The Javari Valley Indigenous Territory in Western Brazil has the greatest concentration of uncontacted human groups on Earth. A recent report by Brazil’s National Foundation for the Indian (FUNAI) reports 9 confirmed and 4 unconfirmed uncontacted groups in the Javari Valley alone. FUNAI defines isolated or uncontacted peoples as “the indigenous groups that have never established permanent contact with Brazilian national society, which distinguishes them from other indigenous groups that have already made permanent contact.” Since 1987 FUNAI has prohibited entry into the Javari Valley in the hopes of protecting its vulnerable uncontacted inhabitants from disease and conflict. Unfortunately today the area is threatened by loggers, oil companies, and narcotics traffickers operating with virtual impunity in neighboring Peru. In this thesis I will analyze relevant local media articles, government studies, and NGO publications in an attempt to evaluate whether FUNAI’s current efforts are an adequate response to the increasingly severe threats of forced contact
