In contrast to the Sentinelese, the Nukak, previously uncontacted, are a hunter-gatherer indigenous tribe traditionally located in the depths of the forest on the fringe of the Amazon basin in Colombia. The Nukak, estimated to number about 800,<sup>23</sup> remained uncontacted until 1988, when a group of Nukaks appeared in neighboring Calamar.<sup>24</sup> In 2005, they were forced out of their ancestral territory by the rebel group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and subsequently housed in resettlement camps.<sup>25</sup> Following their contact with external groups, the Nukak population has declined significantly, prompting calls on the Colombian government to restore ancestral lands to the Nukak to facilitate a return to their indigenous lifestyle. The last of Colombia’s nomadic indigenous tribes,<sup>26</sup> the Nukak have been declared to be at “imminent risk of extinction.”<sup>27</sup> The different views and sentiments surrounding development generally, coupled with the opposing views on when and how the state of India should engage with the Sentinelese or whether the Nukak should be permitted to live in isolation from Colombia’s national economy, require development ethicists to consider at least two central questions.<sup>28</sup> These include what should count as ‘good’ development and who should be responsible for bringing it about.<sup>29</sup> To what extent, if any, should development experts propose visions grounded in a certain conception of material progress or human well-being, and how extensive should this vision be? For many indigenous tribes, answers to these questions often appear to have been pre-determined. Arguments against interference with their way of life have translated into specialized protection under both international law and state law.

At the national level, indigenous people find protection in national constitutions. In some cases, protections exist under specialized legislation, as in case of the Sentinelese. The decisions of constitutional courts have also offered protections for some indigenous populations, The Sentinelese, for example, are legally protected by the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Act passed in 1956 by the Republic of India to “provide for the protection of the interests of _socially and economically backward_ aboriginal tribes in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.”<sup>30</sup> The Act places restrictions on the acquisition of land in and entry into the “protected territories”, and prohibits the rest of the state from contacting the Sentinelese by any means.<sup>31</sup>

> 23 Other sources have estimated the Nukak population as ranging between 600 and 900. See _‘_ Indigenous group and locals sign agreement to protect sustainable livelihoods and culture’, _Mongabay Environmental News_ (2022), <u>hhttps://news.mongabay.com/2022/05/indigenous-group-and-locals-sign-agreement-to-protect-sustainablelivelihoods-and-culture/</u> (last visited Dec 12, 2023). See also ‘The Nukak: The last contacted tribe in Colombia fighting - to return home for more than 30 years', _The Royal Scottish Geographical Society_ (2022), https://www.rsgs.org/blog/the <u>nukak-the-last-contacted-tribe-in-colombia-fighting-to-return-home-for-more-than-30-years</u> (last visited Dec 12, 2023).

> 24 It is believed that they may have had contact with Christian evangelistic groups in the 1970s. See _Survival International_ , _Nukak_ , https://www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/nukak (last visited Dec 12, 2023).

> 25 Indigenous group and locals sign agreement to protect sustainable livelihoods and culture, _supra_ note 23.

> 26 ‘Latam Eco Review: Colombia’s last nomadic tribe faces extinction’, _Mongabay Environmental News_ (2018), <u>https://news.mongabay.com/2018/05/latam-eco-review-colombias-last-nomadic-tribe-faces-extinction/ (last visited</u> Dec 12, 2023).

> 27 ‘The Nukak - The last contacted tribe in Colombia fighting to return home for more than 30 years’, _supra_ . 28 David Crocker (nd) 'International Development Ethics', https://www.bu.edu/wcp/Papers/OApp/OAppCroc.htm (last visited May 3, 2023).

> 29 _Id._ Indigenous group and locals sign agreement to protect sustainable livelihoods and culture’, _Mongabay Environmental News_ (2022)

30 Objective of the Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Act (emphasis added).

31 Sections 6 and 7 of the Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Act.

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