Word: tukano
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...weren't for the gold, all would be well. We would have time to prepare the Indians for the maliciousness of the white man." So says Father Norberto Hohenscherer, one of the many Salesian missionaries who have governed, educated and protected 20,000 Indians of the Tukano and other tribes over the past seven decades in remote northwestern Brazil. Time, however, is rapidly running out for both missionaries and Indians. The discovery of potentially vast lodes of gold and other minerals is transforming life in a wide region around Sao Gabriel da Cachoeira, a small town in the Amazon jungle...
...Tukano leader, Benedito Machado, angered by the forces aligned against his people, says, "The church taught us to turn the other cheek, but it taught us nothing about the cunning, the subtleties and lies the white man uses." Nevertheless, the 200 Indian leaders who attended a three-day summit meeting last month in Sao Gabriel with mining, government, military and Salesian representatives proved to be highly articulate -- patently a result of their missionary training. In florid speeches, they demanded land rights so they can levy royalties on gold that is mined, as well as better communications, health care and education...
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