Rare images show members of the Mashco Piro, believed to be the world’s most isolated indigenous tribes, residing in the remote Peruvian Amazon. They have been spotted near the banks of the Las Piedras River in the Madre de Dios region of southeast Peru, near the border with Brazil.
Who are the Mashco Piro?
According to the human rights group Survival International, which released the images, the Mashco Piro tribe is the largest uncontacted tribe in the world. They were given a territorial reserve in 2002. However, the government gave concessions to several logging companies within the tribe’s territory as well.
The photos were taken in late June, reported Survival International. They show the appearance of more than 50 Mashco Piro, near a village of the Yine people called Monte Salvado. Separately, another group of 17 had been seen near the neighbouring village of Puerto Nuevo, as mentioned by Survival International.
The tribe inhabits an area between two natural reserves in Madre de Dios, rarely appears, and does not communicate much with the Yine or other outsiders.
The director of Survival International, Caroline Pearce, has said that these images show that a very large number of Mashco Piro people live just a few miles away from where the loggers are situated to start their operations.
Impact of Logging on Mashco Piro Territory
Numerous logging companies hold timber concessions within the tribe’s territory, including a company called Canales Tahuamanu, which has built more than 200 kilometres of roads for its logging trucks to extract timber.
The company is certified by the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) for its supposedly sustainable and ethical operations there, even though eight years ago, the Peruvian government acknowledged that it was cutting down trees in this Mashco Piro territory. It has 130,000 acres of forests in Madre de Dios to extract cedar and mahogany, according to the FSC.
Pearce has called for FSC to cancel its certification.
Alfredo Vargas Pio, President of local Indigenous organisation FENAMAD, said that the images are irrefutable evidence that many Mashco Piro inhabit this area, which the government has sold off to logging companies, failing to protect them. New diseases could be transmitted from the logging workers, which could wipe out the tribe. There’s also a risk of violence on either side, making it very important to recognise and protect the territorial rights of the Mashco Piro.
Recent Sightings and Cross-Border Movements
On June 28, the Peruvian government reported that local residents had sighted the Mashco Piro on the Las Piedras river, 150 kilometres from Puerto Maldonado, the capital of Madre de Dios. The tribe has also been spotted across the border in Brazil, according to Rosa Padilha of the Brazilian Catholic bishops’ Indigenous Missionary Council in the state of Acre, Reuters news agency reported.
Padilha noted that the tribe flees from loggers on the Peruvian side and, at this time of year, appears on beaches to collect tracajá (Amazon turtle) eggs. Their footprints are found on the sand, and they leave behind many turtle shells. She described them as restless people with no peace, always on the run.
