North Sentinel Island is part of India's Andaman Islands chain, about 700 miles from the Indian mainland. It covers 23 square miles of dense tropical forest, surrounded by coral reefs that make approaching by sea dangerous. The interior has never been explored by outsiders.

The Sentinelese are believed to be direct descendants of early human migrations out of Africa, isolated for perhaps 60,000 years. Their language is unknown - no one has ever been close enough long enough to learn it. Their population is estimated between 50 and 400, but this is pure guesswork based on brief observations.

Every documented attempt to contact the Sentinelese has been met with violence. In 1880, a British naval officer kidnapped several islanders - two elders and four children. The elders quickly died of disease; the children were returned with gifts. The tribe has been hostile ever since.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Indian anthropologists left gifts on beaches and attempted peaceful contact. Sometimes the Sentinelese collected the gifts. Other times they shot arrows at the boats. A 1974 documentary crew was driven off by arrows; the director was wounded in the leg. The message was clear: stay away.

In 2006, two fishermen fell asleep in their boat and drifted near the island. They were killed. An Indian Coast Guard helicopter sent to retrieve their bodies was driven off by arrows. The bodies were buried on the beach.

In November 2018, American missionary John Allen Chau illegally landed on the island, hoping to convert the Sentinelese to Christianity. He was killed within minutes. His body has never been recovered. Indian authorities arrested the fishermen who helped him reach the island but didn't attempt to retrieve his remains - doing so would have risked more lives.

India has designated North Sentinel Island a protected area. Approaching within 3 nautical miles is illegal, punishable by imprisonment. The Indian Navy patrols the waters. The policy isn't just about respecting the tribe's wishes - it's about protecting them from diseases to which they have no immunity.

The Sentinelese have no modern medicine, no exposure to common illnesses. A single visitor with a cold could trigger an epidemic. The isolation that seems primitive may be the only thing keeping them alive. Contact could mean extinction.

Almost nothing is known about the Sentinelese. Their language, religion, social structure, and history are mysteries. Aerial photos show simple huts and figures on the beach, but the jungle interior remains unseen. How did they survive the 2004 tsunami? What do they know about the outside world? Do they wonder about the helicopters they shoot at?

The Sentinelese have made their choice clear: they want to be left alone. After 60,000 years of isolation and a century of violent rejection of outsiders, the world has finally learned to respect their wishes. North Sentinel Island remains what it has always been - a place apart, the last corner of Earth where humanity's oldest way of life persists, defended by arrows against the modern world.