| Abstract |
This documentary, shot in one of the most remote corners of the Brazilian Amazon, graphically depicts the devastating impact of contact with the outside world on an isolated indigenous tribe, the Yanomami Indians. They are considered to be the last major Stone Age people in the Amazon. Since 1987, as the result of the incursion of Brazilian gold miners, an estimated fifteen percent of the Yanomami Indians have died from malaria and related diseases to which they have little resistance. Further, the mining operations have polluted rivers and scared away game animals thereby destroying the Yanomami s traditional ecosystem. Although the Brazilian government is ostensibly trying to protect the Indians, such efforts are undermined by the fact that their mineral-rich ancestral land is coveted by mining interests. This frontier section of the Brazilian Amazon is labeled a national security zone and off limits to all unauthorized persons, including anthropologists. Producer Geoffrey O Connor was smuggled into Yanomami territory so that he could record the plight of these endangered peoples. A closed captioned version is available on vhs only. Please specify when ordering. |
