Uncontacted peoples

Uncontacted peoples, also referred to as isolated peoples or lost tribes, are communities who live, or have lived, either by choice (peoples living in voluntary isolation) or by circumstance, without significant contact with global civilization. Few peoples have remained totally uncontacted by global civilization. Indigenous rights activists call for such groups to be left alone, stating that it will interfere with their right to self-determination.

In 2013 it was estimated that there were more than 100 uncontacted tribes around the world, mostly in the densely forested areas of South America, Central Africa, and New Guinea. Knowledge of the existence of these groups comes mostly from infrequent and sometimes violent encounters with neighboring tribes, and from aerial footage. Isolated tribes may lack immunity to common diseases, which can kill a large percentage of their people after contact.

Notable historical examples of encounters with previously uncontacted people are those between the Spanish Empire and the Arawak (and ultimately all of the Americas) in 1492; and the Aboriginal Australians with Europeans in 1788 when the First Fleet arrived in Sydney.

Uncontacted tribes are a source of fascination in "contacted" society, and the idea of tour operators offering extreme adventure tours to specifically search out uncontacted people has become controversial. A BBC Four documentary in 2006 documented a controversial American tour operator who specializes in escorted tours to "discover" uncontacted people in West Papua. In 1971 the BBC made a documentary A Blank on the Map in which the first contact in over a decade was made with the Biami people of Papua New Guinea.

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