In the northern region of **Pará** state, Brazil, there exists an Amazonian area comparable in size to the metropolitan area of **São Paulo**. This is the **Ituna/Itatá** territory, a **provisionally protected indigenous land**, where recent findings confirm the **presence of uncontacted peoples**.
The material remains include **a turtle shell and a ceramic vessel**, found three years ago. These elements add to a long chain of evidence —from sightings in the seventies to archaeological records since 2009— suggesting a continuous occupation by **voluntarily isolated indigenous groups**.
In the neighboring community of **Ita’aka**, in the **Koatinemo** indigenous land, members of the **Asurini** people recount chance encounters with these groups.
## Deforestation and illegal mining endanger an Amazonian region with indigenous presence
Since **2011**, Ituna/Itatá has had a **special ordinance restricting access**, managed by the **National Foundation for Indigenous Peoples (Funai)**, as a preventive measure to safeguard the isolated peoples. This regulation was **suspended during the [Jair Bolsonaro government](https://noticiasambientales.com/medio-ambiente/devastacion-en-reservas-indigenas-brasilenas-por-la-mineria-crece-205-con-bolsonaro/)**, a period in which the region became the **most deforested indigenous land in the country**, under pressure from **agribusiness and mining interests**.
Recent images taken during a **flyover in June** show large **patches of [devastated jungle](https://noticiasambientales.com/medio-ambiente/contrastes-en-la-selva-amazonica-de-brasil-baja-la-deforestacion-pero-aumenta-la-degradacion-del-suelo/)**, in stark contrast to the deep green of the still-standing Amazonian forest.
Organizations like the **Coordination of Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon (COIAB)** demand that the State move forward with the **permanent demarcation of Ituna/Itatá** before the **COP30 in Belém** in 2025. “Protecting the forest implies protecting the peoples who inhabit it,” noted **Toya Manchineri**, a reference from COIAB.
## Incomplete records and excluded ancestral knowledge
Brazil officially recognizes **114 reports of isolated group presence**, although only a quarter are confirmed. The rest, like the case of Ituna/Itatá, are considered **strong evidence** but not sufficient for final administrative decisions.
Activists denounce **state inaction**. “The State demands qualified evidence, but we feel them in nature: by the sounds, by the traces, by the smells,” explained **Mita Xipaya**, a 24-year-old indigenous activist in dialogue with the AFP agency.
Since 1988, non-indigenous lands in the Brazilian Amazon have lost **almost 30% of their forest cover**, while in legally delimited indigenous territories, this loss was only **2%**, according to data from the **Socioenvironmental Institute**.
