Last Member of Uncontacted Indigenous Group in Brazil has Died

The last remaining member of an uncontacted indigenous group in Brazil has been reported dead by officials.

‘Man of the Hole,’ as he was popularly known, had lived in total isolation for the past twenty-six years and is thought to have been about sixty years old.

His body was found on August 23rd in a hammock outside his straw hut with no signs of violence—an indication he may have died of natural causes.

Officials say there were no signs of any intrusions into his territory, and nothing in his hut had been disturbed, but police will still carry out a post-mortem investigation.

His group lived in the Tanaru indigenous area in the state of Rondônia, which borders Bolivia, and he was the last member of an indigenous group whose other remaining six members were killed in 1995.

The majority of his tribe was alleged to have been killed as early as the 1970s by ranchers wanting to expand their land.

Brazil’s constitution grants Indigenous peoples the right to land

In Brazil, the constitution avails individuals of indigenous groups to a right to their traditional land so others may not encroach upon it.

Since 1996, agents from Brazil’s Indigenous Affairs Agency (Funai) have been monitoring the ‘Man of the Hole’ specifically for his own safety.

In 2018, members of Funai managed to film the man during a chance encounter in the jungle, and, in the footage, he can be observed hacking at a tree with something resembling an ax.

Funai agents did come across his huts, which were built from straw, and the deep holes he dug, some of which had sharpened spikes at the bottom.

He planted maize, manioc, and fruits, such as papaya and bananas—a suggestion from the evidence found at his huts and campsites.

The man also used to dig deep holes, some of which he used to trap animals while others appeared to be hiding spaces, hence deriving the name ‘Man of the Hole.’

Survival International, a pressure group fighting for the rights of indigenous peoples, warns that with the over 240 indigenous tribes in Brazil, illegal miners, loggers, and farmers encroaching onto their territory pose a huge threat to their existence.