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Show 91 Of all the human groups on the American continent, the Indians, who number more than 30 million, are, in the majority, those who live under the most unfavorable conditions. Repeated again and again, until it now seems an endless refrain, this fact cannot be ignored in any program of economic and social development which may be planned on this continent. Therefore,in considering the most widely diverse subjects, such as housing, sanitation problems, education, communications, agriculture, natural resources, etc., it is always absolutely necessary to adequately relate all those points to the millions of descendants of the earliest Americans. Aware of this, the Inter-American Indian Institute has participated in innumerable meetings and congresses, as a true representative of the native population which, in order to solve its problems, needs the adequate focus that can be supplied only by the social sciences, to achieve an integral improvement in its living conditions. Fortunately, this same attitude prevails today in the Organization of American States. Editorial, "La Poblacion Selvicola Sudamericana," America Indigena, XXI, No. 3 (July, 1961), pp. 179-184. English summary: Just a look at an ethnological or linguistic map of South America is sufficient to see that there is an almost incredible number of Indian groups still living on the South American continent. Besides the several million Indians of the Andean region, there are also innumerable groups inhabiting the immense Amazon basin and its numerous tributaries. This is the jungle-dwelling population which lives in regions of difficult access and still preserves its traditional way of life. Today there are jungle-dwellers in Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay and in some regions of Northern Argentina. As noted by the distinguished Brazilian Indianist, Dr. Darcy Ribeiro, there are three principal classes among the jungle-dwelling tribes: those still completely isolated, due to the fact that only rarely has contact been made with them. In Brazil, among these isolated groups are the Mudjetires and Parakanan of the Tupi Family, not to mention others. There is a second category of jungle-dwellers: those who have been visited intermittently by people from outside. Finally, there are the jungle-dwellers with whom permanent contact is maintained, some of them from very early times. In spite of work and studies carried out to date, it is extremely difficult to arrive at the exact number of jungle-dwellers presently living in South America. However, it can be stated that there are between two and three million living in the great Amazon basin and its many tributaries. Some, viewing the jungle way of life with what can be called a romantic attitude, think that it would be best for these natives to continue living as they have done to date. For its part, the Inter-American Indian Institute considers it ex- |