.org</a> Davi’s visit to the UK is sponsored by Survival and CAFOD

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Davi Kopenawa Yanomami, Brazil, 2002.

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2009-05-28T01:00:00+01:00

A Yanomami Indian shaman from the Brazilian Amazon, dubbed ‘the Dalai Lama of the Rainforest’, will journey to Europe in June to give a message to world leaders in advance of the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen in December.

http://bit.ly/VvQTC

'Dalai Lama of the rainforest' brings climate change warning to Britain

4614

2009-05-28T17:46:39+01:00

Brazil: Yanomami give goldminers an ultimatum

2009-02-09T00:00:00+00:00

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The <a href="../../../../../yanomami">Yanomami</a> of the community of Paapiú in the Brazilian Amazon are demanding that the authorities remove hundreds of illegal goldminers invading their land. They say they are prepared to use bows and arrows to expel the invaders themselves if the authorities do not take immediate action. In the 1980s, a gold rush in the state of Roraima decimated the Yanomami and their neighbours, the Yekuana. After many years of campaigning, their land was recognized and the miners expelled. However, in recent years the miners have returned in increasing numbers – it is estimated there are now about 3,000 in the Yanomami territory. Yanomami leaders have repeatedly denounced the invasion, and they say the situation has recently worsened. The authorities have so far failed to act. A group of <a href="../../../../../news/4133">illegal miners killed a Yekuana man and injured his son</a> on 21 January. The perpetrators have since given themselves in to the police, but have not yet been tried. Last week, another group of illegal miners approached and attempted to befriend some Yanomami men. They left when other Yanomami arrived on the scene, but said they would return. Illegal miners are often armed and in the past have killed Yanomami. They also expose the Yanomami to deadly diseases like malaria. Gold mining pollutes the rivers and fish on which the tribe rely.

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Yanomami mother and child.

2009-02-09T00:00:00+00:00

The Yanomami of the community of Paapiú in the Brazilian Amazon are demanding that the authorities remove hundreds of illegal goldminers invading their land.

Yanomami give goldminers an ultimatum

4181

2009-02-09T00:00:00+00:00

Brazil: Illegal miners murder Yekuana Indian

2009-01-27T00:00:00+00:00

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Illegal goldminers shot dead a Yekuana leader and injured his son on Wednesday in the Brazilian state of Roraima. Yekuana man Vicente Carton and his son Ronildo had refused to take the miners up the dangerous rapids of Uraricoera river into the <a href="../../../../../tribes/yanomami">Yanomami</a> indigenous reserve. The miners shot them, and Vicente died immediately while Ronildo escaped by jumping into the river. He hid in the forest and eventually made his way back to his village.The Yekuana live in Uaicás, a large community in the north of Yanomami territory, and in several communities just outside the reserve. They are expert river navigators, famed for their large wooden canoes.The Yanomami have been <a href="../../../../../news/3822">publicly denouncing the presence of illegal miners</a> in their land for at least a year, but the authorities have done nothing to remove them. Ronildo’s brother warns, ‘Miners are dangerous and they are armed’.The Yanomami and Yekuana are only now recovering from the massive gold rush of the 1980s which decimated their population through violence and disease. After many years of pressure from the Indians and their supporters, the governments of Brazil and Venezuela finally recognized Yanomami land in 1992. This latest tragic incident is a clear sign that invasions are on the increase and that illegal mining activity is gaining pace once again.Violence against indigenous people is not limited to the north of Brazil. Valmireide Zoromará, a Paresi leader, was assassinated earlier this month in the state of Mato Grosso. She was shot by ranch hands when fishing with her family. Land conflict is believed to have been the motive for her murder. CIMI, a Brazilian indigenous rights organization, reports that at least 53 Indians were killed in nine Brazilian states during 2008.

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Yanomami shaman

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2009-01-27T00:00:00+00:00

Illegal goldminers shot dead a Yekuana leader and injured his son on Wednesday in the Brazilian state of Roraima.

Illegal miners murder Yekuana Indian

4133

2009-01-27T14:44:47+00:00

Brazil: Yanomami meet to discuss mining and health

2008-11-24T00:00:00+00:00

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Two hundred <a href="../../../../../tribes/yanomami">Yanomami</a> representatives, from Brazil and Venezuela, are meeting this week for the third general assembly of Hutukara, the Yanomami Association. At the gathering, Indigenous representatives will debate the protection of Yanomami land. Discussions will focus especially on a draft bill on mining which is being discussed in Brazil's congress. If approved, the bill will permit large-scale mining in indigenous territories. This would constitute a serious threat not only to the Yanomami but also to many other tribes in Brazil. Yanomami health is also on the agenda. Critical medical care is not reaching Yanomami communities because of corruption and incompetence in Brazil’s National Health Foundation (FUNASA). The assembly’s coordinator, Dário Xiriana, said, ‘It is important that Yanomami discuss this mining bill so that they can understand mining, because minerals and oil have already been found in our land and the white people want to explore those things that are important to them. We worry about Yanomami land, which is sacred to us.’ The Yanomami are one of the largest relatively isolated tribes in South America. They live in the rainforests and mountains of northern Brazil and southern Venezuela.<a href="../../../../../campaigns/progresscankill">Read Survival's report on tribal peoples' health, 'Progress can kill'</a>

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Yanomami preparing hallucinogenic snuff.

2008-11-24T00:00:00+00:00

Two hundred Yanomami representatives, from Brazil and Venezuela, are meeting this week for the third general assembly of Hutukara, the Yanomami Association.

Yanomami meet to discuss mining and health

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2008-11-26T17:23:09+00:00

Brazil: Yanomami denounce illegal gold miners

2008-10-17T01:00:00+01:00

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Two <a href="../../../../../tribes/yanomami">Yanomami</a> Indian communities have written to the Brazilian government, denouncing the invasion of their land by illegal gold miners. Over a thousand gold miners are working illegally on Yanomami land, transmitting deadly diseases like malaria and polluting the rivers and forest with mercury. Illegal mining has recently boomed due to the rise in the price of gold. The letters, from the Alto Catrimani and Paapiú communities in the Amazon state of Roraima, are addressed to the government’s Indian affairs department, FUNAI. They report that the communities are starting to suffer from malnutrition, as fish are scarce and the river water cannot be drunk due to pollution from the mining. The Yanomami are one of the largest relatively isolated tribes in South America. Although their territory has been recognised and signed into Brazilian law, the Yanomami’s survival is being threatened. Cattle ranchers are invading and deforesting the eastern fringe of their land and critical medical care is not reaching them because of corruption and incompetence in Brazil’s National Health Foundation (FUNASA). The letters have been circulated by the Yanomami association, Hutukara. They end with an urgent appeal to the authorities to remove all the miners immediately. <a href="../../../../../tribes/yanomami">Watch a video of leader Davi Kopenawa Yanomami talking about the impact of mining</a> <a href="../../../../../files/news/hutukara_garimpoileegaltiy.pdf">Read the letters (in Portuguese)</a>

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2008-10-17T01:00:00+01:00

Two Yanomami Indian communities have written to the Brazilian government, denouncing the invasion of their land by illegal gold miners.

Yanomami denounce illegal gold miners

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2008-10-17T15:30:58+01:00