For 60,000 Years, a Tribe Has Been Isolated on Their Island. A New Threat Has Put Them in Danger: Influencers

The story happened just days ago. A U.S. tourist reached one of the most mysterious islands on the planet with a clear goal. If he was going to make it as far as possible, he needed to bring an offering to the tribe that zealously guards its existence. So, armed with a GoPro, he entered the forbidden territory for five minutes, holding a coconut and a Coca-Cola—awaiting the imminent arrival of the “locals.”

His journey didn’t last much longer.

Influencers: the new threat. What happened is that Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 24, was arrested—and it may have saved his life. His unauthorized landing on North Sentinel Island has raised alarms about a growing phenomenon: influencers and content creators as a new threat to isolated Indigenous peoples.

Indian authorities detained Polyakov after he landed on the island, apparently to record his experience and make contact with the Sentinelese, the world’s most isolated tribe—a community that rejects all outside contact and whose protection is legally guaranteed by the Indian government.

The island of the untouchables. North Sentinel, located in the Indian Ocean within the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, is one of the last territories untouched by modern civilization. Occupied by the Sentinelese—a tribe fiercely isolated for millennia—it represents a rare anthropological and geopolitical anomaly, a time capsule where human history seems frozen.

Its inhabitants have systematically and often violently rejected every attempt at contact, from explorers to humanitarian aid helicopters, making this 23-square-mile island a bastion of resistance to the outside world.

Older than the pyramids. Experts estimate the Sentinelese have lived on the island for at least 60,000 years, likely descended from the first humans to migrate out of Africa. That longevity makes them one of the oldest human communities still living in their original form.

While they share some physical traits and cultural elements with other Andaman tribes, such as the Onge or Jarawas, the Sentinelese have avoided contact for generations. Their language, customs, and social structure remain largely unknown. What little is understood suggests a lifestyle based on hunting, fishing and gathering—in balance with an ecosystem that has sustained them without outside influence.

Geography as a defense. North Sentinel’s geography is its best defense. The island is surrounded by an expansive coral reef, making it inaccessible to large ships most of the year and hazardous for small boats during rare windows of approach. This isolation has helped preserve their disconnection from the outside world.

Even the devastating 2004 tsunami didn’t breach their defenses. The island rose about 6.5 feet after the disaster, further exposing the barrier reef and complicating access. The Sentinelese survived without outside assistance—and, true to form, greeted reconnaissance helicopters with a hail of arrows.

Hostility and resistance. The first recorded landing came in 1880, when British explorer Maurice Portman managed to step onto the island by using nearby tribes as intermediaries. Every subsequent attempt at exploration has failed—or ended in tragedy.

In 1981, the freighter Primrose ran aground on the reef. The crew, initially relieved, quickly found themselves under threat by tribespeople wielding bows and stones, prompting an emergency air evacuation. Other incidents include the killing of two fishermen in 2006 and American missionary John Allen Chau in 2018.

These events illustrate not just territorial defense—but a deliberate and consistent strategy of isolation.

More from Xataka On

Pirates Bought an Island in the U.S. in 1959. Its Inhabitants Have Spoken a Variation of English That No One Understands Ever Since

India’s awakening and renunciation. India, which gained independence in 1947, paid little attention to the Sentinelese until the late 20th century. After the Primrose incident, the government attempted contact through anthropologists and NGOs. In the 1980s and ’90s, several expeditions offered coconuts and other gifts.

What happened? The Sentinelese sometimes accepted offerings but never tolerated prolonged presence. When boundaries were crossed, they responded with immediate hostility. By 1997, India ended all contact efforts and established a 3-mile exclusion zone around the island, still patrolled by the Coast Guard today.

An irresponsible act. Against this backdrop, the actions of the tourist are even more alarming. Polyakov illegally entered a restricted area designated to protect the tribe from disease and external threats. During his roughly five-minute visit, he left a Coca-Cola can and a coconut, filmed with a GoPro and collected sand samples.

It was later revealed that he had previously visited the area and attempted to approach in an inflatable raft. Following his arrest, Polyakov was presented in court and remains under interrogation by India’s Criminal Investigation Department.

The culture of networks. Survival International, which describes the Sentinelese as “the most isolated Indigenous people on the planet,” warned that in addition to traditional threats like mining, illegal logging and infrastructure development, a new danger has emerged: influencers.

Jonathan Mazower, a spokesman for the organization, told the BBC that users of social media platforms are increasingly obsessed with reaching untouched communities. The drive to “document the forbidden” endangers both the tribes and the content creators. Experts fear this rush for content could expose Indigenous groups—who lack immunity to common diseases such as measles or influenza—to catastrophic outbreaks.

Ethics of peoples. The incident highlights the importance of no-contact policies under the U.N. Convention on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples. Yet critics argue that India hasn’t enforced these rules strictly enough, allowing intrusions due to negligence or lapses in coastal surveillance.

The case has prompted renewed calls to tighten legal protections, strengthen monitoring and impose harsher penalties on violators. Polyakov’s arrest isn’t just a reminder of past tragedies—it’s a warning about a new kind of threat: The cultural invasion fueled by the relentless pursuit of likes and fame.

Image | Google Maps | Ali Pli (Unsplash)

Related | More Than 60 Years Ago, the U.S. and the UK Seized One of the World’s Most Remote Islands. What Has Happened There Since Has Remained a Secret