Transcript:

First ContactHere's a program from our archives. In the course of human history there have always existed isolated groups of indigenous peoples who have had little if any contact with the rest of the world. Among the last of these groups are the Korubo Indians, living in a remote region of the Amazon. In 1996, an expedition was undertaken to establish peaceful contact with the Korubo. Over the next few days, we'll share some of the experiences of two members of the expedition team. I'm Jim Metzner, and this is the Pulse of the Planet.French journalist Claudia Baran was the only woman member of the expedition. And after months of waiting and searching with the other members of the team, she found herself in the forefront of the first contact experience.Baran: At this moment we arrived in the field when the Korubo were. There are three men and one woman just in the top of a tree and the man and the woman had the body painting and I approached and the men of the expeditions pushed me ahead and said, "We have a woman with us.", because it's like a symbol of peace, a woman. And they put me on the top of the tree and the woman speak with me. She laugh and she took all, my necklace, my earrings and everything I wore on my body. She tries to take it. She pull up my shirts to verify if I was a woman and touching my breasts. The most important thing at this moment for me, it was the smell. You know the smell of the wood burn? It's a rainforest smell. Something very special. We've been listening to a program from our archives. If you want to hear more, check out our podcast.