NUKAK TRIBE

The Nukak tribe The Nukak tribe are one of the Amazon’s few nomadic tribes that live in the

deep forest away from the rivers. The people of this tribe are nomadic hunter-gatherers. They are part of a group which is known as Maku people. There are six tribes in this group and all of them are nomadic hunter-gatherers.

This tribe lives in small groups which have about nine to thirty people . They are constantly on the move and only spend a few days in one place. So they don't have a lot of possessions.

They first had contact with the outside world in 1988.

PopulationWhen the Nukak tribe had first contact with the outside world over half the

people died, mainly from flu and malaria.Now the Nukak’s land is occupied by coca growers and overrun by the bloody

violence of Columbia’s civil war. There are many people fighting over the coca which is what makes cocaine. Because of this the people are forced to leave their homes or are forced to leave at gun point and move to San Jose. There are about 180 Nukak people living in San Jose and are struggling with lots of health problems.

This tribe is at risk of extinction because they no longer have enough space in the rainforest where they can live.

LocationThe Nukak tribe live between the rivers of Guaviare and Inirida. The area

they live are found in the Amazon basin and is part of the Republic of Colombia.

Map of Nukak tribe location

Contact with the outside worldThe first contact with the outside world was in 1988 when a group of about

forty of them turned up at a town called Calamar. More than half of them died because of contact with disease. The tribes people are now living on the outskirts of town and rely on government handouts to live. Living away from their land and food is causing illness. The normally live of jungle food and because they cant return home their children are getting sick from eating “white peoples” food.

In December 2010 one of the leaders named Joaquin Nuka went to the human rights committee and made an appeal. He said they want to return to their forest from where the FARC guerrillas have forced them out.

ONIC has launched a campaign around the world to raise awareness of the tribes’ plight.

DietEach family has their own hearth, which is used to keep warm, cook and to

burn certain plants to keep mosquitoes away. They eat fish, turtles, fruit, vegetables, nuts insects and honey. The men hunt with blow guns, with darts tipped with a poison from five different plants.

Living away from their land is causing health problems because they are not hunting and eating their jungle food and are now eating processed food.

The Nukak tribe hunting with the blowgun

Future The Nukak people are desperate to move back to their home but with the

civil war and the fighting over coca they are unable. To help them return to their land the Colombian government have created a

reserve for these people but they need the boundaries of their reserve to be respected so they can live in peace and remain in existence.

Also the Amazon rainforests are being destroyed. Their land is being taken away from them and used to get oil, hydroelectric dams and oil palm plantations. They are using this land without the tribes consent.

The live of jungle food and because they cant return home their children are getting sick from eating “white peoples” food.

The Nukak tribe is the last remaining nomadic tribe in Amazon and they face extinction.

• http://www.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi• http://www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/nukak• http://www.survivalinternational.org/news/1610• http://www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/nukak/cocaine#main• http://www.indepthnews.net/news/news.php?key1=2011-06-23%2019:1

5:29&key2=1• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nukak_people#Endangered_people

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