The Yanomami are a group of indigenous people in South America who inhabit the remote forests of the Orinoco River basin in southern Venezuela and the rainforests of the Amazon basin in northern Brazil. It is estimated that a population of 35,000 Yanomami people live within the range. They are comprised of four distinct indigenous tribes, including Ninam, Yanomam, Sanema, and Yanomamo, and each occupies a different region and speaks a different language.
As the most isolated tribe in the world free from human civilization, the Yanomami are at a high risk of losing their land, culture, and way of life due major threats like disease and habitat destruction. The major diseases that pose a threat to the population include malaria, smallpox, and tuberculosis, which are believed to be introduced by foreigners invading the region. The natural habitation of the Yanomami faces destruction from the discovered gold mines that have led to deforestation of the tropical rainforests. Constant wars between the Yanomamo tribes in Venezuela and Brazil result in massacres that wipe out a vast majority of the Yanomami population.
