Fuegians

Fuegians are the indigenous inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego, at the southern tip of South America. The name has been credited to Captain James Weddell, who supposedly created the term in 1822.

The indigenous Fuegians belonged to several different ethnic groups including the:

  • Selkʼnam, also known as Ona or Onawo
  • Haush, also known as Manekʼenk
  • Yahgan, also known as Yagán, Yaghan, Yámana, Yamana, or Tequenica
  • Kawésqar, also known as Alacalufe, Kaweskar, Alacaluf, or Halakwulup

All of these ethnic groups except the Selkʼnam lived exclusively in coastal areas and have their own languages. The Yahgan and the Kawésqar traveled by birchbark canoes around the islands of the archipelago, while the coast dwelling Haush did not. The Selkʼnam lived in the interior of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego and were exclusively terrestrial hunter gatherers who hunted terrestrial game such as guanacos, foxes, tuco-tucos and upland nesting birds as well as littoral fish and shellfish. The Fuegian peoples spoke several distinct languages: both the Kawésqar language and the Yahgan language are considered language isolates, while the Selkʼnam and Haush spoke Chon languages like the Tehuelche on the mainland.

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