May 30, 2008: Uncontacted Indigenous People

[Clodfobble]

Originally Posted by nephtes

Really? I readily admit that it could be my own ignorance, but I can think of lots and lots of counterexamples (virtually everywhere European nations ever colonized, say) and not very many cases of what you're describing.

Obviously colonization would overwhelm any tribe, especially since that was usually one of the main goals. Who is colonizing these days? The kind of contact we're talking about is researchers going in to talk to them, to learn their language and their culture. There are hundreds of contacted tribes still in existence today, both alongside these uncontacted ones in Brazil and Peru, as well as all across Africa and Central and South America.

I think deliberately hiding from them and keeping them in isolation lowers them to the level of a scientific experiment. They are humans, and our greatest strength as a species is sharing knowledge with each other. They might have a cure for cancer, for all we know. The policy should be leave them alone if they want to be left alone.