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Uncontacted peoples are groups of Indigenous peoples living without sustained contact with neighbouring communities and the world community. Indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation are groups who decide to remain uncontacted. In 2025, Survival International published the first comprehensive report on uncontacted peoples worldwide. It found robust evidence of 196 uncontacted peoples living in ten countries across South America, Asia and the Pacific. A majority of uncontacted peoples live in South America, particularly Brazil, where Survival has found evidence of 124 groups.

Knowledge of uncontacted peoples comes mostly from encounters with neighbouring Indigenous communities and aerial footage.

Definition

Uncontacted peoples generally refers to Indigenous peoples who have remained largely isolated to the present day, maintained their traditional lifestyles, and functioned mostly independently from any political or governmental entities. Uncontacted specifically refers to a lack of sustained contact with the majority of non-Indigenous society at present as most Indigenous groups have had some form of contact with other peoples; European exploration and colonization during the early modern period brought Indigenous peoples worldwide into contact with colonial settlers and explorers.

Survival International's 2025 report defines uncontacted peoples as those who "reject contact with outsiders as an active and ongoing choice .... they resist intrusion, and thrive when their rights are respected".

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights refers to uncontacted peoples as "Indigenous peoples in voluntary isolation". The Commission defines these groups by their general rejection of contact with anyone outside of their own people. This definition also includes groups who have previously had sustained contact with the majority non-Indigenous society but have chosen to return to isolation and no longer maintain contact. As such, uncontacted peoples are contemporaries of modernity, not living in an anachronistic state of nature.

A 2009 United Nations report also classified "peoples in initial contact" as sharing the same characteristics who transition to regularly communicating with and integrating into mainstream society.

Historically, European colonial ideas of uncontacted peoples, and their colonial claims over them, were informed by the imagination of and search for Prester John, king of a wealthy Christian realm in isolation, as well as the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, identifying uncontacted peoples as "lost tribes".

Relations with outsiders

thumb|upright=1.17|Uncontacted peoples in the state of Acre in Brazil

International organizations have highlighted the importance of protecting indigenous peoples' environment and lands, of protecting them from exploitation or abuse, and of no contact to prevent the spread of modern diseases.

Historic exploitation and abuse at the hands of the majority group have led many governments to give uncontacted people their lands and legal protection. Many Indigenous groups live on national forests or protected grounds, such as the Vale do Javari in Brazil

In 1961, British explorer Richard Mason was killed by an uncontacted Amazonian tribe, the Panará. The Panará lived in relative isolation until 1973 when the government project (Cuiabá-Santarém) road BR-163 was built through their territory. Consequently, the tribe suffered from newly introduced diseases and environmental degradation of their land. Of the more than 350 members of the Panará tribe, more than 250 perished in the first twelve months after their first contact with settlers.

Much of the contention over uncontacted peoples has stemmed from governments' desire to extract natural resources. In the 1960s and 1970s, Brazil's federal government attempted to assimilate and integrate native groups living in the Amazon jungle to use their lands for farming. Their efforts were met with mixed success and criticism until, in 1987, Brazil created the Department of Isolated Indians inside the Fundação Nacional do Índio (FUNAI), Brazil's Indian Agency. FUNAI was successful in securing protected lands which have allowed certain groups to remain relatively uncontacted.

A different outcome occurred in Colombia when an evangelical group contacted the Nukak tribe of Indigenous people. The tribe was receptive to trade and eventually moved to have closer contact with settlers. This led to an outbreak of respiratory infections, violent clashes with illicit drug traffickers, and the death of hundreds of the Nukak—more than half of the tribe. Eventually, the Colombian government forcibly relocated the tribe to a nearby town where they received food and government support but were reported as living in poverty. , a Chinese subsidiary mining company in Bolivia ignored signs that they were encroaching on uncontacted tribes, and attempted to cover it up. The Brazilian state organization FUNAI in collaboration with anthropological experts has chosen to make controlled initial contact with tribes. The organization operates 15 trading posts throughout protected territory where tribes can trade for metal tools and cooking instruments.

Recognizing the myriad problems with contact, the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2009 and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in 2013

By region

India

thumb|Aerial photograph of [[North Sentinel Island|284x284px]]

Sentinelese

The Sentinelese people of North Sentinel Island, which lies near South Andaman Island in the Bay of Bengal, reject contact. Attempts to contact them have usually been rebuffed, sometimes with lethal force. Their language is markedly different from other languages of the Andamans, which suggests that they have been isolated for thousands of years. They have been called by experts the most isolated people in the world, He was subsequently arrested by the Indian Police Service with a view to prosecution. Indigenous rights NGO Survival International, which advocates for uncontacted peoples globally, condemned the illegal actions as "deeply disturbing", noting that uncontacted peoples like the Sentinelese are vulnerable to being wiped out by contact-induced diseases to which they have no immunity.

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During the 2001 Census of India, a joint expedition conducted during 23–24 February 2001 identified at least a few dozen individuals, but it was not exhaustive. Helicopter surveys after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami confirmed the Sentinelese had survived, and there have been a few limited interactions with them since. The local Andaman and Nicobar administration has adopted an "eyes-on and hands-off" policy to ensure that no poachers enter the island. A protocol for circumnavigation of North Sentinel Island has been made and notified in consultation with the Indian government.

Individuals have occasionally attempted to contact them, although such attempts are against the law. In November 2018, American missionary John Allen Chau was killed by the Sentinelese during an illegal expedition to the island, where Chau had intended to convert the tribe to Christianity. -->

Shompen

The Shompen or Shom Pen people are the Indigenous people of the interior of Great Nicobar Island, part of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. In 2001, the population was estimated at approximately 300. They practice a hunter-gatherer subsistence economy. Survival International says that the Shompen are one of the most isolated peoples on earth, with most of them being uncontacted and refusing interactions with outsiders.

Due to the proposed Great Nicobar Development Plan, hectares of land on Great Nicobar Island will be reclaimed to build a "Hong Kong India" with an airport, an international port, and an industrial park. This may impact 1,700 people, including many Shompens. In February 2024, 39 genocide experts from 13 countries warned that the development "will be a death sentence for the Shompen, tantamount to the international crime of genocide". They said that the proposed population increase and exposure to outside populations would lead to mass deaths, because the Shompen have little to no immunity to infectious outside diseases.

South America

Bolivia

There are 13 groups of isolated peoples living in Bolivia, 3 of which live on land recognized by the government. The government has created an "exclusive, reserved, and inviolable" portion of the Madidi National Park to protect the Toromona.

Among the Ayoreo people of the Gran Chaco are a small number of uncontacted nomadic hunter-gatherers in the Kaa-Iya del Gran Chaco National Park and Integrated Management Natural Area.

Pacahuaras are believed to be living in voluntary isolation in Pando Department.

Brazil

thumb|Members of an uncontacted tribe in Acre, Brazil, in 2009|288x288px

According to Survival Intentional, in 2025 there are 124 groups of isolated peoples live in Brazil, 88 of which live on land recognized by the government.

Until the 1970s, Brazil attempted unsuccessfully to move anyone on lands that could be commercially cultivated. In 1987, it set up the Department of Isolated Indians inside FUNAI, facilitating the work of Sydney Possuelo and José Carlos Meirelles, and declared the large Vale do Javari Indigenous Territory in western Amazonas perpetually sealed off, encompassing an area of . Since 2021, uncontacted peoples in Brazil have been increasingly threatened by illegal land grabbers, loggers, and gold miners. Additionally, the government of Jair Bolsonaro signalled its intention to develop the Amazon and reduce the size of Indigenous reservations.

The Awá live in Maranhão. There are approximately 350 members, of which roughly 100 have no contact with the outside world. Their tribe is at severe risk because of violent conflicts with loggers in their territory.

The Kawahiva live in the north of Mato Grosso. They are constantly on the move and have little contact with outsiders. Thus, they are known primarily from physical evidence they have left behind: arrows, baskets, hammocks, and communal houses. In 2016 their population was estimated at 15 individuals, and in 2024 at 35-40. In 2013, the government released video of the Kawahiva filmed in 2011, generating headlines around the world. In 2024, after years of campaigning, Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered FUNAI to present a timetable for demarcation of the Kawahiva do Rio Pardo territory, and in March 2025 FUNAI confirmed their intention to complete it by the end of 2025.

The Korubu (also known as Korubo, the endonym Dslala, and in Portuguese as caceteiros, "clubbers"), the Flecheiros ("arrow people"), and the Tsohom Djapa ("toucan people") are uncontacted peoples living in the Vale do Javari Indigenous Territory in western Amazonas.

The Himarimã are a largely uncontacted people that live along the Pinhuã River, between the Juruá and Purus Rivers, in central Amazonas. Their numbers are uncertain, but in 1943 it was estimated that they consisted of more than 1000 individuals. He was found dead in his hammock, in a self-made dwelling, in August 2022.

Colombia

There are 18 groups of isolated peoples live in Colombia, 2 of which live on land recognized by the government.

The Nukak people are nomadic hunter-gatherers living between the Guaviare and Inírida rivers in south-east Colombia at the headwaters of the northwest Amazon basin. There are groups, including the Yuri (Carabayo) and Passé, in .

Ecuador

There are 3 groups of isolated peoples living in Ecuador, all of which live on land recognized by the government. Since 2007, there has been a national policy which mandates untouchability, self-determination, equality, and no contact.

Paraguay

Approximately 100 Ayoreo people, some of whom are in the Totobiegosode tribe, live uncontacted in the forest. They are nomadic, and they hunt, forage, and conduct limited agriculture. They are the last uncontacted peoples south of the Amazon Basin, and are in Amotocodie. Threats to them include rampant illegal deforestation. According to Survival International, Brazilian company Yaguarete Porá S.A. is converting thousands of hectares of the Ayoreo-Totobiegosode tribe's ancestral territory into cattle ranching land. The Union of Ayoreo Natives of Paraguay is working for their protection, with support from the Iniciativa Amotocodie.

Peru

There are 28 groups of isolated peoples living in Peru, 16 of which live on land recognized by the government. They speak a dialect of the Piro languages. Amid incursions on their land, the tribe has made it clear they do not wish to be contacted. As of 2013, all the bands seem to be surviving. In July 2024, video and images of dozens of uncontacted Nomole people, on the banks of a river a few kilometers from a series of logging concessions, were published by Survival International. In September 2024, at least two loggers were killed by a group of uncontacted Nomole.

Other groups include the Machiguenga, Nanti, Asháninka, Mayoruna, Isconahua, Kapanawa, Yora, Murunahua, Chitonahua, Mastanahua, Kakataibo, and Pananujuri. Many of them speak Panoan or Arawakan languages.

Venezuela

There are 4 groups of isolated peoples living in Venezuela.

North Maluku

The O'Hongana Manyawa (Inner Tobelo or Togutil) are a semi-nomadic ethnic group living in the interior of Halmahera Island. In October 2023, footage emerged of members of the group warning logging companies to stay away from their lands. A 2024 report claimed that their forest was being destroyed by the nickel mining industry.

Sulawesi

The Polahi are an isolated ethnic group that inhabits the interior forests of Gorontalo. According to stories circulating among the people, the Polahi were ancient fugitive people who withdrew into the forest around the 17th century because they were afraid of the Dutch and did not want to be colonized by them. As a result of this, they are now an isolated ethnic group, living deep in the forests of the Boliyohuto, Paguyaman, and Suwawa.

Western New Guinea

Two to ten uncontacted tribes live in the West Papua region in Indonesia.

Historical

New Guinea

The New Guinea Highlands were first visited by Western explorers in the 1930s. The highland valleys were found to be inhabited by over a million people.

Peru

The Matsés made their first permanent contact with the outside world in 1969. Before that date, they were effectively at war with the Peruvian government.

See also

  • Isolationism
  • List of contemporary ethnic groups
  • Man of the Hole
  • Noble savage
  • Stateless society
  • Terra nullius

References

Further reading

  • Cabodevilla, Miguel Angel, and Aguirre, Milagros (2013). Una Tragedia Ocultada: the story of the killing in 2013 of more than 20 uncontacted Taromenane Indians by armed settled Indians.
  • Groh, Arnold (2018). Research Methods in Indigenous Contexts. Springer.
  • Wallace, Scott (2011). The Unconquered: In Search of the Amazon's Last Uncontacted Tribes. Crown Publishers.
  • Indigenous Peoples Issues & Resources
  • Cultural Survival