Survival of an ancient culture: the selknam nation

The Selknam nation, also known as Ona, lived in the Strait of Magellan since ancient times. It had developed a way of life adapted to the harsh conditions of the cold waters of the south. They were hunters of guanacos, seals, seabirds and fishermen. When the states of Argentina and Chile expanded, the Selknam were displaced, assaulted, hunters were organized to eliminate them and seize their lands, and their culture was lost until almost disappeared. Within a few years, the once healthy Selknam communities were reduced to a few survivors. The states of Chile and Argentina have expanded their territories and the peoples of the south suffered this expansion. Anyway, not everything is lost, there are some survivors who try to recover some elements of culture, in particular the language. They deserve our support.

Genocide in the far South of America

The decline of the native people of Tierra del Fuego began in the 19th century, and sadly in less than 100 years they were all but gone.  The usual culprits can be blamed – 

(1) disease brought unintentionally by the Europeans, to which the Fuegians had low immunity, 

(2) a decline in the coastal food source, as whalers and sealers decimated marine mammal populations, and 

(3) active extermination of local people, primarily by sheep ranchers who viewed them as a threat to their livestock or way of life. 

According to some sources (not including the Alacaluf ) only one full-blooded Fuegian is living today (from the Yaghan tribe), and only a few thousand people (at most) report to have native heritage in Tierra del Fuego. (RJV)

https://beagleproject.wordpress.com/2013/01/07/introducing-the-people-of-tierra-del-fuego/