Thaís Brianezi
Reporter - Agência Brasil
Manaus - This week government prosecutors (Ministério Público Federal) (MPF), in the state of Roraima, recovered 90 blood samples taken from members of the Ianomâmi indigenous group. The samples were taken in 1990 without the necessary formal request or consentment and stored at the Federal University of Pará.
The action by the MPF stems in part from charges made in the book, "Darkness in Eldorado," by Patrick Tierney, where it is reported that in the 1960s and 1970s anthropologists collected thousands of Ianomani blood samples illegally.
Representatives of the MPF have contacted the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Michigan where some of the samples are believed to be stored. "Pennsylvania confirmed that it has some samples. We have so far been unsuccessful in getting the Foreign Ministry and the Federal Legal Office (Advocacia Geral da União), to assist us in getting the samples returned," explains Jankiel dos Santos, an anthropologist who works in the MPF.
Santos says that since the beginning of this year he has sent letters dealing with the issue to a total of ten American institutions. So far four have admitted having samples (besides Pennsylvania, they are: the State University of New York, the University of California and the National Cancer Institute).
Santos explains that when a Ianomani dies all his mortal remains must be destroyed. The body is cremated and if there are photos, for example, they are also destroyed. Among the Indians it is believed that if any remains of a dead person continue to exist that person is capable of distrubing the living Ianomanis. "The existence of the blood samples causes psychological suffering among the living Ianomanis," says Santos.
According to Mauricio Fabretti, the chief prosecutor of the state of Roraima, the Amrerican institutions seem to be willing to return the samples but are not sure how to do so or exactly who they should return them to. "Complicating the situation is the fact that some of the samples were collected in Venezuela among the Ianomani there. The American institutions want to make sure they are dealing with legitimate representatives of the Ianomani," explains Fabretti, adding that because of the legal red tape involved, the Brazilian government will probably have to hire an American legal firm to negotiate closure.
Translation: Allen Bennett
