Heather Pringle explains the history of contact between European and indigenous Mexicans, Central Americans, and South Americans, tracking the historical spread of disease and warfare.
As Peru's indigenous peoples make themselves increasingly visible, locals attempt to understand these neighbors, and activists and governments take steps to prevent the spread of disease or hostility.
In the 1950s, a visit by a single outsider sickened a band of tribespeople.
As encounters with indigenous Amazonian peoples in Brazil grow more frequent, Brazil's National Indian Foundation (FUNAI) and the Brazilian Government work to ensure these groups' survival and health.
Brazil's former "attraction fronts" initiated contact with indigenous tribes like the Nambikwara, but anthropologists today describe this tactic as genocide.
Local religious and political leaders in Puerto Esperanza, Peru, advocate for the construction of a road connecting the town to more populated areas. Many environmentalists oppose them.
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