Tragic attack sparks concern for future of isolated Amazon tribes
The death of Rieli Franciscoto, a veteran Brazilian Indigenous rights defender, at the hands of an isolated tribe has shaken colleagues who fear the incident could have wide-ranging implications for the protection of vulnerable tribal populations.
Franciscoto, 56, was killed on September 9 when an arrow struck him in the chest as he followed members of the tribe known as the “isolated group of Cautário” into the forest. He had hastily organized a small team of scouts and police officers in an effort to defuse a potential conflict between the Cautário nomads and rural settlers in the western state of Rondônia.
A veteran field agent of the Indigenous affairs agency FUNAI, Franciscoto was viewed as one of the most experienced and committed defenders of so-called “uncontacted tribes” living in extreme isolation in the Amazon rainforest.
That a staunch defender of Indigenous tribes ended up killed by the very people he had dedicated his life to protect was a tragic irony not lost on rights advocates. Indigenous leaders expressed fear the FUNAI leadership, stacked with appointees of President Jair Bolsonaro, will replace Franciscoto with someone willing to force contact on the tribe, in contravention of the country’s constitution and long-standing policy.
“The isolated groups of Rondônia may have lost the only guarantor who protected their territories and even their physical integrity,” says Beto Marubo, an Indigenous leader from the Javari Valley in far-western Brazil that is home to the largest number of isolated tribes in the Amazon.
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