John Allen Chau, an American evangelical Christian missionary who was killed by the Sentinelese, a tribe in voluntary isolation, after illegally traveling to North Sentinel Island in an attempt to introduce the tribe to Christianity.He was awarded the 2018 Darwin Award.

In 2017, Chau participated in ‘boot camp’ missionary training by the Kansas City-based evangelical organization All Nations. According to a report by The New York Times, the training included navigating a mock native village populated by missionary staff members who pretended to be hostile natives, wielding fake spears.During that year, he reportedly expressed his interest in converting the Sentinelese.

In October 2018, Chau traveled to and established his residence at Port Blair, capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, where he prepared an initial contact kit including picture cards for communication, gifts for Sentinelese people, medical equipment, and other necessities. In August 2018, the Indian Home Ministry had removed 29 inhabited islands in Andaman and Nicobar from the Restricted Area Permit (RAP) regime, in an attempt to promote tourism. However, visiting North Sentinel Island without government permission remained illegal under the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation, 1956.

In November, Chau embarked on a journey to North Sentinel Island, which he thought could be “Satan’s last stronghold on Earth”,with the aim of contacting and living among the Sentinelese. In preparation for the trip, he was vaccinated and quarantined, and also undertook medical and linguistic training.

Chau paid two fishermen ₹25,000 (equivalent to ₹33,000 or US$400 in 2023) to take him near the island. The fishermen were later arrested.

Chau expressed a clear desire to convert the tribe and was aware of the legal and mortal risks he was taking by his efforts, writing in his diary, “Lord, is this island Satan’s last stronghold, where none have heard or even had the chance to hear your name?”, “The eternal lives of this tribe is at hand”, and “I think it’s worthwhile to declare Jesus to these people. Please do not be angry at them or at God if I get killed … Don’t retrieve my body.”

On November 15, Chau attempted his first visit in a fishing boat, which took him about 500–700 meters (1,600–2,300 ft) from shore. The fishermen warned Chau not to go farther, but he canoed toward shore with a waterproof Bible. As he approached, he attempted to communicate with the islanders and to offer gifts, but he retreated after facing hostile responses.

On another visit, Chau recorded that the islanders reacted to him with a mixture of amusement, bewilderment, and hostility. He attempted to sing worship songs to them, and spoke to them in Xhosa, after which they often fell silent. Other attempts to communicate such as echoing the tribesmen’s words ended with them bursting into laughter, making Chau theorize that they were cursing at him.Chau stated they communicated with “lots of high-pitched sounds” and gestures. Eventually, according to Chau’s last letter, when he tried to hand over fish and gifts, a boy shot a metal-headed arrow that pierced the Bible he was holding in front of his chest, after which he retreated again.

On his final visit, on November 17, Chau instructed the fishermen to abandon him. The fishermen later saw the islanders dragging Chau’s body, and the next day they saw his body being buried on the shore.

This is truly deserving because it’s truly unlikely that he passed on his genes.

It’s fine if I get downvoted but he deserves it. Forcing religion to this tribe, just his presence alone can wipe them as they do not have the immunity that we have.

I remember in 2018 everyone was talking about it on youtube

He was trying to murder everyone on the island by spreading diseases that they didn’t have immunity to. Well deserved death.

Tough luck. Leave tribes alone. They don’t our fucking bullshit put on them.

The idiot deserved it. The people on that island have been cut off from civilization for over a millenia. They don’t need or want any religion.

Bro himself got introduced to Jesus

It’s not as simple as saying he illegally travelled to the island. It’s even worse than that, he lied and misled all the port authorities on his true intentions, he had been arrested by Indian coast guard in a previous attempt to reach the island but decided that he had not learnt his lesson. This guy literally had a death wish like “Convert these tribes or die trying”. Absolutely insane stuff. 

That guy is a fuckin moron

This one of my favorite stories.

‘Your gods are wrong, this is the right god. How do I know? Uh, because. True, there is no proof of any of this, but I’m right. Repent or you’ll go to the imaginary lake of fire which is tended by the boogeyman”.

Good, honestly, fuck off with your “my made up man in the sky is the BEST made up man in the sky” bullshit.

Deserved.