The Enawene Nawe are a relatively isolated people who were first contacted in 1974 by
Vicente Cañas. They numbered 566 in 2012,[1] up from 320 in 2000. In 2014 their number grew to 737.[2]
Name
The Enawené-Nawé are also known as the Enawenê-nawê,[1] Eneuene-Mare or Salumã people. They are distinct from the
Salumá people in
Pará.[2]
These people are endangered by corporations that encroach on their land and pollute the rivers from which they obtain their source of food. Many dams have been built or are under construction on the Juruena river that pollute the water and kill many of the fish. Without fish, there is no food for the Enawene Nawe people, as they eat no red meat. Many people believe it is
Blairo Maggi, a politician and corporation executive, who wants these dams.[3] He has plans to build 77 dams on the river. Constitutionally, Brazil's tribes are supposed to receive full protection from the federal government, but like its predecessors, the current government has frequently ceded to pressure from Brazilian and international
agribusiness. The people rely on support from
NGOs like
Survival International. Also, they believe the nearby land is home to many important spirits, but the land is being destroyed by ranchers, who continue to build dams and who have threatened violence if the members of the tribe perform their rites, such as Yaokwa, their ritual for the maintenance of social and cosmic order.[4]
Brazil (
Mato Grosso)
