Amazonian Indian

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Indigenous inhabitants of the Amazon River Basin in South America. The majority of the societies are kin-based; traditional livelihood includes hunting and gathering, fishing, and shifting cultivation. A wide range of indigenous languages are spoken. Numbering perhaps 2.5 million in the 16th century, they had been reduced to perhaps one-tenth of that number by the 1820s. Their rainforests are being destroyed for mining and ranching, and they are being killed, transported, or assimilated. In June 1998 a previously unknown tribe of about 200 hunters and gatherers was discovered in Brazil's Amazon rainforest.

Blue stands for the sea. Green represents agriculture and natural wealth. White symbolizes peace. Red recalls the struggle for independence. Effective date: 21 August 1979. >>