Tragic attack sparks concern for future of isolated Amazon tribes

At left is expedition commander Sydney Possuelo, then head of FUNAI's Department of Isolated Indians.PUBLISHED September 17, 2020The death of Rieli Franciscato, a veteran Brazilian Indigenous rights defender, at the hands of an isolated tribe has shaken colleagues who fear the incident could have wide-ranging implications for the protection of vulnerable tribal populations.Franciscato, 56, was killed on September 9 when an arrow struck him in the chest as he followed members of the tribe known as the “isolated group of Cautário” into the forest. Indigenous leaders expressed fear the FUNAI leadership, stacked with appointees of President Jair Bolsonaro, will replace Franciscato with someone willing to force contact on the tribe, in contravention of the country’s constitution and long-standing policy.“The isolated groups of Rondônia may have lost the only guarantor who protected their territories and even their physical integrity,” says Beto Marubo, an Indigenous leader from the Javari Valley in far-western Brazil that is home to the largest number of isolated tribes in the Amazon.Indigenous lands within BrazilIndigenous territory (includesdemarcated lands and thoseawaiting demarcation)GuyanaVeNez.SurinameEcua.FR. Experts say the nomads would have had little chance to distinguish friend from foe as Franciscato followed their footprints into the jungle last week.“Every sertanista knows that to protect the isolated Indigenous people, we are inserting ourselves between the advancing frontier and the isolated groups themselves,” says retired FUNAI agent Antenor Vaz, referring to the uniquely Brazilian profession of activist-explorers who monitor and defend the highly vulnerable isolated tribes. Vaz says that Franciscato, fearing reprisal if he went public with Dias's request, asked him to keep details of the phone call to himself.In an email to National Geographic, FUNAI denied the allegation, saying “there was no recommendation for…Rieli Franciscato to seek contact with the isolated Indigenous people of the region.” What the pair did discuss, according to the statement, was “the possibility of a natural and peaceful contact, without intentionality on the part of FUNAI.”When the nomads returned to Seringueiras last week, Franciscato gathered his small team and set out to calm settlers’ nerves and investigate possible reasons for the nomads’ return visit to the community.It’s not known what provoked the nomads, but experts who have worked in the area say that shooting an arrow with intent to kill seems strangely out of character for the normally pacific group.“Something must have happened … an attack against them of some kind,” says Ivaneide Bandeira Cardozo, project coordinator for Kanindé Ethno-Environmental Defense Association, a Rondônia-based rights group she co-founded with Franciscato in the 1980s.