tribes news stories on Newser

Peru Struggles to Shield New 'Lost' Tribe

Mary Papenfuss — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 06:00:00 CST

Peruvian officials are struggling mightily to shield one of the last "lost" tribes of its jungles. Members of the mysterious Mashco-Piro clan have been spotted along the banks of a southeastern jungle river popular with ecotourists. In two instances, tribe members have fired arrows at people in the area, including...

Drug Smugglers May Have Wiped Out Amazon Tribe

Rob Quinn — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 04:41:06 CDT

Authorities in Brazil fear that a "lost" tribe deep in the Amazon has been wiped out after encountering the outside world at its worst. The tribe, which had never previously been contacted by outsiders— and was photographed earlier this year aiming bows and arrows at a plane flying over their...

'Marrying Out' Thins Native Americans' Ranks

Evann Gastaldo — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 12:03:12 CDT

More often than not, white people in the US marry other white people and black people marry other black people—but Census data show that more than half of all Native Americans marry non-Native Americans, and that could create problems for tribes down the line. The Eastern Shoshone of Wyoming,...

Don't Be Too Impressed: Lost Tribes Not So Lost

Kate Schwartz — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 10:57:19 CST

It's tough not to be sucked in by the newly released images of a thus-far unknown Brazilian tribe. Travel writer John Gimlette, for one, was, but writing for the Telegraph, he can't help but be a wee bit cynical. After all, "it’s hard to believe that these days an entire...

Brazil Releases Photos of Endangered Tribe

Rob Quinn — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 05:56:26 CST

Brazil has released photographs of a tribe living deep in the Amazon in an effort to draw attention to their plight. Tribespeople who've had virtually no contact with the outside world, some painted with vegetable dye and brandishing bows, are seen looking upwards at a government plane. The tribe lives...

Expedition to 'Lost Tribe' Lands Halted

Rob Quinn — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 05:01:23 CST

A British expedition to a remote region of Paraguay has been halted to ensure that one of the world's last uncontacted tribes stays that way. The expedition from London's Natural History Museum had planned to search for new species of plants and insects in the Chaco wilderness, but officials feared...

Mexican Gangs Move Into US Indian Land

Rob Quinn — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 02:12:20 CST

Mexican drug gangs have been rapidly expanding their marijuana-growing operations in the US in recent years, especially on Indian reservations. The gangs take advantage of underfunded tribal police departments, large tracts of unused land, and overlapping jurisdictions to set up grows on reservations from California to South Dakota, authorities say....

Writer Wrestles With Visit to Long-Necked Thai Tribe

Drew Nelles — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 18:06:00 CDT

Most travel companies refuse to take tourists to Thailand’s Burmese Padaung tribe—whose women wear neck coils that artificially elongate their necks—arguing that the practice is exploitative. But Amit R. Paley, writing for the Washington Post , ultimately found a guide and wrestled down his conscience. "My ability to write...

'Bloodthirsty' New Guinea Tribesman Sues New Yorker

Rob Quinn — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 04:57:27 CDT

A Papua New Guinea tribesman portrayed as a bloodthirsty, revenge-driven killer in a New Yorker article is seeking payback from the magazine, Forbes reports. A $10 million lawsuit charges that the story wrongly accuses Daniel Wemp and another tribesman of rape and murder when they had only been recounting traditional...