HARRY TRUMAN LIBRARY Papers of NATHANIEL DAVIS UNCLASSIFIED No, 69 San José, Pebruary 16, 1949 SUBJECT: Visit to Indian Reservation.
THE HONORABLE TUE SEORETARY OF STATE, WASHINGTON.
SIR: have the honor to report that recently had an opportunity to visit the Indian reservation in the southern part of Costa Rica, in aquapany with members of the Costa Rican Indian Commission (Junta de Protecdidn de las Rasu. Aborigenes) and officials of the Ministry of Sducation. Extracts from ray diary containing a ruhning informal account of the journey are enclosed, together with some photographs.
There has been no acourate census of the Indian population of Costa Rica and as the inhabitants of the reserved district live for the most part in 1solated is in the forest, inaccessible except by foot paths, it would be exceedingly difficult to make a completa count. The boat gatimato places the number of persons of pure or predominantly Indian blood living in the region at about four thousand, 100soly organised in tribes or family clans with but few.
settlements that can be dignified with the designation of hamlet. Although many of thaae people are nominally Catholic, religious influence is all but nonexistent and some of the more isolated districts are frankly pagan. Polycamy is openly practiced in those areas. Until recently there were no schools and the percentage of 1111teracy, especially among adults, is correspondingly high. While have been unable to obtain any authoritative estimate, the figure must be well over eighty por cont. Medical service is offered exclusively by tribal medicine men who appear to combine a wide knowledge of herbs and other natural products with the traditional murabo jumbo or burning feathers, incantations, and the like. Surgery is non exiatant.
Due to isolation and lack of any form of transportation other than mules and human backa, or of travel other than by rough tra129 through the forest, there UNCLASSIITED