Sitting in a mysterious haze and wrapped in darkness sits India’s isolated North Sentinel Island, home to the Sentinelese. The Sentinelese are an aggressively protective and native tribe who occupy North Sentinel Island. As if right out of a movie it would seem that the 21st century forgot about the Sentinelese. They remain undisturbed to this day due to protection from the Indian government.

Are they the ones that need protecting though? As they have been using the same technology for centuries it would appear that they are deadly shots with the bow and arrow and have gotten used to their isolation.

Recently, Christian missionary John Chau ventured from the United States to the shadowy island to try and spread the word of the good Lord. He truly believed that this island was the root of evil and that it was his job to turn them to Christianity. According to the Washington Post and Chau’s journal, Chau wrote, “Lord, is this island Satan’s last stronghold where none have heard or even had the chance to hear your name?”

On one of Chau’s attempts to reach the island, he was killed. The fisherman who took him there  saw the natives bury his body. Chau’s journal shows that he knew what he was doing was illegal and life threatening.

So who is wrong? Chau knew he was entering illegal territory and that he could die. The Sentinelese, though, attacked and killed Chau when he was just trying to help them. Sadly, before John Chau left for the island, his friend claimed that Chau had become obsessed and lost his mind over the tribe(New York Post). Chau had developed this demeanor when he had heard deadly tales of this mysterious, uncontacted and undeveloped island that he thought could be changed through God. Was his expedition really God’s divine will, or an act of Satan?

Either way it is proving to be quite the hassle to recover Chau’s body. Any delegation sent to the island would probably be attacked by  the Sentinelese. Even without the hostility negotiating would be difficult as no one in the world besides them knows their language and they don’t know Hindi or any other language.

Should we disturb the undisturbed? Perhaps the lesson from John Chau’s death is that  one of the last primitive tribes on earth is better left alone.