Noble savages or not?

With the exam now over for this year's candidates, I'm not expecting many hits on the Highergeogblog in the next few months. However, I will keep posting (to build up the content for future candidates)whenever I come across something of relevance to the Higher course... like today when several news websites were carrying images of an Amazonian tribe which has no known contact with the outside world...The Rural Geography section of Paper 1 requires candidates to study three types of rural economy - intensive rice cultivation, extensive commercial agriculture and shifting cultivation. For all three types there is an emphasis on understanding 'change'. One interesting aspect of these images and of the reports which can be read here is that this is a tribe of shifting cultivators and hunters whose way of life has not undergone radical change as a result of outside influences. A basic description of their way of life is offered here.

These 'intrusive' photographs were taken by Funai (Brazil's National Indian Foundation) to illustrate their claim that isolated tribes do exist and that they need to be protected from logging and mineral companies. Usually Funai doesn't contact such Indian tribes in an attempt to ensure their independence from outsiders.

I have to say that I am slightly uneasy about the 'noble savage' ideals of organisations such as Funai. How do we know that these Amazon tribes would not wish to join the 21st century? Has anyone the right to 'protect' them from development? What do you think?