Young man from isolated Amazon tribe makes contact with outside world

This is the rare moment a local village in Brazil encountered a young man from an uncontacted Amazon tribe.

A young man from a uncontacted tribe in the Amazon rainforest has been filmed in a rare encounter with locals in a Brazilian riverside village.

A villager told the Associated Press they believed the man, who was wearing only a loincloth and carrying wooden sticks, was asking for fire.

However, the villager said locals in the Bela Rosa community along the Purus River where the encounter happened had been told not to discuss it.

In the video, locals tried to show the indigenous man how to use a lighter (watch in the video player above).

He could be heard speaking in a language they did not understand.

A young man from an isolated Indigenous tribe appears on Wednesday, February 12, 2025, in Bela Rosa, Brazil. Picture: AP

Brazil’s National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (FUNAI) said it activated a contingency plan after the indigenous man made voluntary contact with the non-indigenous community at about 7pm on Wednesday, which included “sanitary isolation”. He was returned to the forest the next day.

Isolated tribes are vulnerable to Western diseases and therefore the epidemiological situation of the residents in the non-indigenous community was assessed as part of the response.

A young man from an isolated Indigenous tribe appears on Wednesday, February 12, 2025, in Bela Rosa, Brazil. Picture: AP

FUNAI officially confirmed the presence of an isolated indigenous tribe in the Mamoriá Grande area in 2021 after finding hunting shelters, pottery, woven baskets and bows, but had reportedly not been in contact with the people until this moment.

Teams will remain in the area to monitor the situation, which includes someone from the nearby Juma indigenous group, who they hope may speak the same language as the young man and his tribe.