Peoples That We Know Nothing About

[00:00:00]When Canadian media theorist Marshall McLuhan coined the term global village in the 1960s, he pictured a highly interconnected world much like our current reality. What McLuhan and many thinkers before him could never have imagined is that in the 21st century there would still be largely uncontacted groups, people >> [music] >> we just know very little about. Across the planet from Africa to Asia, the Pacific and South America, several indigenous communities have chosen to isolate themselves and opt out of the modern world. In some cases, they withdraw after an outbreak of violence and disease or to escape slavery. It's not that these people don't know about the rest of the world, they do. And they vehemently reject it for complete self-determination. Some of these groups predate modern societies and in many ways they are stuck in a time bubble, living the same way they have for several generations. But what, if anything, do we know about their origins? How do they live? And why did they choose to cut themselves off from everyone? Well, we're going to try and answer those questions by exploring a few uncontacted groups from different parts of the globe. Let's get into it.

[00:01:00]The Sentinelese of India.

[00:01:03]First on the list, the Sentinelese of India, arguably the world's most famous uncontacted tribe. The Sentinelese are known for being violent towards outsiders. They made headlines in 2018 after members of the tribe killed an American missionary who tried to approach them. The Sentinelese are a small tribe numbering about 50 to 200 people according to most estimates. They live on North Sentinel Island, which is roughly the size of Manhattan. This is one of several islands that form the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the Bay of Bengal. North Sentinel Island is covered with dense jungle. It's unclear why the group chose to settle in this specific location or how long they've lived there. However, the Sentinelese are believed to have lived in isolation for over 60,000 years. Initially, the Sentinelese were not the only tribe that lived in isolation in the Andaman Islands. There were actually four tribes: the Jarawa, the Onge, the Great Andamanese, and the Sentinelese. Of the four, the Sentinelese are the most isolated and the only ones who still violently refuse to open up to the outside world. As a result, little is known about their cultural practices, language, and way of life. One of the most puzzling things about the Sentinelese and other Andaman tribes is their origins. [music] They are physically and culturally distinct from the other ethnic groups in the region. In fact, they don't even have any linguistic similarities with regional languages. The prevailing theory is that the Andaman tribes are descended from some of the first humans to migrate out of Africa tens of thousands of years ago. Back then, sea levels were presumably lower, so people could walk long distances and use crude canoes to cross shallow waters.

[00:02:27]Historians believe that when the migrating group reached the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, some chose to settle there, while others moved on. As far as [music] we know, the Sentinelese don't practice any form of agriculture and don't even know how to start a fire.

[00:02:40]They rely on nature for their survival, building huts from leaves and praying on wild pigs, birds, turtles, fish, and other animals. They barely wear any clothes. Sometimes, [music] the women adorn their bodies with leaves, or you may find them with strips of cloth covering their genitals. A research paper published in 2024 in Nature's Humanities and Social Sciences Communications journal described the Sentinelese as, quote, "the hunter-gatherers of the modern times."

[00:03:05]The Sentinelese use tools made of stone, bone, and wood, and they've even been known to recycle metal and plastic objects that wash ashore. The hostility that the Sentinelese display toward outsiders is not new. In pre-modern times, Andaman tribes were known to kill shipwrecked sailors who ended up on their islands. Even the famous Italian explorer Marco Polo wrote about how ferocious the Sentinelese were, saying, quote, "They are a most violent and cruel generation who seem to eat everybody they catch." And a quick side note on that quote, it has never been proven that the Sentinelese are cannibals, [music] but their viciousness is well documented. The British had to withstand a hail of arrows when they sought to establish a foothold on South Andaman Island in the 19th century. Over time, the Great Andamanese, Jarawa, and Onge people slowly opened up to the British and other foreigners, but the Sentinelese remained closed off. What followed was a period of decimation for the tribes that let others in. These people had no immunity to the germs that came from outsiders, resulting in outbreaks of diseases that claimed the lives of thousands. Many also became addicted to alcohol, a problem that lingers on to this day.

[00:04:06]>> [music] >> There have been several attempts to infiltrate the world of the Sentinelese.

[00:04:10]In the 19th century, British officer Maurice Portman kidnapped an elderly Sentinelese couple and four children in a bid to understand the elusive tribe.

[00:04:18]However, the couple soon died, forcing Portman to return the children to the islands. The Sentinelese probably became even more resolved to stay isolated after that incident. The fact that other Andamanese tribes got wrecked after opening up to outsiders probably didn't help either. Speaking about the Sentinelese at a meeting of the Royal Society of Geography, Portman admitted that, quote, "Their association with foreigners has done them nothing but harm." Beginning in the 1970s, the Anthropological Survey of India made several expeditions to establish contact with the Sentinelese people. Initially, the Sentinelese were suspicious of the group and responded with hostility.

[00:04:51]However, over time, they let their guard down and started accepting gifts from the researchers. Anthropologist T.N.

[00:04:57]Pandit was a part of the expeditions to contact the Sentinelese people. He told Down to Earth during an interview in 2018 about his first visit to the island in 1967. Quote, "The tribespeople were on the beach watching the boat come to the island. There was a large number of them, but there was no reaction or resentment from them. We went about a kilometer inside the forest. They did not come face-to-face with us, but rather hid in the forest watching us."

[00:05:21]Now, the Indian government has since ended the program to establish contact with the Sentinelese and enacted a strict rule against trying to contact the tribe or visiting their island.

[00:05:30]Under this law, no one is allowed within five nautical miles of the island. If you venture there and you get killed, no one's going to be prosecuted. The Sentinelese have killed several people who have come too close to their island.

[00:05:42]In 1974, a director working on a National Geographic documentary about the Andamanese people was wounded by a spear thrown at him while his crew was filming members of the Sentinelese tribe. In January 2006, the Sentinelese killed two fishermen after they fell asleep and their boat drifted to the islands. According to eyewitnesses, the fishermen, who appeared to be drunk, were hacked to death by axe-wielding Sentinelese men. Perhaps the most high-profile murder by the Sentinelese happened in November 2018 after American missionary John Allen Chau swam to the islands. Chau was on a quest to bring the gospel to the secluded island, which he described in his journal as quote, "Satan's last stronghold." But, he was killed by Sentinelese tribesmen who fired arrows at him. Chau's death sparked a debate about the way of life of the Sentinelese and whether they have the right to remain isolated. Many anthropologists like Pandit have shut down attempts to paint the Sentinelese as being overly violent. He told the Indian Express that they're actually peace-loving people. Quote, "This is the incorrect way to look at it. We are the aggressors here. We are the ones trying to enter their territory."

[00:06:46]Despite the best efforts of Indian authorities, people still try to visit North Sentinel Island and make contact with the Sentinelese. As recently as last year, an American was arrested while attempting to encroach on Sentinelese territory. Caroline Pierces, the director of Survival International, described the actions of these intruders as reckless and idiotic both for them and for the members of the tribe.

[00:07:07]Quoting, "The Sentinelese have made their wish to avoid outsiders incredibly clear over the years. The Indian authorities have a legal responsibility to ensure that the Sentinelese are safe from missionaries, social media influencers, people fishing illegally in their waters, and anyone else who may try to make contact with them."

[00:07:26]The Mashco Piro of Peru.

[00:07:29]The Mashco Piro are believed to be the largest uncontacted tribe on Earth with a population of nearly 750 according to some estimates. They are one of at least 20 indigenous groups living in isolation in the Peruvian rainforest. The Mashco Piro have historically been a very elusive people. They strictly avoid others. So, we know very little about them. However, Carlos Soria, a professor and former head of Peru's park protection agency, told AP that they are known to kidnap women and children from other tribes. The name Mashco-Piro is considered derogatory. According to the NGO Jungle Keepers, members of the group refer to themselves as "Nomole". The word "Mashco" reportedly means wild or savage, while "Piro" is linked to the Yine people who are closely related to the Nomole. There have been many reported sightings of members of the Mashco-Piro tribe. In some cases, anthropologists have come across their abandoned shelters, tools, and footprints. The Mashco-Piro are a nomadic group. They live deep in the forest during the rainy season. However, once the dry season starts, they migrate to the river banks and camp there.

[00:08:28]During this time, they fish in the waters and dig up turtle eggs. While there's no evidence that [music] they engage in farming, the Mashco-Piro are formidable hunters. They're known to hunt large game such as tapirs, deer, monkeys, peccaries, or skunk pigs, fun fact, and other prey. The Mashco-Piro live in huts made of palm leaves, and much like the Sentinelese, they wear very little clothing. Their women and children usually tie a yellowish-brown cloth around their waists. Members of the tribe react violently when people venture into their territory. In 2024, the group murdered two tree loggers who encroached on their land. One other logger was left injured, and two more were reported missing. There have been sporadic reports of attacks like this over the past three decades. Since the 19th century, the Mashco-Piro and other uncontacted tribes in the Peruvian Amazon have been at risk. First, during the rubber boom in the 1880s, many people from the Mashco-Piro tribe were enslaved and killed. This forced others to retreat deep into the forest. Fast forward to the 21st century, and the existence of uncontacted groups like the Mashco-Piro is being threatened by loggers, oil and gas companies, drug traffickers, and illegal gold mining operations. A sizable portion of the forest they live in has been leased out to oil companies, making encounters with outsiders almost inevitable. Keep in mind that there have been cases of members of indigenous tribes dying after coming into contact with people working in oil and gas fields. In one ghastly instance in the '80s, as many as 50 to 60% of the members of the uncontacted Nahua tribe lost their lives after Shell started prospecting for oil near their settlements. The casualties, up to 300 in total, died from illnesses like pneumonia and whooping cough, which they contracted from workers at the Shell facility. In the mid-1980s, they experienced what some have described as a genocide following clashes with tree loggers. After this happened, the group simply disappeared into the forest for about two decades before resurfacing in 2011. Two years after they reappeared, there was a three-day standoff as up to 100 members of the Mashco Piro tribe, wielding weapons, marched to a nearby village and demanded food and supplies like ropes and machetes. It's around this time that many people first learned about the existence of the Mashco Piro.

[00:10:26]In 2025, the Associated Press reported that members of the tribe had been spotted at a neighboring village. This unexpected sighting [music] came as logging companies increasingly encroached on Mashco Piro territory. It was the second sighting of the uncontacted tribe in successive years, indicating that they're being slowly pushed out as the forest disappears. In July 2024, Survival International published an image showing as many as 50 Mashco Piro people standing next to a logging site. For decades, [music] human rights organizations like Survival International have been calling on the Peruvian government to do more to protect isolated groups [music] such as them. In 2001, anthropologist Beatriz Huertas released a report after conducting an extensive investigation into uncontacted indigenous groups living in the Peruvian Amazon. She recommended that the government create a protected zone spanning about 2 million hectares. Inspired by Huertas's report, the Peruvian government subsequently created an 800,000 hectare reserve for these indigenous communities back in 2006. [music] But unsurprisingly, this hasn't really solved the problem as logging and oil and gas companies are getting licenses to operate in proximity to the uncontacted tribes. A government-funded study in 2024 found that there are about 25 distinct settlements of uncontacted tribes in the Peruvian Amazon and that about 640 people may live there. [music] Critics have urged the Peruvian government to create a long-awaited 1.7 million hectare reserve for these tribes in a remote area near the Brazilian border. However, in September 2025, the government shut down the proposal to create the Yavari Mirim Indigenous Reserve to the disappointment of many.

[00:11:55]Today, the forests where the Mashco-Piro live remain under threat from loggers, oil companies, farms, and even climate change. The once reclusive tribe is being forced to move to more populated areas, putting themselves at risk. In 2024, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights found that Peru had violated the rights of the Mashco-Piro people by failing to protect them and endangering their, quote, physical and cultural survival. The commission went on to refer the case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. In July last year, the court issued a resolution ordering the Peruvian government to allow the NGO EarthRights and an indigenous human rights organization to continue providing legal defense to the Mashco-Piro. This was a landmark ruling in a fight to protect them and other uncontacted peoples living in the Amazon. The Mashco-Piro are culturally related to a few tribes that have been assimilated into the modern world. As such, it's easy to communicate with them, and this happens occasionally. A mediator named Romo Ponciano, who conversed with members of the Mashco-Piro tribe from across a river, said that they were puzzled about why people cut so many trees in the forest. Speaking to Switzerland's Blue News website, Ponciano said, "For them, the trees are like monuments. They don't want us to cut them down." When he asked if they wanted to make contact with the rest of humanity, Ponciano said that the Mashco-Piro always gave the same response, "No, because you're evil."

[00:13:13]The Flecheiros of Brazil.

[00:13:16]The Flecheiros of Brazil are among the most mysterious uncontacted people in the world. Most encounters with them have involved people seeing them from a distance. They live in the Javari Valley Indigenous Lands in the Amazon, a reserve created by the Brazilian government in 2001. Members of this tribe are known to hide in the bushes and silently watch intruders. If you venture too close, they may shoot poison-tipped darts at you. The name Flecheiros means arrow people in reference to their archery skills. The Brazilian Amazon has one of the largest concentrations of isolated indigenous communities in the world, and the Flecheiros may be the most enigmatic of them all. They're thought to be descended from people who escaped into the forest to avoid massacres and the brutal acts perpetrated by early European settlers in the area. Because they live in extreme isolation, not much is known about the Flecheiros and their culture. A lot of what we know about them has been gleaned from observation.

[00:14:05]That said, the Flecheiros are a semi-nomadic group who often paint their bodies a vibrant red color. They hunt for wild game, fish in the Amazon's rivers, and gather fruits, vegetables, and other food from the forest. There's some evidence that they grow some of their food and use fire. They also make earthenware pottery and have adopted the use of machetes and other metal objects obtained from loggers and nearby villages. The Flecheiros barely wear any clothing. Like the Mashco-Piro, they are usually seen with a yellowish-brown cloth tied around their waist. Members of the tribe speak a language that is distinct from that of neighboring tribes. As a result, communicating with them can be challenging. Today, no one knows what the Flecheiros call themselves or whether they share the same ethnicity as neighboring groups. In a 2018 National Geographic article, journalist Scott Wallace describes a nearly 3-months-long journey he took with local guides, venturing deep into the Amazon to gather information about the Flecheiros in their territory.

[00:14:55]According to Wallace, during their long trek, they passed through the settlements of another indigenous tribe, the Canamari, who told them that the Flecheiros were dangerous and untamed and advised them to stay clear of the group. According to the villagers, the Flecheiros used to clash with tree loggers operating in the area back in the '80s. Just like the Mashco-Piro and other uncontacted groups in the Peruvian Amazon, the isolated indigenous people living in the Brazilian Amazon are also under threat. Compared to the 16th century, uh they were thought to number in the millions, most estimates now put the total number of uncontacted people in the area at around 350,000. In September 2017, there were unconfirmed reports that 10 members of the Flecheiros tribe, including women and children, had been murdered by illegal gold miners. The miners had reportedly stumbled upon the group digging for turtle eggs on the banks of a river and killed them. This massacre only came to light after the suspects boasted at a bar about what they had done, claiming they had dismembered the bodies and thrown them in the river. While investigators have never been able to confirm the deaths, the story made headlines in Brazil and it opened up a giant can of worms. You see, this incident followed the Brazilian government's decision in 2014 to slash funding for FUNAI, the agency in charge of indigenous affairs. In turn, the agency had been forced to abandon or scale back its monitoring posts in the Amazon. It is from these observation posts that FUNAI agents monitor and try to protect uncontacted indigenous people like the Flecheiros. To add to this, the head of FUNAI had been fired just months before the alleged attack after complaining about the budget cuts. It was clear that the authorities needed to get their act together for the Flecheiros and other uncontacted tribes to stand any chance of survival. In late 2017, FUNAI launched a major crackdown on illegal mining in the Flecheiros territory. The agency announced that it had destroyed 10 dredging machines presumably used by illegal gold miners.

[00:16:41]The machines were reportedly found in a river. FUNAI also reopened the monitoring posts it had abandoned in the Amazon. Today, nearly 10 years have passed, but the challenges persist for the Flecheiros. There has been an uptick in illegal mining and logging in the Brazilian Amazon and this has been accompanied by violence. In 2019, a field agent with FUNAI tasked with protecting the indigenous tribes in the Javari Valley Indigenous Territory was shot and killed by an unidentified gunman in what appeared to be a premeditated attack. The government has taken various measures to curb the activity of intruders and protect indigenous communities in the rainforest, but critics say it's got a lot more to do.

[00:17:17]The O Hongana Manawa of Indonesia.

[00:17:21]The O Hongana Manawa are semi-nomadic group who living in the jungles of Indonesia, specifically on the island of Halmahera. In the past, [music] the tribe lived in complete isolation, but according to Survival International, only about 3 to 500 of the population of 3,500 still live in the forest, isolating themselves from the outside world. The rainforest plays a key role in the lives of these people. In fact, the name of the tribe literally translates to people of the forest. They don't just depend on the forest for sustenance, but also see it as the source of life. Their connection to the land is so intimate that when a child is born, the O Hongana Manawa plant a tree and bury the umbilical cord beneath it.

[00:17:59]Eventually, when [music] the person dies, their body is placed in or among trees, completing the cycle. They are renowned for their knowledge of herbal remedies. Bodek, a man who used to live in isolation with the rest of his tribesmen, [music] told Survival International about some of the herbal concoctions they make. According to him, the people have roots that they use to support their nomadic [music] lifestyle.

[00:18:17]He claims that it's because they consume these roots that they can walk for [music] days, climbing mountains and hills without becoming overly exhausted.

[00:18:24]While the tribe are primarily hunter-gatherers, they cultivate plants such as bananas, sweet potatoes, >> [music] >> and sago palm. They also use fire and have been observed collecting firewood.

[00:18:34]When the tribe chooses a place to camp temporarily, they create shelter using sticks and leaves. Unlike the Sentinelese or even the Mashco-Piro, not many people know about the existence of the O Hongana Manawa. Of the very few who know about this tribe, the majority only learned about them in the past decade. But staying hidden has not equated to safety for them. The tribe is threatened by various factors beyond their control. They may actually be one of the most at risk uncontacted groups in the world. According to Fiona Watson, the research and advocacy director at Survival International, the biggest threats to the tribe are logging and mining activities, which have been ongoing at least since 1998. There's a massive nickel processing complex, the Bay Industrial Park, on the same island where the O'Hongana Manyawa live. This complex, [music] owned by Chinese companies, is the world's first mine-to-EV battery facility. It also includes the largest nickel mine on Earth, estimated to be about four times the size of Paris. Holy [ __ ] In addition to the enormous Weda Bay mine, there are dozens of other nickel mining pits dotting the forest. There are also several logging operations in the area. As of 2026, these mining and logging companies, about 19 in total, control up to 50% of the island. So, what does this mean for the tribe? Well, the influx of hundreds of people to Halmahera and the use of heavy machinery is obliterating the tribe's home and affecting them in other ways as well.

[00:19:53]For example, the animals that the tribe depends on for sustenance are running deeper into the forest, making them increasingly difficult to hunt. And it appears the situation's only going to get bleaker. See, as the market for electric cars and the green energy movement grows, so will the demand for nickel. Indonesia is currently the world's top supplier of this metal, accounting for up to 60% of the annual global nickel output. With the Indonesian government currently considering increasing its nickel quota for the year, it's unlikely mining operations on Halmahera Island will cease anytime soon. On the contrary, companies will likely ramp up their operations. According to Survival International, these mining operations are technically illegal under international law as indigenous groups like the O'Hongana Manyawa haven't consented to the exploitation of their land.

[00:20:41]In January 2026, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination called on the Indonesian government to, among other things, respect the tribe's right to voluntary isolation and refrain from issuing any new licenses to companies to operate in their territory. For the O'Hongana Manyawa, the destruction of their habitat is just the latest in a series of challenges that they have faced since Indonesia became a country. [music] Historically, the group has always been discriminated against. To this day, they are widely known as Togutil, a name some consider offensive. Unlike other nations with uncontacted populations, the Indonesian government actively sought to assimilate them and other groups into the broader Indonesian society rather than respecting their right to live in isolation. Officials describe these tribes as culturally backward and living in the Stone Age. The goal was ostensibly to [music] drag them into the modern era, but critics say this was a thinly veiled attempt to erase the languages and cultures of these people.

[00:21:38]During these assimilation attempts spanning the '60s through the '90s, authorities evicted hundreds of Orang Rimba and Mentawai people from the rainforest and tried to resettle them.

[00:21:47]But [music] since they weren't immune to many common illnesses, many died soon after coming into contact with other people. Indonesian security agencies were also accused of orchestrating a heavy-handed repression of uncontacted groups and other human rights violations. According to Survival International, people were given poisoned food, hunted with machine guns, and had bombs dropped on them from planes. It wasn't just the government on this campaign. Civil society groups joined in, too. Religious organizations were known to snatch children from the families of the tribe and send them to [music] religious schools. This effectively cut them off from their tribe and ancestral homeland. So far, efforts by the tribe to stand up to the Indonesian government and the companies taking over their lands have been futile. In 2023, a video surfaced online showing members of the tribe angrily confronting bulldozers.

[00:22:33]Activist groups like Survival International say the Orang Rimba and Mentawai are at risk of being completely wiped out. Even as they stand at the cusp of an apocalypse, they continue to fight on. A tribesman who used to live among the uncontacted group told Survival International that, quote, "If we don't support the fight for their rainforest, my uncontacted relatives will just die. The rainforest is everything. It is their heart and life.

[00:22:57]My parents and siblings are in the rainforest, and without support, they will die.

[00:23:03]The Ayoreo of Paraguay.

[00:23:06]The Ayoreo are an indigenous group living in the Gran Chaco area spanning Paraguay and Bolivia. They're believed to be the last uncontacted tribe in South America living outside of the Amazon. Most estimates put the population of the Ayoreo at around 5,600 people. The tribe's divided into about 50 autonomous subgroups. The name of the group, Ayoreo, is thought to mean true people. The Ayoreo used to be hunter-gatherers like many other indigenous groups, but they have been increasingly forced to settle in small communities. Historically, members of the tribe have been known to farm during the rainy season. They also hunt for animals like turtles and wild pigs. The Ayoreo live in basic structures made of mud and wood. Usually, four or five families live together and each has a separate fire pit. The Ayoreo have seen outsiders encroaching on their land from as far back as the 18th century when Jesuit priests unsuccessfully tried to convert them to Catholicism. Things really came to a head in the 1940s and 50s when Mennonite migrants from Canada and Russia sought to establish farms on their land. There were clashes between members of the tribe and these farmers, which left many dead. Years later in the 70s and 80s, things went further downhill for the Ayoreo as the American fundamentalist group New Tribes Mission also sought to establish roots in the area. They organized man hunts to flush the Ayoreo out of their ancestral lands.

[00:24:19]Many were caught and ejected from the [music] forest. They were taken to various stations and made to adopt a sedentary lifestyle. Several Ayoreo people died during this time either directly from violence or from the new diseases they were exposed to. Now, we're in the 21st century and the Ayoreo are facing a new and even more formidable challenge, this time from agribusiness. Beginning in the early 2000s, Paraguay's agricultural sector experienced a boom as foreign investors began pumping money into the country. It's during this time that the first large-scale cattle ranching farms appeared in Paraguay. Soon after, massive soy farms would also sprout up.

[00:24:52]Unfortunately, many of these farms are being built on lands used by the Ayoreo people. So much forest land has been converted to farmland in recent years that Paraguay is now the second most deforested country in South America behind Brazil. The sudden appearance of bulldozers and other powerful earth-moving machinery in the early 2000s stunned the Ayoreo people who had never seen anything like it. In a video shared by Survival International, a woman from the tribe said they ran away after hearing the sound of bulldozers.

[00:25:18]Quoting, "We thought the outsiders would kill us, so we didn't want to get any closer to the noise. We didn't know who it was that was clearing the forest. We had to leave everything so we could run faster. The only thing we could carry were our children." According to Survival International, nearly all of the Ayoreo's land is now owned by private companies or individuals. As a result, it's become difficult for the Ayoreo people to find food and water.

[00:25:41]This has left hundreds with no choice but to give up isolation and integrate into Paraguayan society. In the most sadistic twist, some Ayoreo people now work on farmlands built on what used to be their homes, and even worse, Survival International says their labor's being exploited. At the moment, it's unclear what percentage of Ayoreo people still live nomadic lifestyles. Back in 2021, anthropologists estimated that only around 150 people still lived as hunter-gatherers. Although virtually all Ayoreo subgroups have been affected, the Ayoreo Totobiegoso are arguably the most affected. According to Survival International, their lands are being deforested at the fastest rate recorded anywhere in the world. Between 2001 and 2019, forests the size of countries like Denmark and Switzerland were cleared in the Gran Chaco area to make way for cattle ranching. There is a brazen disregard for the rights of the Ayoreo that accompanies this rapid destruction of their lands. Although Paraguay's 1992 constitution guarantees the rights of indigenous groups to communal lands, the law hasn't provided sufficient protection. In 2001, Paraguay's land institute set aside 550,000 hectares of land for the Ayoreo Totobiegosode, designating the area as the natural and cultural patrimony of the tribe. This landmark decision came after an 8-year-long campaign by the tribe, but it unfortunately was not enough. Just a year later, a farmer was given a concession to create a cattle ranch on about 78,000 hectares of that same land.

[00:27:07]Julio Duarte, lawyer who represents the Ayoreo Totobiegossode people, told Mongabay that the situation has gotten so bad that uncontacted members of the tribe reach out to their relatives who have integrated with the rest of the world to relay their fears. Quoting, "Through signs and songs, they communicated their concerns that they are becoming more and more cramped due to deforestation and the presence of strange people in their territory." In 2013, the Ayoreo called the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to intervene after the government of Paraguay consistently ignored the destruction of their home. Subsequently, in 2016, the commission charged the government with ending deforestation, and both sides went into negotiations with the commission serving as a mediator. But in 2021, the Ayoreo people withdrew from the talks, accusing the government of using them as a delay tactic while their lands were still being deforested. Duarte told Mongabay that the government is simply unwilling to grant the Ayoreo people full control over the land or take steps to protect the area from encroachment. In February 2025, a coalition of indigenous rights advocates released a statement warning that the remaining uncontacted Ayoreo population may soon be forced to emerge from the forest. Quote, "And why is this happening? Because we treat the forest like a supermarket, and the forest is being cleared every day."

[00:28:26]The fate of uncontacted peoples.

[00:28:29]The future looks grim for the Ayoreo, but they're not alone. Across the globe, there are nearly 200 confirmed uncontacted groups, and many of them are fighting for their survival. According to Mongabay, 54% of the mining operations for essential components such as nickel occur on or near lands used by peasants and indigenous groups. Watson described the destruction of the habitats of uncontacted people as a quote silent genocide.

[00:28:52]And honestly, we couldn't agree more.

[00:28:54]These groups are not relics from the past. They represent a distinct piece of the puzzle that is humanity, and they deserve our protection. In a world where progress is measured in material terms, it's almost unfathomable that there are uncontacted indigenous groups living as if they were still in the Stone Age.

[00:29:09]Yet, these people exist, and they may just be the last truly free people on Earth. Uncontacted people are often romanticized, but the reality is that they are highly vulnerable to common diseases and can do very little to stop the destruction of their homes. In many ways, we're far more advanced than these people, but there are things that we could learn from them. For example, they could show us how to live more harmoniously with nature and survive in the wild with nothing but basic tools and a good imagination. That can only happen if they survive the onslaught against their world that we're currently seeing unfold.

[00:29:41]Thank you for watching.

[00:29:44]>> [music]