Bows and arrow give way to tools of modernity

Tag : forest tools

That is just one indication of how remote this part of the worldis, and how, even in the 21st century, there are still hundreds ofcommunities that live totally cut off from the rest ofcivilization.
I was traveling to meet the Surui Indians - a tribe of 1200 people indigenous to the Amazon who until justforty years ago had never had contact with anyone outside theirrainforest.
I was there to document a fascinating and historic first -- a teamof volunteers and engineers from Google Earth was going to transfertechnology and knowledge to the Surui to allow them access to theInternet.
The Surui had a story to tell, and they wanted the world to knowit. In 1969 a Brazilian government team charged with making contactwith indigenous peoples in the Amazon left a small pile of mirrors,machetes and other goods in a clearing in the western Amazon, nearBrazil's border with Bolivia.
They had heard of the Surui's existence and were hoping to lurethem out of the forest. The then-chief of the Surui decided it wastime to make contact with the "brancos," or the whitemen.
Little did he know how much his tribe's life would change.
The Surui were struck by diseases previously unknown to them.Development, farming and logging began to encroach on therainforest in which they had lived in near perfect symbiosis forcenturies. They used bows and arrows to defend their land.
At one point their chief traveled to the local governor's officewielding an arrow to demand that his land be demarcated anddeclared officially off-limits to development.
Now nearly forty years later, that chief's son and the currentleader of the Surui, Chief Amir, decided bows and arrows were nolonger the most effective way to try to defend their lands.
The only Surui to graduate from university, Amir knew about theInternet and about the potential it had for effecting change. Hedecided to approach Google.
He knew if he could post information about his tribe and picturesof their habitat on-line, he might be able to drum up support forhis cause.
Which is how I ended up with a team of volunteers from Google EarthOutreach in the Amazon. Google believes its technology can be apowerful tool for the exchange of information and dedicates some ofits resources to helping non-profits around the world to learn touse it.