Not sure yet. The Venezuelan government has denied massacres before but Survival International, as much as I support them, has been mistakenly wrong before.

Between those two countries, concerning such things? Both have something to hide.

Back in 1994 there was a real massacre of indians in Venezuela. Apparently a land owner wanted more land and got a few army people to go to the indian village, kill all the male inhabitants, dressed the killed people in camouflage and then accuse them of being "communist guerillas".

The land owner almost got away with it except that his army buddies fail to kill 3 other men who escaped by diving into a river nearby.

The president of Venezuela at the time, Jaime Lusinchi, sided with the land onwer even after it was revealed the indians massacred were not communist guerillas, and the 3 surviving men had to ask Mexico for asylum because they feared for their life. They were granted the asylum.

Four years later Hugo Chavez was elected president. I'm sure that he's doing his best to find out what really happened in the Amazon so he can once again show he's not like the corrupted politicians who ruled before him.

They're lucky to live there - that's my favorite store.

How in the world would anyone other than the locals know one village picture from another? Seriously we as a country need to go back to elementary school and learn logic. This could be pictures of a village 100 miles away for all any of us know. People and governments have staged fake scenes for pictures many documented times, especially in "war" or "massacre" areas. I do not believe there is one honest international investigative organization that could even look into things like this. As long as human beings roam the Earth these things will happen. The Earth is more populated now than ever before. We are already fighting for oil and soon we will be fighting for water as population grows exponentially It is up to the individual to plan ahead and have the means to defend themselves not only from their fellow man but more importantly their government.

Four years later Hugo Chavez was elected president. I'm sure that he's doing his best to find out what really happened in the Amazon so he can once again show he's not like the corrupted politicians who ruled before him.

lol, that WAS sarcasm, right?

Venezuela used to be my favorite country to enjoy. The cost was cheap, the people were friendly and there's excitement and adventure there. That's how it used to be. Now it's super dangerous. Gangs roam the streets not only in Caracas but all towns. The people are beyond poor. They're desperate. I wouldn't put anything past the government there. Currently I live in Nicaragua. Another very poor country, but here, the people are quick to smile and I feel safe. I couldn't imagine a slaughter taking place here. I can see it happening in Venezuela though.

Will showing us a few photos out of National Geographic of peaceful native culture sway our thinking? Remember too that Venezuela is not the only country in the history of the world where indigenous peoples have fared poorly when more-modern peoples have needed more land or profit either!

Algo llama la atencion en las fotos. Una madre alimenta al hijo boca a boca, forma esta que demuestra el atraso y abandono en que viven. En otra foto un nativo de la misma tribu danza con una camisa "moderna" confeccionada con la nueva bandera de la Republica Bolivariana. Al parecer hay una presencia de Chavez en las vidas de estos indios aunque no para su beneficio. Probablemente voten por Chavez en las proximas elecciones y despues mueran de diarreas o se los coma una anaconda.

Brokinarrow, I'm not being sarcastic. Before Chavez was elected in 1998, indians were murdered very often throughout Venezuela. That stopped from happening after Chavez became president. Chavez has indian blood in him and he's built a very disciplined army.

The problem with Chavez is not Chavez himself but the rich oligarchy who still control many parts of the judicial system and police forces. In other words, the ones getting assesinated are Chavez people and that's one thing the US media has failed to understand or report on.

Americans keep talking about him as a dictator when in fact Chavez is more of a Robin Hood fighting the Powers That Be. That's why he's always been ahead in the polls and is expected to win the presidential elections this October 7th.

Venezuelans would rather have a president who puts the oil money to good use building up the coutnry than someone from a party made of rich folks pocketing the oil money for themselves.

When I was in college I did a speech on the Rainforest in the Amazon and a few others. I believe that what I studied that the forest are being destroyed by machines & people. I really think that these forests should be protected to a certain point in usage. It was very interesting to do this speech because I think that these forests are being over used.

I'm sure they'll do the jobs that Americans won't!

Americans keep talking about him as a dictator when in fact Chavez is more of a Robin Hood fighting the Powers That Be. That's why he's always been ahead in the polls and is expected to win the presidential elections this October 7th.

Oooh, so that's why Chavez "nationalized" all the radio stations in the country huh? And then shut down the ones that talked bad about him? Yeah, sounds like a great leader there!

The government of Venezuela is socialist. Are you calling socialism a religion?

Rosieklpn, Hippocrates was a Greek physician who lived around 400BC. I also don't see how your post about religious hypocrites has anything to do with an article about a group of Brazilian coal miners who allegedly attacked this tribe (see the original article for more info).

Rosieklpn: Hippocrates was a Greek physician. The oath all doctors take, including, "Above all, do no harm..." are his words. The word you wanted is hypocrites.

You mean well, but you should know that as we consume so much of the planet's resources every year that half cannot be replenished by nature, we are actually contributing to the erosion of their lives. Google how much of the Amazon rainforest has been and is being destroyed. These communities take very little from their environment, but we consume everything. The multinational corporate agenda is, in fact, destroying the planet as a human habitat.

Nature will do just fine. But we humans have consistently shown what an evolutionary mistake we've been. Animals know better than to destroy their habitat, and they don't make war or commit genocide. We think we're so great, yet we're only beginning to realize we're not the only species with feeling, sentiment, thought, or language.

Two years ago, scientists 'discovered' chimps understand death. At the same time, we had a hummingbird in our front yard whose hatchlings died--she sat on a twig just above the nest all day for three months, inconsolable. Removing the nest didn't help or get her eating to strength again. Finally we took down the tree so she might live. Last year she made no nest. This year, she tried again, and her fledglings are now adults, with two new trees. Now scientists are 'learning' dolphins have a sophisticated language, but we're still using military sonar that deafens whales and kills dolphins--for war games. My guess? Dolphins are laughing at us when we're not slaughtering them, one way or another.

Maybe our species will last less than 3 minutes in geological time. And maybe that will be just fine for earth, and her next evolutionary experiment.

Bob - I think Rosieklpn was referring to missionaries (Mormons) who do more harm than good to tribes.

Rosie, And they don't need to be bothered by a bunch or nimcompoop liberals who "Just want to help" either

@ Dee Turner.

Animals do commit genocide. It is not uncommon for a male bear to kill the unrelated cubs of a female as to not compete with his own offspring. Wolves are known to kill whole flocks of sheep as some sort of game. I have a dog that will run down rabbits and kill them as a sport of sorts but falls all over himself when he sees a cat (He likes cats and lives with one). So yes they do kill for reasons other than food.

Rosieklpn,

Keep your preaching to yourself.

When the west and China want resources they could care less about people of any country. As Romney says who cares about the planet. Really smart since with out a planet to live on what is our kids future? Humanities day of reckoning is coming due to never dealing with overpopulation and I blame stupid religious. Oh, I guess we can hide behind religion for day a rapture too.

I am so fed up with and absolutely disguted by the media and press. They can't leave things like this alone....live and let live. They are so sickeningly desperate for ratings they will sell their souls for a story. We can all think of hundreds of examples of the destruction they've perpetrated and lives they've ruined all in the name of a dollar, or Euro, or whatever. This is a perfect example of that...along with the leaks from our Spec Ops community in this country they have been so quick to publish. Our reporters and media have lost their souls and have nothing to be proud of...other than a very few honorable souls in the field....David Gregory, Joe Scarbourough, Dexter Filkins.

Rosieklpn: Hippocrates was a Greek physician. The oath all doctors take, including, "Above all, do no harm..." are his words. The word you wanted is hypocrites.

Who's to say that Hippocrates was not hypocritical? Lance Armstrong DOES have strong arms. See?

Gee whiz

! all right already! I used the word correction thing and that's what it gave so I clicked on it...Gee, Don't get so whacked out over it! You knew exactly what I meant...didn't you?

Lovely photos but they often misrepresent what really goes on in tribal groups. I'm unfamiliar with tribes in Venezuela but I'm sure they're much like tribes in Colombia, my adopted country. Sexual abuse on females begins as soon as they're potty trained. Infection from female genital mutilation kills two or three tribal infants every year. The tribal women (mostly Embera) who live in Bogotá are required to beg on the streets, barefoot (Bogotá is cold year round), often with babies on their laps. You NEVER see men begging. The women near my house bear signs of abuse, girls are kept out of school to beg with their mothers while their brothers go to school, learn to read and write in Spanish.

"if these people are living a fulfilling existence" -- is a typical opinion of people who don't know much.

The local Walmart, down the trail a bit. LOL

That's a stupid question. They order online.

Steve-0 95829

That's a stupid question. They order online.

Yup! Like Bill-2967979 said, they order from Amazon.com

I agree, something looks odd about the aerial photo. It looks like a model.

I was all set to disagree, but yeah, the people look like plastic figures. The look of the trees made me search for Lionel train tracks. I would totally say fake!

They live in squalor, really? This is how YOUR ancestors lived for over 2 million years -- off the land, making their own clothes and living in homes made of whatever mother nature made available.

The reason they even have these things is because, like Chimps, the males of our species are not content to live on the land they have and will commit any sort of violence to get more, and the females of our species will go along with it as long as the kids are eating.

You and I are no different and no better. If we had left them alone, they would have done just fine without any of these things. They would have even had their inter-village wars and still survived just fine.

I'm sure that there's a trading post somewhere, where they get their clothes and fabric, trading with some fish or some other harvest or artwork. Looks like they have a favorite color, or that the bolt of red was on sale.

The reason they even have these things is because, like Chimps, the males of our species are not content to live on the land they have and will commit any sort of violence to get more, and the females of our species will go along with it as long as the kids are eating.

You missed the part where humans adapt to their environment by using their minds, and the part where the value of life increases when a culture is not living on the brink of death.

My boss does some missionary work in the Amazon. They take clothes and a few other goods to disperse among the tribe.White man would be killed in many "uncivilized" villages like this, but the people in the villages that he is able to visit would not be harmed because they are familiar and dark skinned and speak similar language.

Interesting observations. You may be onto something there.

Get a life Army nurse

Unfortunately the use of the term Indian has been used to describe many native people, especially in the Americas.

I try to avoid using the term because it seems insulting to proliferate the ignorance of Christopher Columbus centuries later and deny Native Americans the right to be called what they actually are. That should have been corrected a long time ago.

Many native american tribes label themselves as Indians

I hope the other countries leave this people alone, seems to me that they are the smart ones. they just want to live the way they live. in PEACE.

From Papa Hugo, of course. He's running for president again, ya know?

Viva Hugo Chavez - 6 more years!

Eat your heart out - AmeriKKKa!!!

Before anyone lets their emotions rule their logic and gets nostalgic to return to mother nature to live, notice that there aren't any old people in the pictures.

If you're over 40, you probably are not around anymore.

Amen Pilgrim. "I am surprised the predatory Golden Sachs Jews haven't stolen the jungle form the indigenious people and then 'leased it back to them at 400% interest! LOL! This is what they are doing to the Palestinian people. They steal the aquifer resources (water) and then sell the water back at 'Predatory Jews' prices and the beat goes on - and if the Palestinians resist the 'wonderful' Great Satan send's the predator Jews billions in F-16s, 'illegal white phosphorus and cluster bomblet munitions, along with Apache helicopters 'loaded for bear' with Hellfire antitank missles to 'defend themselves with!' God bless the UNITED SNAKES (US/Israel) truly staunch (All men are created equal - well, almost.) democracies. Pssst, hey Messer Ahmadinejad, hurry up with that leased U-Haul Paki nuke, ya hear?!!!

AZCowBoy: You don't sound like a 'cowboy',..you sound like a 'camel-boy',..is that you Hasan?,..Abdullah??,...Amed?,....Amir?...tell me if I'm getting warm.

Nice rant. How about a relevant comment on this story, if you can conjure one up.