Third.

We're studying the Yanomamo in my Comparative Social Organizations class. They're a tribe of people down in Venezuela and Brazil that have been badly affected by the gold mining operations occuring there since the 70's. There are people being murdered by the miners, killed by the diseases brought in from the outside world, and their land is being slowly destroyed. It makes me angry to think that there are people, human beings, innocent children, being killed because of how selfish others are. No matter how many times the issues are being brought up to the South American government, nothing it being done to make the situation better. The American Anthropological Association (AAA) can only do so much, and frankly, sending missionaries isn't enough and its not helping.

When I first learned about the Yanomamo, I was confused. I didn't understand how anyone could live like that. It is a male- dominated society, abuse of women is common, young girls are married off at a young age, and many times the people will starve because there isn't enough food for everyone. But when we started studying them more, I began to understand and respect them. The value family as the number one thing in their lives, and although women are mistreated and abused, they are still seen as an integral part of society. Their religion, with its roots in myths and superstition, is beautiful. They seek to explain every day occurrences and events through nature. We listened to the chantings of the Shamans in one of the Yanomamo villages along the Orinoco River. They were some of the most mesmerizing sounds I have ever heard. Their language is amazing, extremely complex, but at the same time, very simple. They do not know numbers above 1 and 2, anything more than that they refer to as "many". Age is not known because there is no calendar. These people take everything one day at a time. They have the utmost respect for the deceased, refusing the speak the name of those that have died, even ancestors from hundreds of years ago.

I want to work with these people. I want to help the South American government come to recognize them as a civilization and to get them the help they need. Before the outsiders came to their land, the Yanomamo were completely isolated. They didn't come in contact with swine flu, HIV, AIDS, influenza, etc. But now, their populations are rapidly becoming infected as a result with contact with outsiders and therefore, are rapidly diminishing. I want to be able to help stop their disappearance. I don't know how, but I'm going to.