“We will fight for them”: The defense of the ´isolated´ Piriti people by the Waimiri Atroari, Amazonas and Roraima, Brazil

The Pirititi are a little known ´isolated´ Indigenous group occupying a highly threatened territory on the border between Amazonas and Roraima states in Brazil who have rejected all previous attempts at contact and encounter. The Waimiri Atroari previously had conflicts with the Pirititi, who occupy a contiguous area, but over the past decade have taken it upon themselves to defend the Pirititi and their territory, relying mostly on their own resources. Given the slow pace of official Brazilian governmental responses to land invasions and other threats to the Pirititi, the Waimiri Atroari have become the main protagonists of protection and surveillance strategies in defense of their isolated neighbors. Indeed, given their own traumatic history of forced contact and decimation beginning in the 1970s with the construction of the Manaus-Boa Vista highway, the Waimiri Atroari now view the Pirititi's rejection of contact with all outsiders as a reflection of their own history of resistance and survival. This article, written in collaboration with the Waimiri Atroari Association, summarizes what is known about the Pirititi, describes the evolving relationship the Waimiri Atroari have maintained with them, and underlines the importance of greater involvement of Indigenous organizations in the defense of isolated peoples with whom they share territory. Moreover, we present a general overview of the situation including the legal framework.