Protecting the way of life and land of the Amazonian Indians is vital for the conservation of the forests and management of the environment in a sustainable way. The Indians’ affinity with nature is something we can all learn from.The fashionable defence of indigenism is part of the sentimental consensus that has put the brakes on the rational development of Amazonia and should be opposed in the interests if its people as a whole.

Following the support for indigenous communities by world leaders at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit) in 1992, the United Nations declared 1993 The International Year for the World’s Indigenous People. Agenda 21, the published principles of the Earth Summit argues that the role of indigenous people is vital to the future sustainability of the planet and therefore to the future generations of the world. It is imperative therefore that the world community should make all efforts to protect their rights and their way of life.
‘Indigenous people have developed over many generations a holistic traditional scientific knowledge of their lands, natural resources and environment. Indigenous people and their communities shall enjoy the full measure of human rights and fundamental freedoms without hindrance or discrimination. In view of the interrelationship between the natural environment and its sustainable development and the cultural, social economic and physical well-being of indigenous people, national and international efforts to implement environmentally sound and sustainable development should recognise, accommodate, promote and strengthen the role of indigenous people and their communities.’ (Agenda 21)
The Indians of the Brazilian Amazon are under threat from the encroachments of the modern world. For example the Yanomami tribe in north western Amazonia were only recently saved from the threat of mass extinction when tens of thousands of gold miners invaded their lands in the late eighties, killing them and spreading disease. Other forms of modern development such as mining, logging and cattle ranching in the Amazon have threatened the traditional lands and way of life of the Amazon Indians. Recent efforts by international organisations and the Brazilian Government have led to the demarcation and protection of Indian territory through the creation of reserves. More has to be done on this front and careful monitoring has to take place to ensure no encroachments are made on tribal lands.
All of us have a lot to learn from Indian tribal ways of life. Having made a mess of the environment, as disasters such as global warming attest, we have made our lives poorer and harmed the prospects for future generations. It is about time we learnt from those who live a life closer to nature and whose practices do not destroy the planet we all share. The Amazonian Indian in particular is one of the last representatives of a relatively unspoilt lifestyle within our technological and automated world. It has to be some solace to us that the simple life still exists.
It would do us no harm to relearn more traditional ways of living if we do not want our planet to be environmentally destroyed through modern development. At the very least we could let those who live pre-modern forms of existence manage the important centres of the planet’s environment through their sustainable hunting and gathering forms of economy. Indigenous peoples have a wealth of traditional methods and knowledge that we need to foster. One important application of this tradition and knowledge would be its contribution to the sustainable use of biological resources. After all it was the Indians who discovered the drawing of latex from the rubber tree and cultivated the staple food of manioc. The Indians hold much knowledge about the powers of natural substances the forest holds, many of which are as yet unknown to us. The Kayapo Indians use a tree bark substance for birth control, this appears to be effective and safe, the health problems associated with the modern oral contraceptive pill are not known amongst them.
Support for indigenous tribes may be too little too late because since colonial times we have been physically destroying tribal peoples and their way of life. This amounts to little less than ethnocide (the destruction of tribal life) and genocide (the destruction of tribal peoples). Only modern civilisations’ absurd sense of superiority and arrogance could have led us to such destruction. Now we need to make amends and recognise the equal importance of tribal cultures and the contribution these more natural and spiritual cultures can make towards humanity’s learning to live in harmony with nature. We need to recognise that Indians should have the human rights other people are granted. They should have the right to their own land for instance. Indigenous tribes understand the limits to which nature can be pushed, this at least we should learn from them.
Amazonian Indians have often been at the forefront of campaigns to prevent the imposition of modern development schemes which have threatened to destroy the environment. In the late 1980s in the Rio Xingu region of the state of Para in Brazil, the Kayapo indians led an international campaign to stop a massive dam complex being built. In the state of Roraima in the Brazilian Amazon, the Yanomami indians have fought for over a decade to protect their lands and their own lives from the disastrous impact of gold mining. Amazonian indians were also centre stage at the 1992 UN Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro. Today Indians throughout Latin America are campaigning to protect biodiversity and their unique knowledge of forest ecosystems.
The protection and sustainable development of the forests of Amazonia is intimately linked to the well-being of Amazonian tribes, to stop the destruction of the environment is to fight for their cause.