Medicinal Plants and Indigenous Tribes

 Uncontacted Amazon Tribe

A Brazilian photographer managed to capture photos of an uncontacted indigenous in Jorado. While, flying in a helicopter over the scenic rain forest, he snapped aerial footage of the tribe. Hilariously, they fired arrows at the low flying vehicle. Unfortunately, the tribe is at risk due to deforestation of the amazon. According to WWF, 58,000 square miles of land are deforested per year for farming and logging. In addition, drug gangs and frontier villages have had conflicts with the indigenous tribes.

The importance of these tribes is underestimated. The indigenous people have a library of knowledge of the plants and animals living there. This is because over thousands of years of collected and experimenting, as well as this knowledge being passed down from generation to generation. Their knowledge can help treat disease and advance medicine. 

For example

• The value of medicines derived from tropical plants in the U.S, that is the amount U.S consumers spend on them is more than $6 billion per year and the local amazonian tribes get nothing.
• Many Drugs are derives from medicinal plant compounds. Here is a list.

One may ask why we cannot simply study medicinal plants from U.S and other countries rather than the amazon. This is because the amazon is the most bio diverse place in the world second to coral reefs. For example:

• In just one Amazonian National Park, there are more birds species to be found than in the entire United States.

• The amazon is full of biodiversity. For example, there is a unique symbiotic relationship between the ants and the fire-ant tree. It turns out that the tree has went so far that it produces nutrient rich solutions on which the ants feed on and in return, the ants viciously attack insects and intruders that might damage the tree. Some ants even clear away all vegetation within a 7 foot radius. (and also the trees cannot survive without each other).

Simply put; the Amazon is special and there is no place like it. And the higher the biodiversity, the higher the medicinal plant amount and potency. 

One may ask why we need these tribes. Couldn't we just send in a bunch of biologists and bring all the plants to a lab ? 

No, this is because their are hundreds of thousands of species in the amazon. The task would take a thousands years. Also, testing each plant against hundreds of medical illnesses for an effective drug. This would take another 1000 years. The indigenous tribes have been living their for tens of thousands of years. They have done all the hard work for us. If we do not protect them from westernization and deforestation, the libraries will be lost.

Phillips, D. (2016, December 22). Photographer captures images of uncontacted Amazon tribe. Retrieved February 22, 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/22/photographer-shows-first-images-of-uncontacted-amazon-tribe

Medicines Derived from Rainforest Plants. (n.d.). Retrieved February 22, 2017, from http://rainforests.mongabay.com/10drugs.htm

Cherry, L., & Plotkin, M. J. (1998). The shaman's apprentice: a tale of the Amazon rain forest. San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Co.

Indigenous peoples part 2- Bushmen

Oh, by the way... The movie: GOD's MUST BE CRAZY is based on Bushmen :) 

Bushmen are actually a very interesting indigenous group. DNA tests reveal that they are the oldest human ancestors that we have originated from. In other words, this is the oldest tribe in the world that we all originated from. They have been living their for 100,000 years. Thus, these people have incredible knowledge about their ecosystem as they have been living their for thousands of years. The reason why it is important is because they have a sustainable ideology which can be learned from. We are on the brink of messing everything up and have a unsustainable attitude. I don't think that we would be able to live for tens of thousands of years without somehow eradicating ourselves.

Cool things that they do that make it seem as if they are really, really, ancient.

* They kill their prey with poison from beetle larvae. This poison is very slow acting and they have to track the animal down via footprints and expert trackers for hours. Then they appreciate it and kill it.

*Ostrich eggs store water that they collect. They bury them in the sand and jab sticks on top. Somehow, the animals don't dig it up because they think the sticks are some sort of an elaborate trap.

* They create fire via hand drill. (seen above)

* They have cool cave paintings.



Today, unfortunately, they are endangered. Like many other indigenous cultures, they have been battling against modern life. They have most of their land taken by the government and the shrinking reserves.Their land has also been subject to industrial mining and exploitation. In addition, the Botswana government is trying to integrate them into society and ban them from hunting. It is important that they remain intact.

http://www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/bushmen

Indigenous peoples part 1

Southwestern cliff dwellings. 

The subject of indigenous people is rather interesting. Indigenous peoples have been in existence for thousands of years, before the colonists, Europeans...etc. They originally had dominated the land; the U.S was a collection of thousands of tribes each living in a sustainable fashion. The indigenous bushmen tribe used to be isolated in the South Africa region living contently. The aboriginals also lived off primitive skills in Australia.

*Importance: Indigenous peoples have an amazing knowledge. They are the only people who live sustainably; that is rather, a people who are not a risk of destroying each other with nuclear weapons, creating massive environmental disasters, and a huge resource intensive lifestyle.

*They also (especially the South American tribes) have a speculator knowledge of the immense rain-forest biodiversity. Many drugs and life-saving cures for cancers and diseases are from chemical-compounds in these highly unique plants. There are millions of these plant species and the Natives have been using their medicinal properties (and spiritual properties via hallucinogenic plants in their ideology/culture)  for thousands of years (which would be a real benefit for modern society's endless fight against disease and cancer.

* Their culture is very unique and can offer many new insights. For instance, the Bushmen are AMAZING trackers. They have been used by archaeologists to study thousands year old tracks. The Native Americans are also very good trackers. In addition, they have interesting survival techniques which can be learned from.

More coming soon.