YouTuber Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov has shared video footage of his attempt to introduce “modernity” to an isolated tribe.
The American tourist was arrested for venturing onto a small, densely forested island that is completely forbidden to outsiders.
A year after his arrest, Mykhailo managed to upload video footage of himself illegally setting foot on the restricted territory and trying to modernize its inhabitants.
Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov was arrested for venturing onto a forested island that is forbidden to outsiders
Image credits: Neo-Orientalist
Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov was arrested last year for his bizarre attempt at making contact with the Sentinelese tribe.
The tribe lives in the restricted territory of North Sentinel Island, part of India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
25-year-old Mykhailo had big hopes of modernizing the tribe and reportedly spent an hour on the island, blowing a whistle and trying to get their attention. But he received no response.
Image credits: Andaman Police
On his way back, local fishermen spotted him and alerted authorities, who swiftly arrested him in Port Blair, the South Andaman Island that’s part of Indian territory.
The content creator was facing up to five years behind bars if found guilty.
But a recent report claimed that the possibility of a prison sentence was dropped, and instead, a “simple” fine was imposed on him on May 25, according to 7Sur.
The YouTuber shared video footage of his attempt to “introduce modernity” to the isolated tribe
Image credits: Untamed History
The report also claimed Mykhailo was supposed to surrender his video recordings to Indian authorities.
However, the clips recently went up on his YouTube channel, showing the world how he took his inflatable boat to the island and tried to drop off a gift from the modern world.
Known online as Neo-Orientalist, Mykhailo explained how he packed a small 2.5-horsepower 4-stroke Suzuki outboard motor in his checked-in luggage to be “paired with [his] humble and inflatable dinghy.”
“This would be enough to take me to the island, or d*e trying,” he said about what was his third attempt at making it to the island.
Image credits: Neo-Orientalist
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Around midnight on March 29, 2025, he set out from the coast of the Andaman Islands towards the North Sentinel Island. And in the early morning hours, he could see his destination on the horizon.
Sitting in his dinghy, he claimed his mission to visit the forbidden island was to bring “modernity” and “history” to the tribe by offering a plain old can of Diet Coke to them.
“What you’re seeing right there is North Sentinel Island,” he told his viewers.
Mykhailo claimed his mission was to bring “modernity” to the tribe by offering them a can of Diet Coke
Image credits: Neo-Orientalist
Image credits: Goblinsburg
“The goal: introduce this paleolithic tribe to modernity and history,” he declared. “By giving them this Diet Coke, I will move them ahead 10,000 years… no 30,000 years more likely.”
He arrived on the undisturbed shoreline at around 10:00 a.m. and soon noticed that there was “evidence of the modern world” drifting towards the edge of the island.
“This isn’t the unspoiled Eden many assume,” he told viewers. “At the sea edge, you can see a myriad of waste, evidence of the modern world drifting in from the Bay of Bengal.”
He said he noticed plastic bottles, caps, a glove, fishing lines, and more, all within a 3-meter radius of where he arrived.
Image credits: Neo-Orientalist
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Netizens had strong reactions to Mykhailo’s voyage, saying, “Bro’s got main character syndrome.”
“What a narcissist,” one said.
Another wrote, “Leave these tribe people alone they just trynna enjoy there life but we out here trying to compromise them let the people live.”
“Imagine minding your own business on your island for thousands of years, then some random YouTuber shows up uninvited just to hand you Diet Coke for views,” said one. “They should’ve eaten him for dinner.”
“I understand you want to visit an off limits forbidden Island, but what’s with the diet coke 😅 (at least a regular one) due to the waste on the beach,” wrote another, “a garbage container would have been more helpful.”
“Talks about planning to meet them and give them a Diet Coke…. The arrogance and idiocy is wild,” one netizen commented
Image credits: Neo-Orientalist
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For thousands of years, the Sentinelese tribe has been isolated from the rest of the world and is known to be hostile towards outsiders.
They roam around the forested island with spears, bows, and arrows, which they use to hunt animals.
They use the same weapons when humans trespass on their protected island.
Image credits: Neo-Orientalist
As per the law, it is illegal for foreigners or Indians to travel within 3 miles of the island. The intention is to protect the indigenous people of the land.
Officials from India also do not interfere with their way of living and have had limited contact with them.
Occasionally, small teams of officials and scientists leave coconuts and bananas for the people and return.
In 2018, American missionary John Allen Chau paid local fishermen to smuggle him to the island.
He wanted to “declare Jesus” to the Sentinelese, according to an entry in his diaries. He gave the same diary to the fishermen before departing for the island, which ultimately became his last ever trip.
The missionary was greeted with the tribe’s arrows and lost his life on November 17, 2018.
“I hate these ignorant pigs,” one commenter said. “…Those people don’t need to ‘be brought to the future’”
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