The Fate of the US YouTuber Who Visited the 'Reclusive Tribe' After Tens of Thousands of Years and Gave Them Cola

YouTuber Arrested for Trespassing on North Sentinel Island
Violation of Indian Laws Prohibiting Contact with Island Residents
Attempted to Offer Cola and Coconut... Failed to Make Contact with Indigenous People

Indian authorities arrested an American YouTuber who attempted to contact indigenous people living in isolation for tens of thousands of years by entering a forbidden island in the Indian Ocean, trying to offer them cola and coconuts.

Diet Cola. The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. Pixabay

According to the Associated Press on the 8th (local time), Indian police arrested Mihailo Viktorovich Polyakov (24) from Arizona, USA, on the 31st of last month for trespassing on North Sentinel Island, where the Sentinelese tribe is completely cut off from external civilization and access is restricted to outsiders. He is charged with violating Indian laws prohibiting contact between outsiders and island residents.

An Indian district court ordered Polyakov to be detained for 14 days last week, and he is scheduled to appear in court on the 17th of this month. Under Indian law, he could face up to five years in prison and a fine.

According to the police, Polyakov used GPS (Global Positioning System) to navigate during his trip and observed the island with binoculars before landing. He stayed on the beach for about an hour and blew a whistle to attract the attention of the indigenous people, but none appeared. Afterwards, he left a can of diet cola and a coconut as a "gift," filmed this, and collected sand from the island before returning to his boat.

However, local fishermen discovered him and reported it to the authorities, leading to Polyakov's arrest in Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Police investigations revealed that Polyakov had attempted to visit the island using an inflatable kayak in October last year and January this year. Polyakov told the police, "I was drawn to this island out of a sense of adventure and a passion for extreme challenges," adding, "I was fascinated by the mystery of the Sentinelese."

The AP reported, "This island has been isolated from the outside world for thousands of years, and visitors are prohibited from traveling within 5 km. The island residents hunt animals using spears, bows, and arrows, and they are highly wary of outsiders, attacking visitors who land on the beach."

Since the Sentinelese have expressed their desire for isolation, the Indian government currently restricts contact between outsiders and the island's indigenous people. Additionally, ships installed to monitor the surrounding waters prevent outsiders from approaching the Sentinelese.

The police stated in a press release, "This action poses a serious threat to the safety and welfare of the Sentinelese," and added, "To protect the indigenous way of life, contact between the Sentinelese and outsiders is strictly prohibited by law." The police are currently conducting a detailed investigation related to maritime conditions, tides, and island accessibility prior to Polyakov's voyage.

Meanwhile, it is estimated that about 150 to 200 Sentinelese live on North Sentinel Island. They are known as a tribe that rejects modern civilization and has had no contact with the outside world for nearly 60,000 years.