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{{Short description|American missionary}}
{{Merge to |Sentinelese |date=April 2021 }}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox person
|name = John Allen Chau
|image = John Allen Chau.jpg
|birth_date = {{birth date|1991|12|18|mf=y}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Christian Martyr: John Allen Chau |url=https://www.covenantjourney.org/details/john-allen-chau |publisher=Covenant Journey |date=November 21, 2018|access-date=2020-04-24}}</ref>
|birth_place = [[Scottsboro, Alabama]], U.S.
|death_date = {{death date and age|2018|11|17|1991|12|08|mf=y}}
|death_place = [[North Sentinel Island]], [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]], India
|education = [[Oral Roberts University]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gettleman |first1=Jeffrey |author-link1=Jeffrey Gettleman|last2=Kumar|first2=Hari |last3=Schultz|first3=Kai |title=A Man's Last Letter Before Being Killed on a Forbidden Island |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/23/world/asia/andaman-missionary-john-chau.html |work=The New York Times |date=November 23, 2018|access-date=2020-04-24}}</ref>
|occupation = [[Christian missionary]]
}}
'''John Allen Chau''' (December 18, 1991 – November 17, 2018) was an [[Americans|American]] Christian [[missionary]] who was killed by the [[Sentinelese]], a self-isolated [[uncontacted people]], after illegally travelling to [[North Sentinel Island]] in an attempt to preach Christianity to them.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/22/asia/north-sentinel-island-john-allen-chau-diary-intl/index.html|title='You guys might think I'm crazy': Diary of US 'missionary' reveals last days in remote island|first=Euan |last=McKirdy|publisher=CNN|date=November 22, 2018|access-date=2020-03-24}}</ref>

== Early life ==
Chau was born on December 18, 1991, in the U.S. state of [[Alabama]], the third and youngest child of Lynda Adams-Chau, an organizer for [[Chi Alpha (Christian Fellowship)|Chi Alpha]], and Patrick Chau, a Chinese-American [[psychiatrist]] who left China during the [[Cultural Revolution]].<ref name="Perry">{{Cite web|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|access-date=2020-03-24|website=[[Outside (magazine)|Outside]]}}</ref>

Throughout his childhood, he loved camping, hiking and travelling, and excelled at various club, charity, and other extracurricular activities. He admired numerous explorers and missionaries including [[David Livingstone]] and [[Bruce Olson]]. He later attended [[Oral Roberts University]] in [[Oklahoma]]. Prior to his last and fatal journey to North Sentinel Island, Chau participated in missionary trips to [[Mexico]], [[Kurdistan Region|Iraqi Kurdistan]], and [[South Africa]]. He first traveled to the [[Andaman Islands]] in 2015 and 2016 as part of his missionary trips, but did not visit North Sentinel Island.<ref name="Conroy">{{Cite web|last=Conroy|first=J. Oliver|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/feb/03/john-chau-christian-missionary-death-sentinelese|title=The life and death of John Chau, the man who tried to convert his killers|work=The Guardian|date=February 3, 2019|access-date=2020-07-01}}</ref>

==Contact with Sentinelese and death==
In 2017, during the year when Chau participated in boot camp missionary training by the [[Kansas City, Missouri|Kansas City]]-based evangelical organization All Nations,<ref name="NewsComAu" /> Chau reportedly expressed his interest in preaching to the Sentinelese. Chau then traveled to and established his residence at [[Port Blair]] in October 2018, where he prepared an initial contact kit including picture cards for communication, gifts for Sentinelese people, medical equipment, and other necessities.<ref name="Conroy" />

In November, Chau embarked on an expedition to North Sentinel Island, which he considered to be "[[Satan]]'s last stronghold on Earth",<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gjelten|first=Tom|title=Killing Of American Missionary Ignites Debate Over How To Evangelize|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/11/27/671285330/killing-of-american-missionary-ignites-debate-over-how-to-evangelize|access-date=2020-07-16|website=NPR.org|language=en}}</ref> with the aim of contacting and living among the Sentinelese.<ref>{{Cite web|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/|title=John Allen Chau is No Jim Elliot. The Story of John Chau Illustrates the Dangers of Indoctrination in Evangelical Culture and Being Naïve|last=Bonner|first=David |date=December 8, 2018|website=Wondering Eagle|access-date=2020-03-24|via=WordPress}}</ref><ref name="NewsComAu">{{Cite web|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|title=Police face off with Sentinelese tribe as they struggle to recover slain missionary's body|date=November 26, 2018|website=News.com.au|access-date=2020-03-24}}</ref> He expressed a strong desire to preach Christianity to the tribe.<ref name="Stetzer">{{Cite web|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/|title=Slain missionary John Chau prepared much more than we thought, but are missionaries still fools?|last=Stetzer|first=Ed|author-link=Ed Stetzer|website=The Washington Post|date=November 28, 2018|access-date=2020-03-24}}</ref> In preparation for the trip, Chau was vaccinated and quarantined,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/november-web-only/all-nations-john-allen-chau-north-sentinel-island.html|title=What John Allen Chau's Missions Agency Wants You to Know|website=Christianity Today|date=November 28, 2018|access-date=2020-03-24}}</ref> and also undertook medical and linguistic training.<ref name="Stetzer" /> However, he did not seek permission from the Indian authorities before embarking, making his trip illegal under Indian law,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/john-allen-chau-detailed-efforts-convert-islanders-christianity/story?id=59401238|title=John Allen Chau detailed efforts to convert islanders to Christianity in final diary entries: 'You guys might think I'm crazy'|last1=Osborne|first1=Mark |last2=Joglekar|first2=Rahul |publisher=ABC News|date=November 26, 2018|access-date=2020-03-24}}</ref> as foreign citizens must obtain a permit to visit the [[Andaman and Nicobar Islands]], with nobody being allowed on North Sentinel.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Chatterjee|first1=Tanmay |last2=Lama|first2=Prawesh |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/american-national-john-allen-chau-violated-every-rule-in-the-book-to-meet-the-sentinelese/story-AuB0stXyIR7AY1c2XCNkfN.html|title=American national John Allen Chau violated every rule in the book to meet the Sentinelese|date=November 23, 2018|website=Hindustan Times|access-date=2020-03-24}}</ref> Instead, Chau paid two fishermen 25,000 [[Indian rupee|Indian rupees]] to take him close to the island.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Banerjie|first=Monideepa |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/us-tourist-john-chau-paid-fishermen-rs-25-000-for-fatal-trip-to-sentinelese-island-1951387|title=American Paid Fishermen Rs. 25,000 For Fatal Trip To Andamans|publisher=NDTV|date=November 22, 2018|access-date=2020-03-24}}</ref> The fishermen were later arrested.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nypost.com/2018/11/23/cops-arrest-suspects-believed-to-help-us-missionary-on-fatal-trip/|title=Cops arrest suspects believed to help US missionary on fatal trip|last=Eustachewich|first=Lia|date=November 23, 2018|website=New York Post|access-date=2020-03-24}}</ref>

Chau paddled a kayak from the boat to the island and attempted to communicate with Sentinelese upon their first contact, but left the gifts and retreated when the villagers began stringing their bows. He later paddled back to the island and walked up to the beach this time while attempting to communicate with the natives. Chau abandoned his kayak and swam back to the boat in panic when one of the villagers shot an arrow at him and struck the Bible he was holding. On November 16, the date when Chau was last seen alive, he asked the fishermen to drop him off alone on the island after thinking that the Sentinelese might feel more comfortable if they did not see the foreign fishing boat nearby. Prior to being left on the island alone, Chau admitted in his diary that he was scared, but it was "worth it to [[Evangelism|declare Jesus]] to these people."<ref name="Conroy" /> Chau was subsequently killed by the Sentinelese. The fishermen who had ferried him later observed Sentinelese tribesmen dragging a body along the beach and burying it.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2018-11-26|title=John Allen Chau: 'Incredibly dangerous' to retrieve body from North Sentinel|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-46345231|access-date=2020-12-26}}</ref>

==Aftermath==
Despite efforts by Indian authorities, which involved a tense encounter with the tribe, Chau's body was not recovered.<ref name="NewsComAu" /> Indian officials made several attempts to recover Chau's 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/nov/28/india-body-john-allen-chau-missionary-killed-by-sentinelese-tribe|title=India has no plans to recover body of US missionary killed by tribe|last1=Safi|first1=Michael |last2=Giles |first2=Denis |work=[[The Guardian]]|date=November 28, 2018|access-date=2020-04-24}}</ref> A murder case was opened following his death.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-46345231|title=John Allen Chau: 'Incredibly dangerous' to retrieve body from North Sentinel|work=[[BBC News]]|date=November 26, 2018|access-date=2020-06-15}}</ref>

Chau was criticized by [[Survival International]] among others for visiting the island despite the possibility of introducing [[pathogen|pathogens]] to the native Sentinelese, which could have been deadly since it was likely that the natives had not been exposed previously to diseases from outside the island.<ref>{{cite web|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|title=John Allen Chau was brave. He was also reckless.|newspaper=The Washington Post|last1=Elonai|first1=Maisha|date=November 28, 2018|access-date=March 28, 2020}}</ref><ref name="Perry"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.survivalinternational.org/news/12031|title=Survival International statement on killing of American man John Allen Chau by Sentinelese tribe, Andaman Islands|publisher=Survival International|date=November 21, 2018|access-date=March 28, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Missionary claims that John Chau did not pose a threat to the Sentinelese - Survival responds |url=https://www.survivalinternational.org/news/12042 |website=www.survivalinternational.org |publisher=Survival International |access-date=5 May 2020 |language=en}}</ref> 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 within Chau.<ref name="Conroy" /> According to a report by ''[[The New York Times]]'', the missionary training by All Nations included navigating a mock native village populated by missionary staff members who pretended to be hostile natives, wielding fake spears.<ref name="Gettleman">{{Cite web|last=Gettleman|first=Jeffrey |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/30/world/asia/john-chau-andaman-missionary.html|title=John Chau Aced Missionary Boot Camp. Reality Proved a Harsher Test.|work=The New York Times|date=November 30, 2018|access-date=2020-06-30}}</ref>

In a response to Chau's death, M. Sasikumar ([[Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies]]), questions the legal charge of murder and what he perceives as a romanticized version of the incident in the media. He writes that the incident should instead be a warning that the "eyes-only" policy with regard to the Sentinelese needs to be more strictly enforced, and include the local fishermen in order to prevent a repetition.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

Michael Schönhuth (Professor for Cultural Anthropology at the [[University of Trier]], Germany) finds the media response to Chau's killing of cultural interest. He writes that the narratives that emerged are part of a larger discussion regarding the proper relationship between the modern world and the remaining isolated indigenous peoples. Schönhuth writes that the online presence of the Evangelical missionary community which has grown in the past 20 years, and in which Chau was an active participant, present a narrative in which they are bringing civilization to a primitive people, and that the likelihood of missionaries being killed is not a deterrent, but an affirmation of the need for the "uncontacted people" to be rescued from a savage existence. Schönhuth faults the media for playing into this narrative, ignoring the history of exploitation of the people in the region, which presents an alternative narrative in which the killing of Chau was self-defense. Schönhuth suggests that the media hype must be reinterpreted to allow for such alternatives to be understood.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chau, John Allen}}
[[Category:1991 births]]
[[Category:2018 deaths]]
[[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:Oral Roberts University alumni]]
[[Category:People from Vancouver, Washington]]
[[Category:People murdered in India]]

John Allen Chau - Revision history

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