Members of an indigenous tribe known as the Mashco Piro are one the very last "uncontacted" groups of people on the planet.

Except... they've been making their presence known lately.

According to Peru's ministry of culture, the Mashco Piro people have been spotted more than 100 times already this year — reaching out to missionaries, tourists, and other locals — asking for food and tools. And this is causing a conundrum for the Peruvian government.





Luis Felipe Torres Espinoza, is the deputy minister of multi-culturalism dealing with indigenous peoples in isolation and initial contact. He is also an anthropologist and has spent significant time in the area where the Mashco Piro tribe is frequently spotted. We reached him earlier in Lima, Peru.

Our interview was translated and voiced by freelance journalist Sebastian Salamanca.

Kim Hill is a professor at Arizona State University who favours a so-called "controlled government contact" approach to isolated tribes like the Mascho Piro. His work has focused on the mortality and fertility rates of uncontacted peoples.

We reached him in Phoenix, Arizona.

Groups such as the Mashco Piro may not have real contact with the outside world, but there are groups advocating on their behalf. One such group is Survival International. It's calling for indigenous peoples' right of self-determination. Rebecca Spooner is their Peru campaign officer and she was in London.



This segment was produced by The Current's Leif Zapf-Gilje.

