Rio Omerê Indigenous Territory

The Rio Omerê Indigenous Territory is a reserve for isolated indigenous peoples in Rondônia, Brazil. The territory consists of 26,000 hectares of forest on the Omerê River[1] and is home to the Kanoê and Akuntsu tribes. Both tribes were the victims of severe massacres by cattle ranchers in the 1970s and 1980s.[2][3] As of 2011, the Akuntsu number just five individuals and the Rio Omerê Kanoê four.[1][2] The two tribes are separate peoples speaking mutually unintelligible languages, but are linked by marriage.[1] The reserve is also home to an unknown man who lives alone and is thought to be the last survivor of a different tribe.[4][5] Several loggers and cattle ranchers also remain in the territory despite attempts to eject them and continue to pose a threat to its indigenous inhabitants.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c Instituto Socioambiental (ISA). "The Kanoê of the Omerê River > Kanoê". Povos Indígenas no Brasil. http://pib.socioambiental.org/en/povo/kanoe/342. Retrieved 8 March 2011. 
  2. ^ a b Instituto Socioambiental (ISA). "Introduction > Akuntsu". Povos Indígenas no Brasil. http://pib.socioambiental.org/en/povo/akuntsu. Retrieved 8 March 2011. 
  3. ^ Instituto Socioambiental (ISA). "Introduction > Kanoê". Povos Indígenas no Brasil. http://pib.socioambiental.org/en/povo/kanoe. Retrieved 8 March 2011. 
  4. ^ Survival International (9 December 2009). "Last survivor of uncontacted Amazon tribe attacked". http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/5344. Retrieved 8 March 2011. 
  5. ^ Strange, Hannah (11 December 2009). "‘Man in the Hole’, lone survivor of Amazon tribe massacre, escapes ranchers’ bullets". The Sunday Times. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6952409.ece. Retrieved 8 March 2011. 
  6. ^ Adams, Guy (13 October 2009). "Decline of a tribe: and then there were five". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/decline-of-a-tribe-and-then-there-were-five-1801795.html. Retrieved 8 March 2011.