Tragic Deaths of Indigenous Family in Initial Contact
Earlier this month, four members of a family in initial contact in a region where we work was killed. Those of us that knew Shuri, his wives Elena and Janet, and their mother, Maria, are still trying to make sense of the complicated details surrounding this tragedy. Investigators are still gathering information, but UAC’s director, Chris Fagan, wrote an article about this sad, tragic news for National Geographic.
We hope the article will raise awareness of the threats to the territories of Peru’s indigenous tribes living in isolation, initial contact like the Mastanahua, or the many settled communities. Furthermore, that it pushes Peru to prioritize protecting what's left of the tribes' shrinking territories from loggers, narcos, missionaries and other invaders.
Photo of Shuri taken by Charlie Hamilton James. Charlie took this photo when he and Chris worked on another article about isolated tribes published for the October 2018 issue of National Geographic Magazine