US Citizen Arrested After Visit To Protected North Sentinel Island; Know More About The Sentinalese And The Island They Inhabit

A 24-year-old American citizen, Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, has been arrested by the Crime Investigation Department (CID) of the Andaman and Nicobar Police for allegedly entering the protected tribal reserve of North Sentinel Island without authorisation, news agency PTI reported on April 3. 

What Do We Know Till Now?

Carrying a coconut and a can of cola as offerings for the Sentinelese tribe, Polyakov reached the northeastern shore of North Sentinel Island around 10 a.m. Using binoculars, he surveyed the area but did not observe any inhabitants. He blew a whistle in an attempt to draw attention and briefly landed on the shore for approximately five minutes, during which he left the offerings, collected sand samples, and recorded a video before returning to his boat.

"We are getting more details about him and his intention to visit the reserved tribal area. We are also trying to find out where else he has visited during his stay in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. We are questioning the hotel staff where he was staying in Port Blair," the police told PTI.

Footage retrieved from Polyakov's GoPro camera reportedly shows him landing on the island. This is not his first visit to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Authorities revealed that he previously visited Port Blair in October 2024 and again in January 2025, during which he attempted reconnaissance missions. On one such trip, he allegedly tried to reach the island using an inflatable kayak but was stopped by hotel staff. During his January visit, he travelled to the Baratang Islands and reportedly filmed members of the Jarawa tribe, another protected Indigenous group.

Where Is North Sentinel Island?

North Sentinel Island is part of the Andaman archipelago in the Bay of Bengal, which also includes South Sentinel Island. The island falls under a protected zone governed by Indian law and is home to the Sentinelese, an Indigenous tribe known for living in voluntary isolation and fiercely resisting outside contact.

Roughly eight kilometres long and seven kilometres wide, North Sentinel spans an area of about 60 square kilometres. Under the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Regulation, 1956, travelling to the island or approaching it within five nautical miles (approximately nine kilometres) is illegal. The law aims to safeguard the Sentinelese from exposure to diseases against which they have no immunity. The Indian Navy regularly patrols the surrounding waters to enforce this restriction.

Who Are The Sentinelese?

The Sentinelese, or the Sentineli, are an Indigenous community residing on North Sentinel Island. Recognised as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group and classified as a Scheduled Tribe, they are part of the broader Andamanese ethnic group.

They are among six Indigenous communities in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, alongside the Great Andamanese, Jarawas, Onge, Shompen, and Nicobarese. Known for their reclusive nature, the Sentinelese have maintained minimal contact with the outside world and are generally hostile to outsiders. Although there were brief instances of peaceful contact in the early 1990s, such encounters remain extremely rare.

The Sentinelese have consistently resisted outside contact, often responding with hostility to any approach toward their island—whether intentional or accidental. They have been observed firing arrows at passing boats and even low-flying helicopters. These defensive actions have, at times, led to serious injury and loss of life. In 2006, two fishermen were killed after their boat drifted ashore. More notably, in 2018, 26-year-old American missionary John Chau was killed after making repeated, unauthorised attempts to contact the tribe, reportedly using local fishermen to reach the island.

Previous Encounters With The Sentinelese Tribe

As noted in Vishvajit Pandya’s book In the Forest (2009), British surveyor John Ritchie reported witnessing “a multitude of lights” on North Sentinel Island in 1771. Nearly a century later, in 1867, 106 survivors of the shipwrecked merchant vessel Nineveh came under attack by the island’s inhabitants before being rescued by the Royal Navy.

Furthermore, according to Contemporary Society: Tribal Studies (1997), the first peaceful contact with the Sentinelese was established in January 1991 by Triloknath Pandit, then director of the Anthropological Survey of India, and his team. Though they managed to make repeated friendly visits—offering coconuts and other gifts—no meaningful understanding of the Sentinelese language was achieved. The islanders consistently signalled the visitors to leave if they lingered. All official visits to the island were discontinued by 1997.

The Woman Who Made Contact With The Sentinelese

Madhumala Chattopadhyay, the only woman on the anthropological team, had dreamed of studying the Andaman and Nicobar tribes since childhood. As an adult, she spent six years researching them, publishing 20 papers and a book titled Tribes of Car Nicobar (2001).

In 1991, her team attempted peaceful contact with the Sentinelese by approaching the island in a small boat and tossing coconuts into the water. Armed tribesmen waded in to collect the gifts. On a subsequent visit, a young islander aimed a bow at Chattopadhyay, but a Sentinelese woman intervened. The team retreated but returned again, this time handing coconuts directly to the islanders in the water. Photographs of this rare exchange were widely circulated, challenging public perceptions of the reclusive tribe.

A few weeks later, on February 21, a larger team made another successful visit. This time, unarmed Sentinelese approached and even boarded the team’s ship to collect coconuts.

Years later, in an interview with National Geographic, Chattopadhyay discouraged future contact. “The tribes have lived on these islands for centuries without any problem,” she said. “Their troubles began only after coming into contact with outsiders.” She emphasised that what the tribes need is not protection, but to be left alone—warning against repeating the mistakes of colonial assimilation.