Government investigates threats to uncontacted tribe

November 17, 2008

‘The last first contact’: four Ayoreo-Totobiegosode men make contact with the outside world in 2004. © GAT/Survival

This page was created in 2008 and may contain language which is now outdated.

A government team is currently investigating the activities of a Brazilian company destroying land belonging to Paraguay’s last uncontacted Indians.

The company, Yaguarete Pora, is bulldozing a remote part of Paraguay’s ‘Chaco’ forest – the ancestral territory of Ayoreo-Totobiegosode Indians. After the recent publication of satellite photos showing how much land the company has cleared, a government team has gone to the area to witness first-hand what is happening.

A government team recently tried to enter the area, but was barred from doing so by Yaguarete employees. Yaguarete’s licence to work in the area was cancelled at the end of last week.

Yaguarete wants the Totobiegosode’s land to graze cattle for beef. The Totobiegosode are just one of an estimated 100 uncontacted tribes around the world.

Ayoreo
Tribe

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