Rare Footage of Isolated Sentinelese Tribe That Attacks Outsiders Who Attempt Contact

(Christian Caron via Survival International)

Rare footage has emerged of the Sentinelese, an indigenous group living on an island in the Andaman Sea that have been known to kill outsiders who attempt to make contact.

In 2017, it may sound like something out of a Hollywood film script that communities can still live in complete isolation, but the Sentinelese living on North Sentinel Island fiercely protect their way of life, according to Yahoo 7 News. The tribe has reportedly lived on the island, the size of Manhattan, for over 60,000 years.

(Indian Coastguard)

(Christian Caron via Survival International)

Sentinelese attracted international media attention in 2004 when members of the tribe fired arrows at a helicopter flying a humanitarian mission after the December tsunami, according to Survival International. In 2006, the group killed two fishermen when their boat drifted ashore after it broke from its mooring.

(NASA Earth Observatory)

In this undated photo released by the Anthropological Survey of India, Sentinelese tribe men row their canoe in India’s Andaman and Nicobar archipelago. (AP Photo/Anthropological Survey of India, HO)

ASSOCIATED PRESS

The island is located between Myanmar and India. While North Sentinel Island is technically a territory of India, it’s people have complete sovereignty over the island since the Indian government believes the tribe wishes to remain in isolation.

The Indian government periodically conducts observation mission to check up on the tribe’s health from afar.