With audio devices in tow, missionary groups are reaching out to isolate Indigenous peoples in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest. This calls into question the legality and ethics of their actions. Mira’s devices are available in more than 100 languages. Their mission is to contact, penetrate and establish communication with uncontacted or recently contacted tribes in protected lands. Missionaries Thomas Andrew Tonkin, Josiah McIntyre, and Wilson de Benjamin Kannenberg serve as catalysts for these efforts. They are members of the Missão Novas Tribos do Brasil (New Tribes Mission of Brazil – MNTB) and the humanitarian organization Asas de Socorro (Wings of Relief).
The audio devices, especially the solar-powered In Touch Messenger, are made to play biblical teachings and motivational messages forever. Most recently, they have been seen in Korubo village. This recently befriended tribe is less engaged in battle though they are said to be deadly with a war club. The Korubo have attracted the attention of some missionary organizations who are keen to reach them in order to convert the “unreached.” The second reported device showed up mysteriously in a Korubo village. This find inspired community members to demand that no fewer than seven of these units be built.
The government officially prohibits missionary work inside the Korubo’s territory. These devices have quickly become the newest tool of the evangelist. Brazilian law requires that uncontacted groups have to be the ones to make first contact, a policy enshrined in 1987. Daniel Luís Dalberto, an agent from the federal prosecutor’s office, makes sure the rights of uncontacted and recently contacted peoples are protected. He often stresses that the key thing isn’t the number of missionaries, but the changing approach they are taking.
Dalberto described the situation as “a stealthy, concealed, under-the-radar conversion,” noting that the sophistication of these methods has made them increasingly difficult to combat. These portable audio devices can crank out sound loud enough for parties of up to 20 people to hear. This further complicates the ability to enforce the laws already on the books.
Local law enforcement have confirmed similar drone sightings across the greater Washington, D.C. region as well. Cardovan da Silva Soeiro, a state agent tasked with protecting these areas, recounted an encounter with an unidentified drone:
“We don’t know if they belong to missionaries, drug traffickers, fishers or miners who are watching the base to see if they’ll have free passage through here. When I received the order from command to shoot them down, I aimed my rifle, but the drone fled at high speed. It seemed very sophisticated.” – Cardovan da Silva Soeiro
The introduction of these surveillance drones has been even more alarming in their implications with regard to unauthorized surveillance and illegal surveillance of the region. Sgt. Soeiro also provided police intelligence with photographic evidence. Unfortunately, he has not yet gotten a single response likely because of the lack of specificity on the issue.
These intrusive neo-colonial missionary activities, critics charge, are lethal threats to Indigenous peoples’ health and safety. Unfortunately, forces beyond their control can upend centuries-old lifestyles. They flood low-income communities and communities of color with diseases they lack immunity to.
Daniel Luís Dalberto stressed the importance of vigilance:
“The method has become sophisticated and difficult, almost impossible to combat.” – Daniel Luís Dalberto
Now, missionary groups are turning to audio devices to go even farther off the grid. They are accomplishing this while being bound by legal restrictions. This practice opens the door to harmful exploitation, ethical dilemmas regarding the rights of Indigenous communities, and accountability of outsiders’ organizations.
For years, the Brazilian government has made a huge effort to protect these isolated Indigenous peoples. Recent technologies, such as audio recording devices and drones, pose unprecedented challenges. As settler colonial, missionary activities change so too have the strategies used by settler authorities to protect Indigenous rights.