Brothers in the Jungle: The Battle to Protect an Remote Amazon Group

Tomas Anez Dos Santos toiled in a small open space deep in the Peruvian rainforest when he heard footsteps drawing near through the thick forest.

He became aware he was hemmed in, and froze.

“One positioned, aiming with an projectile,” he remembers. “Somehow he became aware of my presence and I began to flee.”

He ended up face to face the Mashco Piro. For a long time, Tomas—residing in the small settlement of Nueva Oceania—had been almost a neighbor to these nomadic tribe, who reject engagement with strangers.

A recent report by a advocacy group claims there are no fewer than 196 described as “uncontacted groups” in existence globally. The group is considered to be the most numerous. It says half of these groups could be eliminated in the next decade unless authorities fail to take more measures to safeguard them.

It claims the most significant threats are from timber harvesting, digging or drilling for petroleum. Isolated tribes are extremely vulnerable to ordinary disease—as such, the study notes a threat is posed by contact with religious missionaries and social media influencers in pursuit of engagement.

Lately, Mashco Piro people have been venturing to Nueva Oceania with greater frequency, as reported by locals.

Nueva Oceania is a angling community of a handful of households, located elevated on the edges of the local river deep within the of Peru jungle, half a day from the most accessible village by canoe.

The territory is not designated as a preserved reserve for remote communities, and deforestation operations function here.

Tomas says that, sometimes, the noise of logging machinery can be noticed around the clock, and the community are seeing their woodland disturbed and destroyed.

Among the locals, inhabitants say they are conflicted. They are afraid of the Mashco Piro's arrows but they hold deep respect for their “brothers” who live in the woodland and desire to defend them.

“Allow them to live according to their traditions, we can't modify their traditions. That's why we preserve our separation,” says Tomas.

Inhabitants in Nueva Oceania are concerned about the damage to the community's way of life, the risk of violence and the chance that deforestation crews might introduce the Mashco Piro to sicknesses they have no resistance to.

At the time in the village, the group made themselves known again. Letitia, a young mother with a young daughter, was in the woodland picking fruit when she heard them.

“We heard calls, cries from people, a large number of them. Like there were a large gathering yelling,” she shared with us.

This marked the first instance she had met the Mashco Piro and she ran. An hour later, her mind was persistently pounding from fear.

“Since exist deforestation crews and operations destroying the woodland they are fleeing, maybe out of fear and they come near us,” she explained. “We are uncertain how they will behave towards us. That is the thing that terrifies me.”

In 2022, two individuals were attacked by the tribe while catching fish. A single person was hit by an arrow to the abdomen. He lived, but the other person was found dead after several days with several puncture marks in his frame.

The Peruvian government maintains a approach of non-contact with isolated people, making it prohibited to start interactions with them.

The strategy began in a nearby nation after decades of advocacy by indigenous rights groups, who noted that early contact with isolated people could lead to entire communities being decimated by disease, destitution and starvation.

During the 1980s, when the Nahau people in Peru made initial contact with the world outside, 50% of their population succumbed within a short period. In the 1990s, the Muruhanua people faced the similar destiny.

“Remote tribes are extremely vulnerable—from a disease perspective, any interaction may transmit illnesses, and including the most common illnesses could wipe them out,” says an advocate from a tribal support group. “From a societal perspective, any interaction or intrusion could be highly damaging to their way of life and survival as a group.”

For local residents of {