Five gold miners in West Papua's central highlands were killed by local residents on Monday.
National police spokesperson Dedi Prasetyo said 74 miners were evacuated from Yahukimo regency after being attacked.
Three miners were also injured by the residents, who were armed with machetes, bows and arrows.
Mr Prasetyo told Reuters it was unclear whether the incident was linked to growing unrest across Papua.
A spokesperson for the West Papua Liberation Army, a rebel group operating in the highlands, said the gold miners were Indonesian immigrants, killed because they "came to Papuans lands and stole the gold from indigenous Papuans lands".
The Liberation Army did not claim responsibility for the attack but warned against further gold mining in the region.