An American tourist and YouTuber has been arrested by Indian police after he snuck onto North Sentinel Island with a coconut and a can of Diet Coke to bring to an isolated tribe. The tourist could be jailed up to five years for the incident.
Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov attempted to make contact with the Sentinelese people, a tribe that is believed to make up of around 150 individuals, on March 29 despite both foreigners and Indians being forbidden to visit.
These restrictions were put in place in order to help protect the tribe from diseases and preserve their way of life. The Sentinelese people are widely believed to be the last pre-Neolithic tribe in the world.
Polyakov attempted to contact the isolated tribe despite it being illegal. (Source: YouTube)
The tourist launched his boat from Khurmadera Beach at 1am, holding a coconut and cans of Diet Coke as offerings to the Sentinelese people. He arrived on the island at around 10am, left the offerings, collected sand samples, and recorded a quick video before returning to his boat; he did not make direct contact with the tribe.
Polyakov’s stunt was made for his YouTube channel, @Neo-Orientalist, which includes previous videos that saw Polyakov partaking in risk-seeking activities like visiting Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
Indian police seized Polyakov’s Go-Pro camera — which included video footage of him entering the restricted island — and allegedly told officers that he is a “thrill seeker”, per Times of India.
Polyakov has also attempted many visits to the island in the past, and first tried to contact the Sentinelese people back in October 2024 via an inflatable kayak before being stopped by hotel staff.
Indian police arrested Polyakov on Monday, and could face three to five years in jail for breaching laws protecting North Sentinel Island.
Inhabitants of North Sentinel Island. (Source: Christian Caron)
A media release by Survival International, a group that advocates for the rights of tribes worldwide, stated that Polyakov’s actions were “reckless and idiotic”.
“This person’s actions not only endangered his own life, they put the lives of the entire Sentinelese tribe at risk,” the release read.
“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.”
The Sentinelese people previously made headlines back in 2018, after 27-year-old Christian missionary John Allen Chau was found dead on the island after he attempted to convert the tribe members to “declare Jesus”.
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