Affects of Change in Community

The Yanomamo People did view any change in many ways. Violence  caused change in the population of the Yanomamo Community. Also increased tourism and other recreational activities to Velezuela, Brazil and The Amazon Rainforest has caused the community to move away from distraction and tourists. A goldmining boom brought thousands of miners to the Brazilian rainforest in the late 1980s. Large areas of rainforest, and the animals and birds that lived there, were destroyed. Rivers and streams were polluted by mercury,which was used to extract gold from the ore. Stagnant water collected in the holes left in the ground after mining, providing ideal breeding conditions for mosquitos and an increase in malaria. The miners also brought diseases. Many Yanomamo died. Armed clashes between miners and Indians occurred when it became clear that the very survival of the Yanomamo was threatened. Instead of expelling the miners, the Brazilian Government expelled the missionaries and health workers who were helping the Yanomami.


 During the boom in goldmining in the 1980s, the Yanomamo Indians could do very little but watch as their rainforest was turned into a hole in the ground. In 1992, the Brazilian Government  set aside land for the Yanomami but this has not stopped miners coming into Yanomami territory. Some politicians and business people are trying to reduce the Yanomami’s territory because they want access to its mineral deposits. This would lead to further devastation of the indigenous people and the rainforest. The Yanomami Indians in Venezuela lost parts of their forest when the government decided to create forest reserves, national parks and protected areas. Slash and burn farming, hunting and building houses were now prohibited in these areas. Today, Indian reserves have been set aside for the Indians. But mining, dam projects, cattle ranches and small farms are still taking their forests and their land.