A Challenging Encounter: Making First Contact With the Extremely Reclusive and Hostile Tribe of North Sentinel Island

The first – and probably last – peaceful encounter with the Sentinelese people.

North Sentinel Island is a remote and isolated island located in the Bay of Bengal, part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. The island is home to the Sentinelese, an indigenous tribe that has lived in complete isolation for thousands of years and has vigorously resisted all attempts of contact by outsiders. They most recently made headlines when they killed an American missionary, John Allen Chau, who had tried to make contact with them.


Sentinelese tribe members on North Sentinel Island in the Andaman archipelago vehemently reject any contact from outsiders. Photo taken in 1974. Image credit: Raghubir Singh/Nat Geo Image Collection
North Sentinel Island is a remote and isolated island located in the Bay of Bengal, part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. The island is home to the Sentinelese, an indigenous tribe that has lived in complete isolation for thousands of years and has vigorously resisted all attempts of contact by outsiders. They most recently made headlines when they killed an American missionary, John Allen Chau, who had tried to make contact with them.

In recent years, the Indian government has taken steps to protect the tribe’s way of life and maintain their isolation, recognizing the importance of preserving their unique culture and heritage. But before that happened, a group of anthropologists managed to make peaceful contact with the islanders.

Next
Advertisements