The Sentinelese is a tribe thought to be at least 30,000 years old. The tribe has aggressively resisted contact with outsiders for generations.
According to a report, the Sentinelese have lived in complete isolation on the remote North Sentinel Island for tens of thousands of years. The island, which is part of India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands territory, is roughly as large as Manhattan.
India has protected the island for decades to prevent the Sentinelese from contracting modern illnesses and to keep outsiders safe.
People are not allowed to go within five nautical miles of the island by Indian law and the Indian Navy patrols it day and night.
And while its residents have no contact with the outside world, they aren’t too far from other civilizations.
The island is only about 50 kilometers (31 miles) west of Port Blair, the territory’s capital known to tourists for its stunning emerald beaches, history and water sports.
Following a campaign by Survival and local organizations, the Indian government abandoned plans to contact the Sentinelese, and their current position is still that no further attempts to contact the tribe will be made.
Periodic checks, from boats anchored at a safe distance from shore, are made to ensure that the Sentinelese appear well and have not chosen to seek contact.