RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil: An Indian tribe that has had no formal contact with Western civilization has been located in a remote Amazon region, federal authorities said Friday.
The Metyktire tribe, with about 87 members, was found last week in an area that is difficult to reach because of thick jungle and a lack of nearby rivers some 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) northwest of Rio de Janeiro, said Mario Moura, a spokesman for the Federal Indian Bureau, or Funai.
The tribe is a subgroup of the Kayapo tribe, and lives on its 4.9-million-hectare (12.1-million-acre) Menkregnoti Indian reservation, Moura said.
The Kayapo had no significant contact with the Metyktire until two tribe members inexplicably appeared at a Kayapo village last week, he said.
“We don’t know why they decided to make contact now … only time will tell. This is a very slow process,” Moura said.
Uncontacted tribes are usually discovered when loggers and ranchers encroach on their territories.