How do they live? Most Indians live in settled villages by the rivers, and grow vegetables and fruits like manioc, corn, beans and bananas. They also hunt and fish, using plant-based poisons to stun the fish. Some tribes use shotguns for hunting, others use bows and arrows, spears, or blowguns with darts tipped with curare. Only a few Amazonian tribes are nomadic; they tend to live deep in the forest away from the rivers. They grow some crops but rely more on hunting and gathering. Today, most Indians in the Amazon have access to ‘Western’ healthcare and education. When these are controlled by the Indians themselves they are usually very successful. What are their problems? Almost all the Indians’ problems revolve around land: outsiders either want their land, or something on or underneath it. The key threats are a massive boom in oil and gas exploration, rampant illegal logging and the rapid spread of ranching and farming. …show more content…
Survival’s most urgent campaigns in the Amazon are for theNukak, two thirds of whom have died in the 20 years since contact, for Peru’s uncontacted Indians under threat from oil companies and loggers, and for the Indians of Raposa-Serra do Sol, whose land is under siege by violent rice farmers. How do they live? Most Indians live in settled villages by the rivers, and grow vegetables and fruits like manioc, corn, beans and bananas. They also hunt and fish, using plant-based poisons to stun the fish. Some tribes use shotguns for hunting, others use bows and arrows, spears, or blowguns with darts tipped with curare. Only a few Amazonian tribes are nomadic; they tend to live deep in the forest away from the rivers. They grow some crops but rely more on hunting and gathering. Today, most Indians in the Amazon have access to ‘Western’ healthcare and education. When these are controlled by the Indians themselves they are usually very