Detail of 2003 NASA image (from the International Space Station) of North Sentinel Island; the island's protective fringe of coral reefs can be seen clearly. Note this image pre-dates the 2004 tsunami, which caused the uplift and exposure of much of the reef.
North Sentinel Island is home to a tribe of indigenous people, the Sentinelese, whose present numbers are estimated to be anywhere between 50 and 400 individuals. They reject any contact with other people and are among the last people to remain virtually untouched by modern civilization. Because there has never been any treaty with the people of the island nor any record of a physical occupation whereby the people of the island have conceded sovereignty the island exists in a curious state of limbo under established international law and can be seen as a sovereign entity under Indian protection.
The local government (Andaman and Nicobar Islands) has recently stated that they have no intention to interfere with the Sentinelese's lifestyle or habitat. Although the island is likely to have suffered seriously from the effects of the December 2004 tsunami, the survival of the Sentinelese was confirmed when, some days after the event, an Indian government helicopter observed several of them, who fired arrows at the hovering aircraft to repel it.
