In short:
Indian police have arrested an American man who visited a restricted island and left offerings to a tribe not contacted by the modern world.
Mykhailo Polyakov had previously made two unsuccessful attempts to reach North Sentinel Island, home of the Sentinelese people.
What’s next?
Local authorities say he has been released on a three-day remand “for further interrogation”.
He left them a coke can? That feels like peak 1980s jingoism.
Everyone knows that it’s a bottle of coke you need to leave anyways. I saw it in an 80s documentary.
Hey you guys, have you heard the good news about our Lord and Savior, Soda?
I would appreciate it if hyper advanced aliens came to earth. That said, I wouldn’t want some random crackpot alien coming to earth doing no due diligence and leaving us with nothing but hyper soda before leaving and never coming back
LEAVE THE SENTINELESE ALONE. They obviously don’t want to be contacted and corrupted by the outside world and I can’t blame at all. The only people they hurt are invaders to their island. The Indian Government is right to protect their isolation.
Agree fully. Thought crosses my mind though our of curiosity, I keep thinking it’s a “the village” sort of situation where the elders are controlling the tribe and the young uns want to explore the outside world but aren’t allowed to or are opressed into thinking some crazy demons are out there
Scum
I’m not sure about that headline, ABC. How about, “arrested for risking killing hundreds of people with COVID/disease, in order to make YouTube content”. This way you can’t be smug and cute about a genuine risk, or the application of law by foreigners.
“Risk wiping out an entire ethnic group”
I really, really hope he will get prison time for this.
What a piece of garbage.
Dude blessed the cokeless with coke.
Can you imagine them experiencing carbonation for the first time?
The Sentinelese are famously hostile toward outsiders. Would they drink from a strange can that appeared on the beach? Would they know that it is a drink, or even how to open it? These are things we know because we grew up with the concept of canned soda. But even with that knowledge, I sure as hell wouldn’t drink from a random soda can I found sitting on a beach. I find it hard to imagine that the Sentinelese, who shoot arrows at anyone they see approaching their island, would interpret a random can as a sign of goodwill (let alone as something they’re supposed to ingest.)
They may assume it’s a weapon, or some kind of cursed item. If they do something to agitate it, like shooting an arrow or throwing a rock, they’d probably be terrified by the exploding carbonation - which could reinforce the idea of it being a weapon or something demonic.
When some members of the Pintupi tribe in Australia heard rumours of several “lost” brethren in the outback, separated for decades since the tribe’s forced removal to clear an area for missile testing, and wanted to re-establish relations with them (consensually, without the force typically imposed on them in the past), the one opening gift they immediately thought of?
Sugar. Mind-blowingly sweet sugar.
McMahon did not want to put the group under any pressure to join the community, but he witnessed the moment they were persuaded. “It was unthinkable that they would stay out there because the modern world was so seductive. One of the fellows suggested, ‘Give them a taste of the sugar and they’ll be in for sure.’”
Indeed, the taste of sugar had a big impact on the Pintupi Nine and it is this aspect of their story which now animates them most. “I tasted the sugar, we didn’t know what it was, but it was so sweet. I tasted the sugar and it tasted so sweet - like the Kulun Kulun flower. My mother tasted it and it was so sweet. It was good,” says Warlimpirrnga.
Yeah! Exactly!
The man’s an anus.
He’s lucky to still have an anus
The Sentinelese last made international headlines in 2018 after they killed a 27-year-old American missionary
The body was not recovered and there were no investigations over his death because of the Indian law prohibiting anyone from going to the island.
Odd how it tends to be Americans that do this. Bizarre settler colonial mindset.
He’s lucky to still have an anus
Perhaps he misunderstood when he overheard someone say “they eat arseholes”.
You can tell he hasn’t watched a single episode of Star Trek if he doesn’t even know about the prime directive.
Its stated aim is to protect unprepared civilizations from the danger of starship crews introducing advanced technology, knowledge, and values before they are ready.
Now all I can visualize is Kirk beaming down random bottles of Saurian brandy to unsuspecting civilizations.
He’s lucky that he was not shot, either by the tribe or by the Indian forces
Someone’s been watching The Gods Must Be Crazy.
But obviously unclear on the concept. The key was the bottle, not the contents.
In January 2006, two Indian fishermen, Sunder Raj and Pandit Tiwari, were fishing illegally in prohibited waters and were killed by the Sentinelese when their boat drifted too close to the island. There were no prosecutions.
There was something funny about this paragraph to me.
I was joking with my sister that the tribe will be the 3rd party that has the formula for coke after they taste that one can and their entire culture devolves into trying to create more.
The problem is, he left Diet Coke. What an evil man.
“hey we just came up with a much better version of this drink you left for us. next to ours, yours taste like shit”
Terrible, clickbait title.
I’m really conflicted on this uncontacted tribe stuff. The ethicical discussion leans towards preserving them. I don’t know that seems pretty messed up. I guess we should respect their wishes to be left alone, but damn.
Most would immediately get ill and die due to lack of exposure to diseases that the remainder of humans have developed immunity to. They also respond aggressively to any contact. Seems reasonable to respect their autonomy.
Yeah i forget about the immunity issue too. What a pickle
It’s really not a difficult issue. They know about the outside world and choose not to contact it. It’s their decision and it should be respected.
You’re conflicted how exactly?
I appreciate the idea of conservation and respecting their desire to be left alone. But what about individuals? Perhaps some dream of going out into the world but societal pressure holds them back? What about some dying of illness that we find trivial to cure? I love TNG but is the prime directive really the best way to approach things? I really have no idea.
Thankfully anthropologists, ethicists and legal scholars do have some idea. And they all say stay the fuck away.
Since you are presenting yourself as being familiar with the subject: why?
Edit: shout out to the one guy downvoting me for asking for a coherent explanation…which the other guy helpfully provided. Your opinion is noted.
Survival International - Why Uncontacted Tribes Should Be Left Alone
UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples - Right to self-determination, right to live free from interference, right to live free of violence or genocide, right to territory.
The Guardian - David Hill - Scientists must let world’s most isolated tribes make own decisions
