The Uncontacted Tribes of
Year 2000
While trekking in the jungles New Guinea in 1996, I met up with a missionary who told me that just two days walk from where we were, there were still tribal people who have not yet been contacted by the outside world.
When I got home, I did some research and learned that there are still pockets of uncontacted tribals scattered around the globe. New Guinea has perhaps the greatest numbers of uncontacted tribals. Last year, for example, The Herald Sun& newspaper and the Daily Mail reported that Indonesian officials had “discovered” two new tribes in Irian Jaya, the Indonesian part of New Guinea. Other parts of the world are also reporting uncontacted peoples. U.S. News & World Reports printed an article July 20th, 1998 stating that the head of Brazil's Department of Isolated Indians, spotted a village of about 200 members previously unknown to modern civilization. In the Indian Ocean, the Sentinelis still refuse to let any outsiders enter the jungles of there small island in the Andaman Archipelago. Any attempts by to do so are met with a hail of arrows.
It is surprising, to say the least, that in today’s interconnected world of jet travel, satellite communications, and the world wide web that there are still tribals who don’t know that they are part of a larger national entity and who haven’t been visited by officials, or missionaries, or anthropologist. All developing nations are under intense pressure to develop their remote areas, however, and it is doubtful that the "wild" tribes will able to maintain their way of life for very much longer.
Not surprisingly, it is extremely difficult to obtain information about uncontacted tribes. The fact that they are uncontacted means that at best they are largely undocumented and little is known about their culture and customs. Sometimes, however, the uncontacted tribals are a sub group of a larger tribe which has been contacted. Most of the Ayoreo of Paraguay, for instance, have been settled by missionaries but it has been reported that there are still some who have not been contacted. By learning about the contacted members we can gain some insight into the lives of the uncontacted members.
The purpose of this project is gather information about the last remaining uncontacted peoples of the world and post this information to the world wide web. Any information that anyone can provide me, will be greatly appreciate. I am especially interested in newspaper and magazine articles, academic journals and web sites containing relevant information. If anyone has any photographs of tribals that they would be willing to share on the web, I would be most grateful. I would also love the opportunity to speak with anybody who has had first hand experience with uncontacted tribal peoples or their neighbors.