Two people have died and another two are missing after coming into contact with a group who are thought to be the world’s biggest isolated tribe.
Lumberjacks reportedly clashed with the Mashco Piro indigenous community in Peru’s Amazon on Thursday (29 July).
The incident took place in an area of the Madre de Dios region as loggers were opening up a trail in the forest before they were attacked with bow and arrows.
Reuters report that Daniel Pena, a spokesperson of FENAMAD, which represents 30 communities in the region, confirmed the killings.
The Mashco Piro indigenous tribe have historically not taken well to outsiders (Survival International)
They said that at least two workers were killed by bow and arrow, while two others are still missing and another was injured.
The Ministry of Culture said on Monday (2 September) that the clash ‘may have caused deaths, injuries and disappearances’.
Historically, the Mashco Piro have been known to have limited interactions with outsiders, because most of them were negative.
Back when the production of rubber was increasing in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Piro people suffered violent incursions from rubber tappers and settlers, leading to significant loss of life and displacement.
The Mashco Piro’s way of survival is relying on the forest for food, shelter, and medicine. Their knowledge of the Amazon’s biodiversity is why they have been around for so long and they are currently thought to be made up of over 750 people.
This comes after human rights organisation Survival International said in July that they were calling for the FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) to withdraw its certification of a logging company.
“Several logging companies hold timber concessions inside the territory that belongs to the Mashco Piro people,” they said.
Two people have died and another two are missing after coming into contact with the world’s biggest isolated tribe (Getty Stock Images)
“The nearest is just a few miles from where the Mashco Piro were filmed.
“One company, Canales Tahuamanu, that operates inside the Mashco Piro territory has built more than 200km of roads for its logging trucks to extract timber. It is certified by the FSC for its supposedly sustainable and ethical operations there, despite the Peruvian government acknowledging eight years ago that it is cutting down trees within Mashco Piro territory.
“Survival International is calling on the FSC to withdraw its certification of the company’s operations.
“More than 8,000 people have already lobbied the FSC.”
Alfredo Vargas Pio, President of local Indigenous organisation FENAMAD added: “This is irrefutable evidence that many Mashco Piro live in this area, which the government has not only failed to protect, but actually sold off to logging companies.
“The logging workers could bring in new diseases which would wipe out the Mashco Piro, and there’s also a risk of violence on either side, so it’s very important that the territorial rights of the Mashco Piro are recognised and protected in law.”
LADbible has contacted FENAMAD, the FSC and the Ministry of Culture for comment.
