While the world in the 21st century is extremely interconnected, and we can easily talk with someone on the other side of the world, there are still numerous tribes of indigenous peoples who remain completely outside our society. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the United Nations and the non-profit group Survival International estimate that there are between 100 and 200 uncontacted tribes around the world, with a total of up to 10,000 individuals.
The number of uncontacted peoples has dwindled for centuries, as colonization and settlements of new territories, mostly by Europeans, led to many isolated tribes having their first contact with the rest of the world. Sometimes the first contact between indigenous peoples and outsiders has led to conflicts, while in other cases it happened more peacefully. Uncontacted peoples today are often threatened by the expansion of farming, lumbering, mining, and other activities that exploit their lands. Also, previously isolated tribes often suffer from outbreaks of newly introduced diseases after their first contact with the rest of the world, which result in many deaths. For these reasons, legal protections are now in place in many countries that host uncontacted peoples, and most of these tribes voluntarily choose isolation, sometimes migrating away from areas where outsiders operate in order to avoid contact. Despite this, illegal mining, lumbering, and farming are still common, while some tourism companies even offer “human safaris” which attempt to let visitors see the uncontacted tribes.
Most of the peoples who are still uncontacted today live in South America, especially in Brazil, where there are between 77 and 84 uncontacted tribes, according to estimates by National Geographic and the Brazilian government. The history of the relationship between the Brazilian government and the indigenous tribes is extremely controversial, and until the 1980s the authorities often attempted to move or even wipe out peoples living on lands that could be commercially viable.
After the fall of the military government, Brazil introduced protections for indigenous peoples, with the new 1988 Constitution expressing that uncontacted peoples have the right to remain isolated. The government agency Fundação Nacional dos Povos Indígenas (FUNAI, National Indigenous People Foundation) is responsible for the protection of uncontacted tribes and the demarcation of their territory, but it has often suffered from a lack of funds and legal challenges by commercial companies. Immediately after taking office as President of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro made major changes to FUNAI, and proposed to integrate all indigenous peoples into Brazilian society, and to increase commercial mining and farming in their territories. This resulted in a sudden rise of violence against indigenous communities and the exploitation of their lands, until the changes were overturned by Brazil’s National Congress some months later. In January 2023, the new President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva created the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples and nullified the measures of the previous government.
Members of an uncontacted indigenous tribe in the brazilian state of Acre (Agência de Notícias do Acre, Flickr, CC BY 2.0).
The Vale do Javari indigenous territory in the western part of the state of Amazonas houses at least 14 uncontacted tribes, for a total of more than 2,000 individuals, making this area the greatest concentration of isolated groups in the world. The nearby states of Acre and Rondônia, in the Amazon basin, also include indigenous territories hosting uncontacted tribes.
Other uncontacted peoples in Brazil today include the Kawahiva, who live in the state of Mato Grosso. They are a nomadic hunter-gatherer tribe and are constantly moving. They stay in temporary hunting camps, and are known mainly because of the evidence they leave behind when they move. They are often threatened by deforestation and illegal logging, and were filmed for the first time in 2011. Meanwhile, the Awá people of the state of Maranhão are among the most endangered, and members of the tribe have often been murdered by illegal loggers.
An indigenous person referred to as “Man of the Hole” lived alone and without contact with the outside world in the state of Rondônia, until he was found dead in 2022. He was the only surviving member of a previously uncontacted tribe, and remained alone after his people were killed by settlers and illegal miners between the 1970s and 1990s.
Members of an uncontacted indigenous tribe in the brazilian state of Acre (Agência de Notícias do Acre, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5 BR).
Outside Brazil, various other South American countries also house uncontacted tribes who live at the edges of the Amazon basin. While Venezuela has no measure to protect these peoples, neighboring Colombia is instead regarded as one of the countries that offer the most protection for indigenous groups. The main uncontacted tribe of Colombia is known as Carabayo, which has an estimated population of around 150 and lives in the south of the country. Ecuador houses the Tagaeri and Taromenane tribes, two peoples living in voluntary isolation in the Yasuní National Park at the eastern edge of the country. These peoples have a total of a few hundred members, and their isolation is protected under the Ecuadorian law.
Peru houses several groups of uncontacted peoples living in the Amazon rainforest, who live as hunter-gatherers and made it clear that they do not wish to be contacted. While some protections are in place, economic activities in their land is still permitted, and these peoples are threatened by logging and deforestation. Some uncontacted tribes can also be found in northern Bolivia, such as the Toromona, which has around 200 members. The Bolivian government created an exclusive area to protect them, but they are still threatened by illegal mining. Other isolated groups in Bolivia include some members of the Pacahuara tribe.
Some uncontacted groups of the Ayoreo people instead live in the Gran Chaco region between Bolivia and Paraguay. With a total of around 100 members, these groups are the only uncontacted tribes in South America who live outside the Amazon basin. While they have been granted ownership of their land, and outsiders are prohibited from entering their territory, they are still affected by deforestation and cattle farming.
Moving out of South America, the other area that hosts many uncontacted peoples is the island of New Guinea, divided between the country of Papua New Guinea and the Western New Guinea region of Indonesia. This island houses over 40 uncontacted tribes, who often live in remote areas that are almost unexplored. While these peoples have no protection, it is extremely difficult for outsiders to reach the remote regions in which they live, and human rights organizations have argued that keeping their actual location secret might help them to remain isolated.
Indonesia houses other uncontacted tribes, such as some groups of the Togutil people, who live on Halmahera, the largest of the Maluku Islands. Even the densly populated island of Java houses an uncontacted tribe: a sub-group of the Baduy people known as Inner Baduy or Tangtu. They live in the jungle of the Lebak Regency in the Banten province, and no outsiders are allowed to meet them.
Aerial view of North Sentinel Island.
Lastly, the most infamous uncontacted tribe in the world is the Sentinelese, who inhabit North Sentinel Island, which is part of the Andaman Islands, governed by India. These remote islands house various indigenous peoples, but only the Sentinelese have repeatedly refused contact with the outside world, often violently. Since 1956, North Sentinel Island is a tribal reserve and no one is allowed to travel to the island or its vicinity. Researchers have been allowed to study them from afar, and observed that they live as hunter-gatherers, catching both terrestrial and aquatic wildlife. Their estimated population is believed to be between 50 and 200.
There have been various attempts at making peaceful contact with the Sentinelese, with expeditions leaving gifts on the island. They often accepted the gifts and retreated, but the missions were later terminated in the 1990s, fearing that more outsiders might try to reach the island. The Sentinelese grew more hostile after these expeditions ended. In 2006, a fisherman who was illegally operating near the island was killed by the Sentinelese, who later attacked with spears and arrows the helicopter that attempted to retrieve the body. In 2018, an American missionary illegally arrived on the island hoping to convert the indigenous people to Christianity, but he was soon killed by the Sentinelese.