<p>Your support is vital if the Awá are to survive. There are many ways you can help. </p><ul class="actionlinks"><li><a href="/actnow/writealetter/awa" onclick="new Effect.BlindDown('embedded_letter_awa'); new Effect.ScrollTo('embedded_letter_awa_container', {offset: -24}); return false;">Writing a letter to the Brazilian government</a> is a quick and simple way to let them know of your concern.</li><li><a href="../../../../../how_to_help.php?howto_help_id=1">Donate to the Awá campaign</a> (and other Survival campaigns).</li><li><a href="http://www.writetothem.com/">Write to your MP or MEP</a> (UK) or <a href="http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/">Senators and members of Congress</a> (US).</li><li>Write to your <a href="http://www.embassiesabroad.com/">local Brazilian high commission or embassy</a>.</li><li>If you want to get more involved, <a href="../../../../../contact.php">contact Survival…</a></li></ul>
BECE8F
Uncontacted Indians face annihilation
true
The Awá are one of the last nomadic hunter-gatherer tribes in Brazil. About 60 Awá have no contact with outsiders.
Although most live in legally recognized reserves, the Awá are hemmed into ever smaller spaces as loggers, settlers and cattle ranchers invade their land and cut down their forest.
One of the last nomadic Amazonian tribes is being crushed by illegal invaders.
The Awá are suffering from increasing invasions of their land by loggers, ranchers and settlers.
<strong>How do they live?</strong> The Awá
abandoned a settled lifestyle for a nomadic one in around 1800, in order to
escape violent attacks by European invaders. Over the last 20 years, many have
been contacted by the government Indian agency and now live in villages
established by the government. Others live a
nomadic lifestyle without any contact with outsiders. All provide for themselves by hunting and
gathering, and those who are nomadic are highly mobile, living in bands of no
more than 20-30 people. As they travel, they keep the embers of their fires lit,
relighting the fire as they arrive in each place. <br />
<br />
<strong>What problems
do they face?</strong> Throughout the last 100 years, the Awá have been the
victims of vicious and systematic extermination attempts by ranchers and
settlers. Many of those who are in contact with outsiders are the survivors of
massacres and are severely traumatised - and we know that many more of the
nomadic Awá are survivors of the same and similar attacks. They will continue to
be vulnerable as long as their land has no protection. In 1982, Brazil undertook
to demarcate all Indian territories in the region as a condition of a World Bank
loan for an industrial project, and World Bank money was put aside for this. Although Awá lands have been demarcated, increasing encroachment by industrial projects, ranchers, loggers and settlers is exposing the surviving Awá to violence and disease. The uncontacted Awá are
in severe danger of being wiped out altogether. <br />
<br />
<strong>How can I help?<br />
</strong>Click <a target="_self" href="/how_to_help.php?howto_help_id=1">here</a> to donate to Survival.<br />
Click <a href="/how_to_help.php?howto_help_id=46&n=null&tribe_id=47" target="_self">here</a> for a sample letter to send to the Brazilian government.<br />
Click <a target="_blank" href="http://www.writetothem.com/">here</a> to write a letter to your MP or MEP (UK).<br />
Click <a target="_blank" href="http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/">here</a> to write to the President, your senators, congressmen or other elected officials (US).<br />
Write to your local Brazilian embassy, click <a target="_blank" href="http://www.embassiesabroad.com/">here</a> to find out the address.<br />
<br />
<strong>How does Survival help?</strong> Survival
is campaigning for the Awá's land rights to be recognised. The Brazilian
government refuses to recognise any Indian land ownership, but they can at least
demarcate the Awá area as an Indian reserve, as they long ago undertook to do.
The Awá are under great threat, and protection of their land will give them some
measure of safety.<br /><br />
0
0
The Awá are a nomadic, hunter gatherer people of the eastern Amazon. There are small groups of Awá who have no contact with outsiders at all - they are probably the survivors of massacres, and are still at great risk of violent attacks at the hands of people invading their forests.
47
/images/tribes/47_map.jpg
true
3
15
the Awá
http://bit.ly/Huzpu
awa
3
47
Awá
2009-09-11T14:58:27+01:00