Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov was arrested after landing on North Sentinel Island in the Indian Ocean and attempting to interact with the virtually uncontacted Sentinelese tribe.
Dinodia Photos/Alamy Stock PhotoA group of North Sentinelese tribespeople, believed to be the most isolated population of humans on Earth.
The Sentinelese tribe of North Sentinel Island has made it clear that they wish to be left alone. In recent decades, they have shot arrows at hovering helicopters and even killed people who have arrived on their shores. But that didn’t stop American YouTuber Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov from planning a voyage to North Sentinel Island to try and make contact.
In March 2025, the 24-year-old arrived at North Sentinel Island, located in the Bay of Bengal nearly 800 miles east of the southern portion of the Indian mainland, and left a number of offerings, including a can of Diet Coke, while filming his experience. He was arrested shortly thereafter — and authorities say that he was lucky to escape with his life.
How YouTuber Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov Made It Onto North Sentinel Island
On March 29, 2025, 24-year-old Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov of Scottsdale, Arizona did what very few other people have done before. He arrived at North Sentinel Island, which is part of India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and home to the reclusive Sentinelese tribe.
Medici82/Wikipedia CommonsAn aerial view of North Sentinel Island, which is part of India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
According to Indian authorities, Polyakov hoped to make contact with the tribe and had meticulously planned out his voyage.
After two failed attempts, one in October 2024 and one in January 2025, Polyakov finally succeeded in reaching the shores of North Sentinel Island. Though no one is permitted within three miles of the island, he managed to make his way onto the island with the help of GPS and binoculars.
Once there, police say that Polyakov spent time on the beach and even blew a whistle in an attempt to attract tribe members. No one responded to his call, so Polyakov left a can of Diet Coke and a coconut, made a video, took some sand, and got back into his boat.
He was spotted by fishermen on his return journey, who reported him to Indian authorities. Polyakov was arrested on March 31, two days after his foray onto the island, and charged with violating Indian law.
Polyakov’s “actions posed a serious threat to the safety and well-being of the Sentinelese people, whose contact with outsiders is strictly prohibited by the law to protect their indigenous way of life,” the Indian police said in a statement about his arrest.
YouTubeAuthorities say that Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov is lucky to have made it off North Sentinel Island alive.
What’s more, the 24-year-old was lucky to escape with his life.
The Danger Of Contacting Isolated Tribes Like The Sentinelese
Known contact with the Sentinelese tribe was first made in the 19th century, by the British. But since then, the tribe has shown no desire to interact with the outside world.
In 1956, India passed a law banning outsiders from going to the island. Though there has been limited contact since then — Indian officials or scientists sometimes leave gifts for the tribe, such as coconuts or bananas — the Sentinelese tribe has largely demonstrated a desire to be left alone. In 2004, following the Indian Ocean tsunami, they even fired arrows at a helicopter that flew overhead to check on them.
Indian Coast Guard/Survivor InternationalA Sentinelese tribe member shooting an arrow at a helicopter when officials went to check on the island in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
And the Sentinelese have acted aggressively toward people who have landed on their shore. In 2006, the tribe killed two fishermen who’d accidentally arrived on the island. In 2018, they reportedly killed American missionary John Allen Chau, who had hoped to convert the tribe to Christianity.
While some people who contact isolated tribes escape with their lives — like Polyakov, and like Steve Campbell, a U.S. missionary, who inadvertently passed through the territory of Brazil’s isolated Hi-Merimã tribe in 2019 — their actions can be terribly dangerous to the tribes themselves. Outsiders can bring diseases like the flu or measles, which could be devastating to uncontacted tribes who have no vaccinations or natural immunity.
“It beggars belief that someone could be that reckless and idiotic,” Survival International, a group that protects the rights of Indigenous peoples, said in a statement about Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov’s arrest. “This person’s actions not only endangered his own life, they put the lives of the entire Sentinelese tribe at risk. It’s very well known by now that uncontacted peoples have no immunity to common outside diseases like flu or measles, which could completely wipe them out.”
After reading about American YouTuber Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov and his attempt to contact the isolated Sentinelese tribe, discover the stories of fascinating tiny islands around the world. Then, learn about Tristan Da Cunha, the most isolated island on Planet Earth.
