John Allen Chau

Chau was born on December 18, 1991, in Scottsboro, Alabama. The third and youngest child of Lynda Adams-Chau, a European-American organizer for Chi Alpha, and Patrick Chau, a Chinese-American psychiatrist who left mainland China during the Cultural Revolution,{{Cite magazine |last=Perry |first=Alex |date=July 24, 2019 |title=The Last Days of John Allen Chau |url=https://www.outsideonline.com/2400030/john-allen-chau-life-death-north-sentinel |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200110041039/https://www.outsideonline.com/2400030/john-allen-chau-life-death-north-sentinel |archive-date=January 10, 2020 |access-date=March 24, 2020 |magazine=Outside}} Chau grew up in Vancouver, Washington, and attended Vancouver Christian High School. His family attended Chinese Evangelical Church of Vancouver. He admired numerous explorers and missionaries, including David Livingstone and Bruce Olson. He became interested in attempting to convert the Sentinelese to Christianity in high school.

He attended Oral Roberts University in Oklahoma, where he managed the university soccer team,{{Cite tweet |number=1065364614010077185 |user=orumsoccer |title=We are deeply saddened by the news of the tragic death of John Chau. John served as a team manager for #ORUMSoc during his time at ORU. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and all of those who knew him at this time. |author=ORU Men's Soccer |access-date=July 27, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220727104921/https://twitter.com/orumsoccer/status/1065364614010077185 |archive-date=July 27, 2022}} and graduated cum laude in 2014 with a Bachelor of Science in exercise science.{{Cite web |title=Reflections On Alumnus John Chau |url=https://oru.edu/news/oru_news/20181127-reflections-on-alumnus-john-chau.php?locale=en |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220727104444/https://oru.edu/news/oru_news/20181127-reflections-on-alumnus-john-chau.php?locale=en |archive-date=July 27, 2022 |access-date=November 8, 2022 |website=Oral Roberts University |language=en}}

Before 2018, Chau had participated in missionary trips to Mexico, South Africa and Iraqi Kurdistan. He first traveled to the Andaman Islands in 2015 and 2016 as part of his missionary trips, but did not visit North Sentinel Island at that time.{{Cite news |last=Conroy |first=J. Oliver |date=February 3, 2019 |title=The life and death of John Chau, the man who tried to convert his killers |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/03/john-chau-christian-missionary-death-sentinelese |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200618043501/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/03/john-chau-christian-missionary-death-sentinelese |archive-date=June 18, 2020 |access-date=July 1, 2020 |work=The Guardian}}

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.{{cite news |last=Gettleman |first=Jeffrey |date=November 30, 2018 |title=John Chau aced missionary boot camp. Reality proved a harsher test |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/30/world/asia/john-chau-andaman-missionary.html |access-date=June 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181228011950/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/30/world/asia/john-chau-andaman-missionary.html |archive-date=December 28, 2018}} During that year, he reportedly expressed his interest in converting the Sentinelese to a friend, calling it "his burden".

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 the 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.{{cite news |title=Restricted Area Permit eased for foreigners visiting 29 Andaman and Nicobar Islands |website=gktoday.in |url=https://www.gktoday.in/restricted-area-permit-eased-foreigners-visiting-29-andaman-nicobar-islands/ |access-date=April 7, 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220605184214/https://www.gktoday.in/topic/restricted-area-permit-eased-foreigners-visiting-29-andaman-nicobar-islands/ |archive-date=June 5, 2022}}{{cite press release |title=NCST to visit A&N Islands from 4th to 6th December 2018, to investigate and monitor the issue of U.S. national feared killed by protected tribes |date=November 28, 2018 |via=Press Information Bureau (pib.gov.in) |url=https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1554140 |access-date=June 5, 2022}} However, visiting North Sentinel Island without government permission remained illegal under the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation, 1956.{{cite news |title=Protecting the Sentinelese |website=Drishti IAS |language=en |url=https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/protecting-the-sentinelese |access-date=June 5, 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220605184214/https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/protecting-the-sentinelese |archive-date=June 5, 2022}}{{cite press release |title=Primitive tribals in hilly / forest areas |date=December 2, 2019 |publisher=Ministry of Tribal Affairs |via=Press Information Bureau (pib.gov.in) |url=https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1594553 |access-date=June 5, 2022}}{{cite news |last1=Osborne |first1=Mark |last2=Joglekar |first2=Rahul |date=November 26, 2018 |title=John Allen Chau detailed efforts to convert islanders to Christianity in final diary entries: 'You guys might think I'm crazy' |publisher=ABC News |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/john-allen-chau-detailed-efforts-convert-islanders-christianity/story?id=59401238 |access-date=March 24, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200324104906/https://abcnews.go.com/International/john-allen-chau-detailed-efforts-convert-islanders-christianity/story?id=59401238 |archive-date=March 24, 2020}}

In November, Chau embarked on a journey to North Sentinel Island, which he thought could be "Satan's last stronghold on Earth",{{cite web |last=Gjelten |first=Tom |date=November 27, 2018 |title=Killing of American missionary ignites debate over how to evangelize |publisher=National Public Radio |via=NPR.org |language=en |url=https://www.npr.org/2018/11/27/671285330/killing-of-american-missionary-ignites-debate-over-how-to-evangelize |access-date=July 16, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200712093658/https://www.npr.org/2018/11/27/671285330/killing-of-american-missionary-ignites-debate-over-how-to-evangelize |archive-date=July 12, 2020}} with the aim of contacting and living among the Sentinelese.{{cite news |title=Police face off with Sentinelese tribe as they struggle to recover slain missionary's body |date=November 26, 2018 |website=News.com.au |url=https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/police-faceoff-with-sentinelese-tribe-as-they-struggle-to-recover-slain-missionarys-body/news-story/a88d3780059939a5e11ebcfb556327ac |access-date=March 24, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181126034539/https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/incidents/police-faceoff-with-sentinelese-tribe-as-they-struggle-to-recover-slain-missionarys-body/news-story/a88d3780059939a5e11ebcfb556327ac |archive-date=November 26, 2018}}{{cite web |last=Bonner |first=David |date=December 8, 2018 |title=John Allen Chau is no Jim Elliot. The story of John Chau illustrates the dangers of indoctrination in evangelical culture and being naïve |website=Wondering Eagle |type=blog |via=WordPress |url=https://wonderingeagle.wordpress.com/2018/12/08/john-allen-chau-is-no-jim-elliot-the-story-of-john-chau-illustrates-the-dangers-of-indoctrination-in-evangelical-culture-and-being-naive/ |access-date=March 24, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200324092721/https://wonderingeagle.wordpress.com/2018/12/08/john-allen-chau-is-no-jim-elliot-the-story-of-john-chau-illustrates-the-dangers-of-indoctrination-in-evangelical-culture-and-being-naive/ |archive-date=March 24, 2020}} In preparation for the trip, he was vaccinated and quarantined,{{cite magazine |title=What John Allen Chau's missions agency wants you to know |date=November 28, 2018 |magazine=Christianity Today |url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/november-web-only/all-nations-john-allen-chau-north-sentinel-island.html |access-date=March 24, 2020 |archive-date=March 24, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200324092719/https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/november-web-only/all-nations-john-allen-chau-north-sentinel-island.html |url-status=dead }} and also undertook medical and linguistic training.{{cite news |last=Stetzer |first=Ed |author-link=Ed Stetzer |date=November 28, 2018 |title=Slain missionary John Chau prepared much more than we thought, but are missionaries still fools? |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2018/11/28/slain-missionary-john-chau-prepared-much-more-than-we-thought-his-case-is-still-quandary-us-missionaries/ |access-date=March 24, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200324092719/https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2018/11/28/slain-missionary-john-chau-prepared-much-more-than-we-thought-his-case-is-still-quandary-us-missionaries/ |archive-date=March 24, 2020}}

Chau paid two fishermen {{INRconvert|25|k|year=2018}} to take him near the island.{{cite news |last=Banerjie |first=Monideepa |date=November 22, 2018 |title=American paid fishermen Rs. 25,000 for fatal trip to Andamans island |website=New Delhi Television |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/us-tourist-john-chau-paid-fishermen-rs-25-000-for-fatal-trip-to-sentinelese-island-1951387 |access-date=March 24, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121234914/https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/us-tourist-john-chau-paid-fishermen-rs-25-000-for-fatal-trip-to-sentinelese-island-1951387 |archive-date=November 21, 2018}} The fishermen were later arrested.{{cite news |last=Eustachewich |first=Lia |date=November 23, 2018 |title=Cops arrest suspects believed to help US missionary on fatal trip |newspaper=The New York Post |url=https://nypost.com/2018/11/23/cops-arrest-suspects-believed-to-help-us-missionary-on-fatal-trip/ |access-date=March 24, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181124013359/https://nypost.com/2018/11/23/cops-arrest-suspects-believed-to-help-us-missionary-on-fatal-trip/ |archive-date=November 24, 2018}}

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."{{cite news |last=Slater |first=Joanna |date=November 23, 2018 |title='Satan's last {{nowrap|stronghold ... ?'}} U.S. man wrote before death on Andaman island |website=New Delhi Television |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/fear-and-faith-inside-the-last-days-of-an-us-man-john-allen-chau-killed-by-remote-tribe-1952049 |access-date=November 27, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181127044142/https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/fear-and-faith-inside-the-last-days-of-an-us-man-john-allen-chau-killed-by-remote-tribe-1952049 |archive-date=November 27, 2018}}{{cite news |last=Chavez |first=Nicole |date=November 25, 2018 |title=Indian authorities struggle to retrieve U.S. missionary feared killed on remote island |website=CNN |language=en-US |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/25/asia/missionary-john-chau-north-sentinel-island-sentinelese/index.html |access-date=November 25, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181125131356/https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/25/asia/missionary-john-chau-north-sentinel-island-sentinelese/index.html |archive-date=November 25, 2018}}

On November 15, Chau attempted his first visit in a fishing boat, which took him about {{convert|500|–|700|m|ft|sp=us}} 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{{cite news |last=Slater |first=Joanna |date=November 21, 2018 |title='God, I don't want to die', U.S. missionary wrote before he was killed by remote tribe on Indian island |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2018/11/21/american-believed-dead-after-encounter-with-remote-indian-tribe-hostile-outsiders/ |access-date=November 22, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121184510/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2018/11/21/american-believed-dead-after-encounter-with-remote-indian-tribe-hostile-outsiders/ |archive-date=November 21, 2018}} and to offer gifts, but he retreated after facing hostile responses.{{cite news |title=US tourist killed by tribe in Andaman and Nicobar's North Sentinel Island, seven arrested in connection with murder |date=November 21, 2018 |website=firstpost.com |url=https://www.firstpost.com/india/us-tourist-killed-by-tribe-in-andaman-and-nicobars-north-sentinel-island-seven-arrested-in-connection-with-murder-5590841.html |access-date=November 22, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181122005834/https://www.firstpost.com/india/us-tourist-killed-by-tribe-in-andaman-and-nicobars-north-sentinel-island-seven-arrested-in-connection-with-murder-5590841.html |archive-date=November 22, 2018}}{{cite news |author1=Gettleman, Jeffrey |author2=Kumar, Hari |author3=Schultz, Kai |date=November 23, 2018 |title=A man's last letter before being killed on a forbidden island |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/23/world/asia/andaman-missionary-john-chau.html |access-date=November 26, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181126181038/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/23/world/asia/andaman-missionary-john-chau.html |archive-date=November 26, 2018}}

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 had been cursing at him. Chau stated they communicated with "lots of high-pitched sounds" and gestures.{{cite news |last1=Slater |first1=Joanna |last2=Gowen |first2=Annie |date=November 23, 2018 |title=Fear and faith: Inside the last days of an American missionary died on tribe's remote Indian Ocean island |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/nov/23/fear-and-faith-inside-the-last-days-of-an-american/ |access-date=November 26, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181125210606/http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/nov/23/fear-and-faith-inside-the-last-days-of-an-american/ |archive-date=November 25, 2018}} 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.{{cite news |agency=Reuters |date=November 22, 2018 |title=U.S. man killed by remote tribe was trying to spread Christianity |newspaper=South China Morning Post |language=en |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/2174420/why-are-they-so-angry-us-man-john-allen-chau-killed-remote |access-date=November 24, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181123175329/https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/south-asia/article/2174420/why-are-they-so-angry-us-man-john-allen-chau-killed-remote |archive-date=November 23, 2018 |quote=Notes by John Allen Chau, shot dead with arrows last week on India's North Sentinel Island, show he hoped to 'establish the kingdom of Jesus on the island'. Chau's notes reveal bafflement at 'aggressive' responses from the tribe when he had 'been so nice to them'.}} The fishermen later saw the islanders dragging Chau's body and the next day they saw his body being buried on the shore.

Upon learning about Chau's death, the fishermen returned to Port Blair and gave Chau's diary to his friend, also a Christian preacher, residing in the capital city. He informed Chau's family in the U.S., who contacted the Consulate General of the United States in Chennai for assistance. The Andaman government was notified on November 19. On November 21, the Director General of Police issued a statement on the restrictions on public access to North Sentinel Island.

Despite efforts by Indian authorities, which involved a tense encounter with the tribe, Chau's body was not recovered. Indian officials made several attempts to recover the body but eventually abandoned those efforts. An anthropologist involved in the case told The Guardian that the risk of a dangerous clash between investigators and the islanders was too great to justify any further attempts.{{cite news |last1=Safi |first1=Michael |last2=Giles |first2=Denis |date=November 28, 2018 |title=India has no plans to recover body of US missionary killed by tribe |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/28/india-body-john-allen-chau-missionary-killed-by-sentinelese-tribe |access-date=April 24, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181128225414/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/28/india-body-john-allen-chau-missionary-killed-by-sentinelese-tribe |archive-date=November 28, 2018}} A murder case was opened following his death.{{cite news |title=John Allen Chau: 'Incredibly dangerous' to retrieve body from North Sentinel |date=November 26, 2018 |website=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-46345231 |access-date=June 15, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211010024736/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-46345231 |archive-date=October 10, 2021}}

Chau was criticized by Survival International among others for visiting the island despite the possibility of introducing pathogens to the native Sentinelese, to whom they could have been deadly since it was likely that the natives had not been previously exposed to diseases from outside the island.{{cite news |last=Elonai |first=Maisha |date=November 28, 2018 |title=John Allen Chau was brave. He was also reckless |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/john-allen-chau-was-brave-he-was-also-reckless/2018/11/27/ddb9200c-f1b0-11e8-99c2-cfca6fcf610c_story.html |access-date=March 28, 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220129192739/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/john-allen-chau-was-brave-he-was-also-reckless/2018/11/27/ddb9200c-f1b0-11e8-99c2-cfca6fcf610c_story.html |archive-date=January 29, 2022}}{{cite press release |title=Statement on killing of American man John Allen Chau by Sentinelese tribe, Andaman Islands |date=November 21, 2018 |publisher=Survival International |via=survivalinternational.org |url=https://www.survivalinternational.org/news/12031 |access-date=March 28, 2020}}{{cite press release |title=Missionary claims that John Chau did not pose a threat to the Sentinelese – Survival responds |date=November 29, 2018 |lang=en |publisher=Survival International |via=survivalinternational.org |url=https://www.survivalinternational.org/news/12042 |access-date=May 5, 2020}} All Nations, the evangelical organization that trained Chau, was criticized on social media for describing Chau as a martyr while expressing condolences for Chau's death. Chau's father also blamed his son's death on the missionary community for inculcating an extreme Christian vision in Chau.

In response to Chau's death, M. Sasikumar of the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies questioned the legal charge of murder and what he perceived as a romanticized version of the incident in the media. He wrote that the incident should instead serve as a warning that the "eyes-only" policy with regard to the Sentinelese needs to be more strictly enforced, and be extended to control the local fishermen in order to prevent additional incidents.{{cite journal |last=Sasikumar |first=M. |year=2019 |title=The Sentinelese of North Sentinel island: A reappraisal of tribal scenario in an Andaman Island in the context of killing of an American Preacher |journal=Journal of the Anthropological Survey of India |volume=68 |issue=1 |pages=56–69 |doi=10.1177/2277436X19844882 |doi-access=free}}

Michael Schönhuth, professor at the University of Trier, Germany, explored the media response to Chau's killing from a standpoint of cultural anthropology. He wrote that the narratives that emerged were part of a larger discussion regarding the proper relationship between the modern world and the remaining isolated indigenous peoples. Schönhuth wrote that state sanctioning of controlled, responsible contacts with isolated people groups such as the Sentinelese still remains a subject of heavy debate, even among experts. By contrast uncontrolled, privately organized contact, as in the case of Chau, is widely forbidden and condemned for the significant risk of lethal infections against the unprotected immune system of isolated communities.{{cite journal |last=Schönhuth |first=M. |year=2019 |title=Dead missionaries, wild Sentinelese: An anthropological review of a global media event |journal=Anthropology Today |volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=3–6 |doi=10.1111/1467-8322.12514 |doi-access=free}}

Chau was awarded the 2018 Darwin Award, a tongue-in-cheek honor that awards various people for dying or sterilising themselves in manners considered to be stupid.{{cite web | last=Northcutt | first=Wendy | title=2018 Darwin Award: The Missionary Position | website=Darwin Awards | date=August 12, 2022 | url=https://darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin2018-13.html | access-date=September 21, 2024}}

The 2023 National Geographic documentary film The Mission explores Chau's life.{{cite web |date=August 31, 2023 |title=National Geographic Documentary Films Dates Theatrical Release for The Mission |website=Business Wire |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230831919692/en/National-Geographic-Documentary-Films-Dates-Theatrical-Release-for-THE-MISSION-From-Lightbox-and-Award-Winning-Directors-Amanda-McBaine-and-Jesse-Moss-Debuts-Trailer-and-Key-Art |access-date=August 31, 2023}}{{cite web |date=February 3, 2024 |title=Behind evangelist Chau's fatal mission to the Sentinelese |website=Frontline |url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/arts-and-culture/a-national-geographic-documentary-examines-the-life-and-death-of-john-allen-chau/article67807254.ece |access-date=May 12, 2023}} Last Days, a drama film by Justin Lin about Chau, was released in 2025, with Sky Yang portraying Chau.

{{Reflist|25em}}

• [https://theruggedtrail.wordpress.com/ The Rugged Trail] blog
• {{Twitter|johnachau}}
• {{Instagram|johnachau}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chau, John Allen}}

Category:1991 births

Category:2018 deaths

Category:21st-century American people

Category:American missionaries in India

Category:American people murdered abroad

Category:American people of Chinese descent

Category:American Protestant missionaries

Category:Christians from Alabama

Category:Christians from Washington (state)

Category:Deaths by native people

Category:Oral Roberts University alumni

Category:People from Scottsboro, Alabama

Category:People from Vancouver, Washington

Category:People murdered in India

Category:Protestant missionaries in India