By Michael Bolen | dailybrew – Fri, 4 Feb 2011
Deep in the world's largest rainforest, a few scatted tribes are clinging to a way of life on the verge of extinction.
Now the BBC and Survival International have teamed up for a campaign to help protect the last remaining uncontacted tribes in the Amazon. Their strategy? Use photos and videos to convince the world not only do these peoples exist, but that they are worth protecting.
Former "X-Files" star Gillian Anderson narrates a newly released video in which members of a tribe can be seen covered in red body paint, surrounded by their homes and gardens, looking up curiously at the aircraft above them.
Check out the video below:
The footage was taken from a distance of 1 kilometre in an effort to minimize disruption, however, the tribespeoples' upturned faces suggest the effort was somewhat fruitless.
According to Brazil's National Indian Foundation (FUNAI), there are 67 tribes in Brazil that have yet to establish sustained contact with the outside world. While they are often referred to as "uncontacted," most, if not all, have had some interaction with modernity.
Deforestation continues to be the number one threat facing the tribes.
The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization states trees are still being cut down at an "alarmingly high" rate in the Amazon. And while Brazil has been working to protect these indigenous people for some time, logging in Peru has continued unabated.
The video and photo campaign is already having an effect. Peruvian authorities have announced their intention to collaborate with Brazil to protect the tribes from loggers. Stephen Corry, Survival's director, calls the move a "really encouraging first step" and hopes "their declared intention turns into real action quickly."
