I've been fortunate enough to interview several tribal people who were only recently 'contacted'. The latest came out of the forest in 2009. What is striking i

I've been fortunate enough to interview several tribal people who were only recently 'contacted'. The latest came out of the forest in 2009. What is striking is how many of their friends and relatives died of outsiders' disease after making contact, and how fondly they spoke of their life before. When I spoke to them, some were considering leaving the village where they now live and returning to a life in the forest. With regards to healthcare -- the health services offered to settled tribal and indigenous people in many places is poor to nonexistent. Amazonian tribal peoples have dozens to hundreds of medicinal plants, many of which have been proven to have active pharmacological properties. Some are now used in Western medicine.