Describes the high cultural level of native American Indian populations at the time of conquest. Illustrates how cultural breakdown and demographic decimation have resulted from systematic policies that focused on exploiting natural resources at the expense of native peoples. (GC)

Brazil's Yanomamo Indians seem doomed to extinction by a government policy that seeks to develop and exploit their ancestral lands. This article describes the health, economic, and cultural dangers confronting the Yanomamo and discusses a proposed 16 million acre park to protect them from non-Indian encroachment. (DS)