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Contact! Intel

How—and why—do you introduce yourself to people who don’t speak your language, don’t share your culture, and don’t show any sign of wanting you around?

That was the challenge facing Sydney Possuelo and his crew as they sought peaceful contact with the Korubo—an isolated, feared tribe in the wilds of Amazonia.

Acting for FUNAI, the Brazilian agency responsible for native peoples, Possuelo’s expedition strove to end decades of hostility between the Korubo and the caboclos (local settlers) in the Vale do Javari region of western Brazil. FUNAI has documented more than 40 “disorders”—killings, kidnappings, arson, massacres—since 1966.

Both Indians and caboclos have proven adept at violence. Wielding heavy clubs, the Korubo can smash skulls to pulp; the tribe is known locally as the “head-breakers.” Caboclos, for their part, have sometimes attacked unrepentantly; in one incident they shot “at the Indians like game,” reports photographer Nicolas Reynard.

Expedition Agenda
Can goodwill, or at least an armistice, follow this bitter history? Possuelo thinks so. A veteran at making first contact with indigenous peoples—and a controversial champion of their rights—Possuelo faced a twofold task.

The most basic task was to achieve peaceful contact with the Korubo. To do so, the crew set up several “gift sites” where pots, knives, machetes, and bags of grain awaited the Korubo.

Each gift bore the expedition logo, which also marks the crew's clothing, boats, and belongings. Possuelo’s hope was that, the gifts—and peaceful demeanor of the givers—would woo the Korubo. His strategy paid off.

Now Possuelo and his handpicked crew must establish the region as an Indian territory. The Vale do Javari was designated as such, but the decree has never been enforced. The expedition has begun blocking traffic on the Ituí and Itacuaí Rivers and cajoling settlers to move out of Korubo territory.

They are also intending to build a floating guardhouse that will be anchored at the confluence of the two rivers.

The Complexities of Contact
Possuelo and his crew are honorable men. Valerie May, our own managing editor and South America specialist, visited the team members and came away impressed by their integrity and dedication.

Yet questions linger: Why not just leave the Korubo alone? Will contact ultimately hurt more than it helps? National Geographic Online is inviting and posting comments on this topic; please visit the Talk to Us section.

The expedition's own answer is that contact—a last resort—is essential not only for peace but for health. Proximity to modern Brazilians exposes the Korubo to diseases for which they lack immunity. Caboclos’ pathogens may prove far more ruthless—and dangerous—than the caboclos themselves. Contact is a prelude for providing vaccinations and medical care.

What Next?
The crew spent several long months anchored on the Ituí—growing tired, growing impatient. Their work paid off at last on October 15, 1996, when Possuelo and his team met a group of some 20 Korubo. Our News section offers details.

That friendly meeting, the crew hopes, marked the beginning of a bridge between two starkly different worlds. Building a lasting, peaceful span will be the next challenge. Stay with us as the story unfolds.


 
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    Sydney Possuelo
 
  
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  Expedition members
 
 
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  Meeting with caboclos
 
 
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  Gifts for the Korubo
 
 
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  Vale do Javari
 
 

 

©1996 National Geographic Society. All rights reserved.