Hi deepblu777,
Now you're on my turf in Project Avalon.
I have worked with the Fulni-ô Indians in the Norteast of Brazil for some years, recording their music and producing CDs for them to sell whenever they present their dances to the non-indian. I have been doing this now since 1999. I also know about Funai and how it works. Suffice to say the Indigenous population is not very happy, as in my experience and from the experience of the Fulni - ô 'Medicine Man' - he not only treats people with his medicine but is also responsible for the spiritual care of the tribe members - the consensus is that the indians are treated like third rate citizens.
In Águas Belas, the municipal region where the Fulni - ô village is, the non - Indian town has an infra-structure, however within one step of the 'limits' the infra-structure ends. The last CD I produced was of an Indian called Lillissacar, called "Onde o Asfalto Termina" (Where the Asphalt Ends) as a mild mannered critic of that situation.
There are many corrupt and incompetent people in Funai, mostly from the Recife office of the public agency placed there in exchange for political favours. I recently won a court case against Funai for copyright infringement where they copied songs from one of the CDs I produced to create a 'Funai' production. That was sweet justice.
Although I haven't been to Amazonia, I do know Funai. It's a good possibility that they don't want to know where the isolated indians are. It could be that want to know where they're not!
Illegal logging and de-forrestation is rife in Amazonia. The political entities know where this is happening but appear to do very little to try and control the situation, partly because of them apparently slipping bribes into their pockets and also political pressure from the IMF.
The public outcry about this is huge here in Brazil with political groups calling for the end of this illegal trade. Now that everybody knows where the loggers are, it could be that they are wanting to change their area of action, going further into the forest. If they had opposition (from the indians) there would be another outcry.
It's another story to follow to see what happens....
Best regards,
Steve
Quote:
Originally Posted by deepblu777
A little suspicious here.
Sounds like a good reason, but I don't trust their motives.
Finding them is also a good way to infiltrate, experiment, eliminate them.
Indigenous peoples of the world are the least consideration of the elite, except for experimentation, of course.
Just a gut feeling.

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