Pantanal: The Largest Wetland On Earth. Where Are The Guató People?
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An area in the Amazon rainforest, the Pantanal, is the largest wetland on earth—larger than the Everglades. The floodplain stretches across a large portion of northwest Brazil and southeast Bolivia, between fifty and one hundred thousand square miles. In the summer rainy season (November through March) , when river banks overflow, the lowlands are inundated. Undergound streams contribute to the volume.
In winter, the waters recede—but not completely—leaving islands covered with lush vegetation, trees, flowers, and grasses, enriched by sediment in the flood. Animal life prospers.
The Guató tribe, often referred to as the “canoe people,” inhabited the region for centuries. Nature provided what they needed. The arrival of the Spanish and the Portuguese changed their lives. Smallpox devastated a large portion of the community. Cattle ranchers’ competition for excellent grazing further reduced the native population’s lands. The Pantanal became a major resource for Brazilian beef. Gold mining, poaching, and tourism imperiled the wetland ecological balance.
The government of Brazil declared the Guató extinct. In the year 2000, Brazil established a reserve for the Pantanal, protecting the wetland’s flora and fauna from oblivion—but not the Guató. One day, two groups of the indigenous people remaining, fewer than 400, were discovered. Through lawsuits, they recovered portions of their tribal habitat. Only two individuals spoke their ancient language.
When a technologically-advanced society catches up with an isolated, ancient, self-sufficient people, one wonders whether only one definition of living a good life should prevail. Who’s to be the judge? The satisfaction of independently surviving by your own hand, while respecting centuries-long tradition, may be greater than any of us know.
Howard Feigenbaum is the author of two trilogies set in Latin America:
Benny Goldfarb, Private “I” and
Henry Samson: Finder of Wrongdoing (as H. F. Jefferson).
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