Influencers on social networks constitute a “new and growing threat” for indigenous unisposed peoples, warned a charity after the arrest of an American tourist who went to an island of limited Indian Ocean.
Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 24, is said to have landed on North Sentinel Island in an apparent attempt to contact the isolated Sentine tribe, spinning his visit and leaving a box of coke and a coconut on the shore.
Survival International, a group that defends the rights of the tribal people, said that the alleged act has endangered the own life of man and the life of the tribe, calling it “deeply disturbing”.
The United States said it was aware and “monitoring the situation”.
Andaman police chief Nicobar, Hgs Dhaliwal, told AFP news agency that a “American citizen” had been presented to the local court and had been sent for three days for “more interrogation”.
AFP, citing Mr. Dhaliwal, said that Mr. Polyakov had whistled from the island’s shore in order to attract the attention of the tribe for about an hour.
He then landed for about five minutes, leaving his offers, collecting samples and recording a video.
The police chief told AFP: “An examination of his images of GoPro cameras showed his entry and his landing in the North Sentinel island.”
It is illegal for foreigners or Indians to travel within 5 km (three miles) of the islands to protect the people who live there.
According to police, Polyakov visited the region twice before – in particular using an inflatable kayak in October of last year before being arrested by hotel staff.
During his arrest earlier this week, the man told the police that he was a “sensations researcher,” the Indian media reported.
Survival International said that the Sentinele has made their desire to clearly avoid foreigners for many years and have stressed that such visits are a threat to a community that has no immunity to external diseases.
Jonathan Mazower, spokesperson for Survival International, told the BBC that they feared that social media adds to the list of threats to tribal people who are not contacted. Several media reports have linked Mr. Polyakov to a YouTube account, which presents videos of a recent trip to Afghanistan.
“As well as all the threats a little more established for these peoples – of things like forest exploitation and mining in the Amazon where most of the unisposed peoples live – there are now an increasing number of influencers who try to do this kind of things for followers,” said Mazower.
“There is an increasing fascination with social media for this whole idea.”
Survival International describes the Sentinele as “the most isolated indigenous peoples in the world” living on an island around the size of Manhattan.
Mr. Mazower told the BBC that 200 people belong to the tribe, before adding that it was “impossible” to know its real number.
Few details are known on the group, except that they are a community of hunter-gatherers who live in small colonies and are “extremely healthy,” he said.
He added that the incident pointed out why government protections for communities such as Sentinele are so important.
The Convention of Aboriginal and Tribal Peoples of the UN establishes obligations for governments to protect rights. The Indian government has an initiative by focusing on tribal well-being, but the country has been criticized in recent years so as not to protect against expulsions.
