The Enawené-Nawé are an indigenous people of Brazil, who live by fishing and gathering in Mato Grosso state. They practice agriculture and do not hunt or eat red meat. The cultural survival of the Enawene Nawe is under constant threat. Their most pressing problem is the location of 5 mini hydroelectric generators located in the Juruena River, which is decreasing the native fish population.
The Enawene Nawe live in a large village near the Iquê River in the Enawenê Nawê Indigenous Land. They numbered 566 in 2012, up from 320 in 2000.The Enawene Nawe are a relatively isolated people who were first contacted in 1974 by Vicente Cañas. The Enawené-Nawé are also known as the Enawenê-nawê, Eneuene-Mare or Salumã people.
The Enawené-Nawé language is a Central Maipuran language, part of the Arawakan language family.
These people are in danger of being wiped out by the Brazilian corporations who encroach on their land and pollute the rivers from which they obtain their source of food. Many dams are being built on the main Juruena river, polluting the water and killing many of the fish. Without fish, there is basically no food for the people of this tribe, as they eat no red meat.
Constitutionally, Brazil's tribes are supposed to receive full protection from the federal government, but like its predecessors, the current government has frequently ceded to pressure from Brazilian and international agribusiness. The people rely on support from NGOs like Survival International.
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