Uncontacted peoples are groups of Indigenous peoples living without sustained contact with neighbouring communities and the world community. Groups who decide to remain uncontacted are referred to as indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation.[1] Legal protections make estimating the total number of uncontacted peoples challenging, but estimates from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in the UN and the nonprofit group Survival International point to between 100 and 200 uncontacted tribes numbering up to 10,000 individuals total.[2][3][4] A majority of uncontacted peoples live in South America, particularly northern Brazil, where the Brazilian government and National Geographic estimate between 77 and 84 tribes reside.[5]
Knowledge of uncontacted peoples comes mostly from encounters with neighbouring Indigenous communities and aerial footage.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
WWFwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Isolated tribe spotted in Brazil". BBC News. 30 May 2008. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
- ^ Holmes, Bob (22 August 2013). "How many uncontacted tribes are left in the world?". New Scientist. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
- ^ Report of the Regional Seminar on Indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation and in initial contact of the Amazonian Basin and El Chaco, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia (20–22 November 2006), presented by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the International Work Group on Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA), E/C.19/2007/CRP.1, March 28, 2007, paragraph 1.
- ^ "More than 100 tribes exist totally isolated from global society". The Independent. 8 March 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2021.