Indigenous Peoples in the Brazilian Amazon in the Media

There's an article at CNN today that's a little encouraging and even more frustrating. The encouraging part is that the number of indigenous groups nearly totally isolated from different from European-based cultural influences is higher than previously thought. However, it is worrisome that these peoples are still facing severe threats from loggers and miners, often funded by and/or serving as fronts for large corporations. Hopefully, the recent measures Lula has taken will actually have an effect in protecting the forest.

Even more frustrating to me, however, is the language of the report. Throughout, there is a tone of patronizing towards the indigenous peoples, emphasizing the "quaint" nature of the indigenous groups with language such as "Their lives do not include televisions, microwave ovens or cars" and "Funai envoys for years tried to contact an individual in Rondonia, a state in the southwestern Amazon forest, because he is believed to be the last survivor of his tribe.
They tried to introduce him to an Indian woman to procreate. But the "Hole Indian" as he is nicknamed because he lives on branches over a hole, shot arrows at them, sending the potential bride running."

Nevermind what cultural accomplishments these peoples may have made in their hundreds and thousands of years. And nevermind the constantly imperialist efforts of states, in Brazil and elsewhere, in their treatment of indigenous peoples, not just during Brazil's military state, but throughout history. Instead, the report chooses to take on the Indians-as-living-exhibits in a museum. They come off looking mildly foolish in the tone of the report, presumably because they don't use modern technology and don't know the noble efforts of those who are "modern" and "civilized" as they try to "save" some of these peoples. One would hope for some more responsible word choice in the media. It just goes to show how far we still have to go in how we deal with indigeneous peoples culturally.