AN AMERICAN vlogger has defended himself after being slammed over leaving a can of Coke for an uncontacted Indian Ocean tribe.
He said he wanted to “say hello” and left the “offering” after failing to make contact with the isolated group.
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Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov left a Diet Coke for a secluded tribe as an ‘offering’ Credit: YouTube
The YouTuber was arrested shortly after trying to contact the tribe on the prohibited North Sentinel Island Credit: Police Handout
Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 25, has been slammed for puting the tribe at risk of being completely wiped out.
The YouTuber was arrested in March last year after he stepped onto the prohibited territory of North Sentinel Island.
The social media creator spent an hour on the island, blowing a whistle to attract attention in a bid to meet people from the solitary Sentinelese tribe.
The island is part of India‘s Andaman and Nicobar Islands, an archipelago nearly 750 miles east of India’s mainland.
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Polyakov filmed his entire journey as a stunt for his YouTube channel, but had no response from the islanders, according to Indian police.
After failing to contact the tribe, he left a can of Diet Coke and a coconut as an offering.
The creator uploaded unseen footage on Friday, showing his journey last year.
He explained he wanted to see the tribe and “say hello”, as well as offer them a Coke to “transport them thousands of years into the future”.
He was taken into custody in India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk
Police say he tried to get to the island twice before, one time using a blow up kayak Credit: Police Handout
Polyakov was slammed for the social media ploy for potentially putting the lives of the tribe members at risk from disease.
On Monday, he spoke to Dutch media, saying that he was “vaccinated against the flu and measles”.
“I never intended to come into direct contact with them,” he told AD.
“And as far as I know, you can’t catch diseases simply by looking at each other.
“I am receiving a lot of reactions, both positive and negative. I am open to that – a lively debate is healthy,” he added.
His video, titled: “The Last Island Part 2” which captured his real-time journey on the island, was uploaded on Friday.
The YouTuber has not revealed how he got the footage back after being forced to surrender it to Indian authorities at the time of his arrest.
“I wanted to give them a gift that is representative of our civilisation,” he said.
The Sentinelese people (pictured) have remained uncontacted for thousands of years Credit: Unknown
The tribe has been known to attack and kill outsiders who attempt to come onto the island Credit: Alamy
“I have reservations about India’s policy regarding this island, but I understand the reasons that led the government to adopt this position.
“But I have no illusions about what people think of me. Everyone is free to think what they want.”
Friday’s upload was part of a series Polyakov has produced, with the third video set to be added.
AD reported that the creator assured them he had no contact with the tribe.
When he returned from the prohibited island Polyakov was spotted by local fishermen, who later reported him to the local authorities.
He was then arrested in Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Police launched an investigation against Polyakov for violating Indian laws banning any outsider from interacting with the isolated islanders.
A court in Port Blair rejected his application for bail in April, extending his judicial custody.
The YouTuber was charged with entering a prohibited tribal reserve area and violating Indian laws regarding outsider interaction with the tribe.
Visitors are banned from travelling within three miles of the island.
The tribal population has remained separate from the rest of the world for thousands of years.
Inhabitants use spears, bows and arrows to hunt animals that roam the small, heavily forested island.
They are known to be deeply suspicious of outsiders and attack anyone who lands on their beaches.
Indian officials have limited contact to rare “gift-giving” encounters, where small teams of officials and scientists leave coconuts and bananas for the islanders.
Local ships also monitor the waters around the islands in an attempt to ensure that outsiders don’t contact the Sentinelese, who have repeatedly made it clear they want to remain isolated.
Police released a statement at the time of Polyakov’s arrest, saying his actions had posed “a serious threat to the safety and well-being of the Sentinelese people, whose contact with outsiders is strictly prohibited by the law to protect their indigenous way of life”.
A preliminary investigation revealed that Polyakov had made two previous attempts to visit the island – in October last year and again in January.
On one of the occasions, he attempted to reach the land in an inflatable kayak.
Police claim he had been drawn to the island because of his passion for adventure and extreme challenges, saying he was also intrigued by the mysterious nature of the Sentinelese people.
Survival International, a group that protects the rights of Indigenous peoples, slammed Polyakov’s attempt as “reckless and idiotic.”
In a statement from the group’s director Caroline Pearce, she said: “This person’s actions not only endangered his own life, but they also put the lives of the entire Sentinelese tribe at risk.”
Experts say that reaching uncontacted tribes is unsafe for adventurers themselves, as they risk being killed by the Indigenous groups.
In 2018, American missionary John Chau was murdered when he attempted to make contact with the same tribe off the coast of India.
Survival International has said outsiders could introduce diseases to which isolated tribes have no immunity.
