Mashco Piro Indians had good instincts, keep away from government

Watch out for Governments Bearing Gifts and the Scariest Words of All: "Were from the Government and we're here to help you." m/r

Peru to make 'first contact' with isolated Amazon tribe - Telegraph

Reuters 7-21-15

Anthropologists to approach Mashco Piro Indians for the first time following bow-and-arrow attack

Peruvian government anthropologists will try to make contact for the first time with an Amazonian tribe that largely lives isolated in the jungle, as part of a bid to ease tensions with nearby villages after a bow-and-arrow attack in May.

The anthropologists will try to talk with a clan of Mashco Piro Indians to understand why they have been emerging from the forest.

In recent years the Mashco Piro have increasingly been spotted seeking machetes and food outside their jungle enclaves in the Manu National Park in southeastern Peru.

Villagers, Christian missionaries and tourists have all interacted with the tribe, often giving them clothes and food.

"The only ones who haven't been in contact with them are representatives of the state!" said deputy culture minister Patricia Balbuena.

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