Piaroa
Violence Intrudes on the Piaroa
Illegal mining in south central Venezuela is fostering conflict and even some violence among the normally peaceful Piaroa people. A lengthy analysis in the publication Caracas Chronicles on June 4 provides a lot of details about the stresses the Piaroa are trying to cope with. The author, who is not named to protect his or […]
An Inspiring Piaroa Leader
Hortimio Ochoa, a 33-year-old Piaroa leader, was featured in a lengthy Venezuelan newspaper article on Wednesday last week for his dedication to preserving the traditional values and culture of his people as well as for his efforts to protect their lands and waters from illegal miners and armed groups. The author of the piece, María […]
Piaroa Declare their Rights
A dramatic announcement by a Piaroa interest group last week not only outlined their opposition to illegal mining activity within their territory, it also denounced the presence of armed groups that violate their peaceful ethos. The manifesto was published on March 9 on the website of the Observatory of Political Ecology of Venezuela. People from […]
Piaroa Protest Guerillas in their Midst
A couple Piaroa leaders spoke out in the Venezuelan media to condemn the presence in their communities of people they claimed were FARC guerillas. An article in the online Venezuelan news service El Pitazo on November 25 described the conditions in the Huottoja (Piaroa) majority communities where the guerillas have taken up residence. The two […]
Harsh Economic Conditions for the Piaroa
The Piaroa are suffering economically, according to a news report published last week in the online Venezuelan newspaper El Pitazo. The malaise is not just affecting the minority indigenous people. The reporter quoted a trade union leader, Yetzy Sira, who said that 40 percent of the employees in the government of Amazonas state in southern […]
A Travel Writer Visits the Piaroa
Sometimes good travel writing provides insights into the ways of local people the writer visits. Such was the case of a writer named Karla Graterol who published a brief travel piece early last week in a major Venezuelan newspaper about her visit with some Piaroa. It was refreshing to read about something other than the […]
Piaroa Still in Jail
The three Piaroa young men who were arrested by the Venezuelan police on January 23 are still languishing in jail in Amazonas state and the courts are not allowing them to be released. On March 14, El Pitazo, a Venezuelan news website, released a story with updated information about the condition of the three men […]
Piaroa Protesters
On Wednesday January 23, the political crisis in Venezuela deepened when Juan Guaidó, leader of the national assembly, declared himself to be the interim president until another election could be held. He maintained that the earlier presidential election had been corrupt and that the victory President Nicholas Maduro had declared for himself was therefore invalid. […]
Piaroa Suffer from Untreated Diseases
Kapé Kapé, a Venezuelan indigenous research and advocacy organization, has conducted a thorough study of the health needs of the Piaroa and the results, announced last week, are grim. Perhaps the most surprising finding, as described in a Venezuelan news report, is that the illegal mining activities that are rampant in the region appear to […]
Piaroa Petroglyphs
Since the Piaroa believed that the sun plus Wahari, one of their mythic figures, were born at the Atures Rapids of the Orinoco River, it isn’t surprising that their ancestors carved large petroglyphs there. A news report last week described the setting and the scientific work by archaeologists to photograph and describe the huge engravings, […]
