Tribal leaders save lives and preserve cultures in the Amazon

Indigenous tribes in the Amazon rainforest are under threat of extinction. In Brazil and Peru, native peoples have been exploited by predatory businesses, decimated by disease and killed in tribal wars.

There are still over 200 indigenous groups living in the Amazon rainforest, including an estimated 100 who have never had contact with the outside world. Most tribal people in the Amazon Basin subsist by hunting, fishing or farming—much as their ancestors have done for thousands of years.

Amazon tribes are on the verge of extinction

Native peoples who live deep in the forest can barely comprehend the forces that threaten their way of life. Hydroelectric dams, roads, ranches and major development projects encroach traditional tribal lands throughout the Amazon. And growing global demand for primary resources has fueled the expansion of the logging, mines, ranches and petrochemical industries in the rainforest.

Brent Mitchell, President of Partners International, has travelled in the Amazon and seen what happens when the modern world collides with indigenous communities. “Unfortunately, native people are often treated like animals,” he says. “Extractive industries are driving indigenous families from their villages, women are raped and the men are pressed into forced labour or paid wages in alcohol.”

Uncontacted people groups in the Amazon jungle are especially vulnerable when these two worlds collide. Loggers, miners and other outsiders carry diseases—such as measles or even the common cold—that are often fatal for tribal people who have not developed resistance. For example, after Peru’s Nahua tribe was first contacted by oil workers in the 1980s more than half the tribe was wiped out by diseases.

Terrors in the night

In addition to outside influences, native communities are also vulnerable to the attacks of neighbouring tribes. Ancient tribal conflicts—often fueled by superstitious beliefs—can trigger deadly feuds that last for generations. Historically, raiding parties from tribes such as the Shuar people of northern Peru, would kill men, women and children in an attempt to exterminate a rival tribe.

Partners International is responding to the urgent needs of Amazonian communities through partnerships with two local agencies that are staffed and led by native people themselves—the Integral Native Mission of Peru (MINAP) and The National Board of Indigenous Pastors and Leaders (CONPLEI) in Brazil.

“These groups are very isolated and difficult to get to,” says Henrique Dias Terena, director of CONPLEI, “and the government strictly controls entry into their areas.” He adds that most indigenous people live in small villages deep in the rainforest that can only be accessed by a float plane or traveling many days on the river in a motorized canoe.

Poverty, violence and disease make life precarious and short for the people of the Amazon. Most tribal people do not benefit from the changes happening in the rainforest. Instead they face harsh inequalities and must engage in a constant struggle to preserve their land and their way of life. Many native peoples have little access to fundamental health care and education. Their already difficult life is being complicated by addiction to alcohol, which further erodes family and community health.

“Our people in the rainforest live in terror from the day they are born,” says MINAP’s director, Samuel Ramirez. “They live in terror of spirits, sickness, animals, company workers and the neighbouring tribes.”

Respecting and protecting tribal cultures

Partners International has helped mobilize six native Christian workers who seek to strengthen indigenous communities and preserve native cultures in the Brazilian Amazon. These workers are addressing health needs through hygiene education and vaccination programs. With a focus on child and maternal health, CONPLEI helps to protect children and families from disease and death.

In Peru, 16 MINAP families live in indigenous villages where they provide basic medical care and have opportunity to help local families establish income-generating activities. Serving as pastors and chaplains, MINAP workers are able to provide counselling for families struggling to overcome alcoholism and abuse.

“We always respect the values and culture of each ethnic group,” says Samuel Ramirez, “as we do our missionary work.”

Samuel and other tribal leaders are helping to address the many urgent physical needs of people in the rainforest. As these leaders work side by side with their neighbours they show God’s love, build trust and gain acceptance in villages.

Partners International supports this work by helping to provide essential resources such as medical supplies, boats, radios and gasoline to village workers. In addition, workers are trained in a story telling approach that allows them to teach and share their Christian faith in these non-literate cultures. With your support, we also help build the capacity of local leaders to strengthen and expand their organizations so they can reach many more villages.

To learn how you can help support work in the Amazon visit www.partnersinternational.ca/ 4.6.latin.asp or call 1.800.883.7697

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