Present Argentina is a mestizo country.

In spite of the affirmations of tourist brochures that express with pride that the Argentine Republic is populated by whites and Europeans, that there are very few "Indians", and that the mestizos are a minority, the reality is very different.

The contribution of indigenous nations to the ethnic composition of Argentina has been very important in most of the provinces.

The northwestern region (Salta, Jujuy, Santiago del Estero, La Rioja, Catamarca and Tucumán) has received a very large influence from local native cultures.0

When the Spaniards arrived in this area of ​​America, Quechua and Colla-Aymara constituted complex societies with a rich history and well-established traditions. The settlers established semi-slave systems in which individuals were forced into labor in the mines or in the service of an "encomendero".

Under these conditions, there was a strong miscegenation, giving rise to the appearance of a Creole population composed of varied mixtures of natives with the lords of Spanish origin who controlled their lives. 

Many mestizos adopted Europeanizing attitudes and behaviors and preferred to keep the surname of their Spanish parents, because this meant a better status in colonial society.

In fact, the main "aristocratic" families of northwestern Argentina are constituted by mestizo roots where the indigenous component is notoriously dominant, genetically, against the European. In the rest of the population, the aboriginal genetic proportion is even higher.

In the northeastern provinces, Misiones, Corrientes, northeastern Formosa, the miscegenation took place with the indigenous Guaraní population. The Creole inhabitants of these provinces are also strongly mestizo, not only from the biological point of view, but also culturally. It should be noted that in Corrientes, Misiones and Formosa, Guaraní is usually spoken along with Spanish, and that Paraguay, a country bordering these provinces, is a fully bilingual Spanish-Guaraní nation.

In the southwestern and central provinces, the Mapuche and Pampa miscegenation stands out. In Neuquén, La Pampa, Río Negro, San Luis and Southwest of Buenos Aires, Mapuches and Pampas populations and native states were conquered only in the 1870s and 1880s. 

Although originally, most of the communities were displaced to land  of low productivity, in the following years a migratory flow generated towards the towns and cities constituting at the present time an important contribution to the ethnic composition of the urban population

These influences were also important in Mendoza, San Juan and in the central provinces (Córdoba and Santa Fe). 

Even in the most europeanized areas, such as the north of Buenos Aires and Entre Ríos, the native ethnic contribution, although in minority, is also clearly visible.

The metropolitan region of Buenos Aires, and to a lesser extent the conurbated areas of Rosario and Córdoba, were focal points for many immigrants at the end of the 19th century, and the first half of the 20th century. This was due to internal migration, which was intensified due to the processes of industrialization and urbanization promoted during the government of Juan Domingo Perón and, to a certain extent, by the governments that succeeded it These cities also received an important contingent from other areas of the country.

For that reason, Buenos Aires, as well as Rosario and Córdoba, was enriched by a relatively high percentage of mestizo population. They arrived in the cities with their traditional baggage on their shoulders, greatly modifying the cultures of these urban centers.

These mestizos of local origin were added during the last decades with those from neighboring countries: Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru and Chile. The demographic contribution of immigrants from these Latin American countries was very important. 

The Argentines of those origins represent an important percentage of the total population, surely more than 10% at the national level, reaching majority proportions in certain bordering provinces (Chileans in the south, Bolivians in the northwest, Paraguayans in the northeast).

Although it is possible to establish as certain general facts, it is difficult to determine the precise percentage of miscegenation of contemporary Argentina, and even more, to define precisely how it is distributed throughout the country.

In any case, it can be stated with sufficient certainty that the mestizos of European and Native American descent represent the majority of the population of the Republic.

First Nations of the Chaco: the qom (Tobas) people

The Qom, also called Toba, constitute the main surviving ethnic group after the multinational invasion that ended with the independence of the Chaco nations.

They are related to the Mbayá (also called Kadijeu) of Mato Grosso, the Mocoví of the north of Santa Fe and the south of the province of Chaco, the Pilagá of the northwest of the Chaco, the Abipón and the Payaguá (these last two are now disappeared).

The ethnic Mbayámocoví-qom ethnic complex traditionally occupied the western shore of the Paraná-Paraguay hydrographic axis, had a relatively unfriendly relationship with the Guaraní peoples of the east and tenaciously opposed Spanish and Creole colonization from Paraguay and Buenos Aires.

They managed to maintain their independence until the end of the 19th century, in particular until the Argentine military offensive of 1884, which determined their subordination to the power of the central government of that country.

Originally, the Toba were divided into four subgroups with dialectal differences: the iolojpí (peoples of the "water dad"), the kolpi (people the mountain) and the eadgaipí (fire people in the houses) and the diapicoche (whose meaning it is unknown). When the Argentine government unleashed the war the Toba were organized under the leadership of Meguexogochi.

Its defeat implied that many qom had to take refuge in the sands of Santiago del Estero and in other remote lands

Labor in the "obrajes"

After the conquest of the Chaco by the Argentine government, an agricultural and forestry colonization process was established in which the qom were used as labor for the plantations and obrajes.

To resist forced acculturation they developed multiple strategies, one of which was "Christianized" in the Valdense cult. Indeed, there is a strong Qom-Waldensian church, in which the Qom have managed to maintain many of their ceremonial practices without further interference from governmental or religious authorities.

Some people maintain a traditional economy by planting, hunting and fishing, and selling their products in local markets. Others are forced to migrate camping along roadsides or along riverbanks.

Many communities have no land and others survive with enormous difficulties in areas of low productivity.

Due to this, the qom of Argentina are in a situation of extreme poverty, which has forced many of them to emigrate to the cities, where important colonies are located in the "villas" of Buenos Aires, Rosario, Santa Fe, Resistance, Formosa and Salta. The total population of the qom is about 130,000 people. Some tens of thousands still inhabit their old territories, stripped of their land and in a situation of extreme poverty. Perhaps more than 60,000 have been forced to migrate to the cities, where they locate important colonies in the "villas" of Buenos Aires, Rosario, Santa Fe, Resistencia, Formosa and Salta.

Present Argentina is a mestizo country.

In spite of the affirmations of tourist brochures that express with pride that the Argentine Republic is populated by whites and Europeans, that there are very few "Indians", and that the mestizos are a minority, the reality is very different.

The contribution of indigenous nations to the ethnic composition of the country has been very important in most of the provinces.

The northwestern region (Salta, Jujuy, Santiago del Estero, La Rioja, Catamarca and Tucumán) has received a very large influence from local native cultures.

When the Spaniards arrived in this area of ​​America, Quechua and Colla-Aymara constituted complex societies with a rich history and well-established traditions. The settlers established semi-slave systems in which individuals were forced into labor in the mines or in the service of an "encomendero".

Under these conditions, there was a strong miscegenation, giving rise to the appearance of a Creole population composed of varied mixtures of natives with the lords of Spanish origin who controlled their lives. 

Many mestizos adopted Europeanizing attitudes and behaviors and preferred to keep the surname of their Spanish parents, because this meant a better status in colonial society.

In fact, the main "aristocratic" families of northwestern Argentina are constituted by mestizo roots where the indigenous component is notoriously dominant, genetically, against the European. In the rest of the population, the aboriginal genetic proportion is even higher.

In the northeastern provinces, Misiones, Corrientes, northeastern Formosa, the miscegenation took place with the indigenous Guaraní population. The Creole inhabitants of these provinces are also strongly mestizo, not only from the biological point of view, but also culturally. It should be noted that in Corrientes, Misiones and Formosa, Guaraní is usually spoken along with Spanish, and that Paraguay, a country bordering these provinces, is a fully bilingual Spanish-Guaraní nation.

In the southwestern and central provinces, the Mapuche and Pampa miscegenation stands out. In Neuquén, La Pampa, Río Negro, San Luis and Southwest of Buenos Aires, Mapuches and Pampas populations and native states were conquered only in the 1870s and 1880s. 

Although originally, most of the communities were displaced to land  of low productivity, in the following years a migratory flow generated towards the towns and cities constituting at the present time an important contribution to the ethnic composition of the urban population

These influences were also important in Mendoza, San Juan and in the central provinces (Córdoba and Santa Fe). 

Even in the most europeanized areas, such as the north of Buenos Aires and Entre Ríos, the native ethnic contribution, although in minority, is also clearly visible.

The metropolitan region of Buenos Aires, and to a lesser extent the conurbated areas of Rosario and Córdoba, were focal points for many immigrants at the end of the 19th century, and the first half of the 20th century. This was due to internal migration, which was intensified due to the processes of industrialization and urbanization promoted during the government of Juan Domingo Perón and, to a certain extent, by the governments that succeeded it These cities also received an important contingent from other areas of the country.

For that reason, Buenos Aires, as well as Rosario and Córdoba, was enriched by a relatively high percentage of mestizo population. They arrived in the cities with their traditional baggage on their shoulders, greatly modifying the cultures of these urban centers.

These mestizos of local origin were added during the last decades with those from neighboring countries: Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru and Chile. The demographic contribution of immigrants from these Latin American countries was very important. 

The Argentines of those origins represent an important percentage of the total population, surely more than 10% at the national level, reaching majority proportions in certain bordering provinces (Chileans in the south, Bolivians in the northwest, Paraguayans in the northeast).

Although it is possible to establish as certain general facts, it is difficult to determine the precise percentage of miscegenation of contemporary Argentina, and even more, to define precisely how it is distributed throughout the country.

In any case, it can be stated with sufficient certainty that the mestizos of European and Native American descent represent the majority of the population of the Republic.

First Nations of the Chaco: the qom (Tobas) people

The Qom, also called Toba, constitute the main surviving ethnic group after the multinational invasion that ended with the independence of the Chaco nations.

They are related to the Mbayá (also called Kadijeu) of Mato Grosso, the Mocoví of the north of Santa Fe and the south of the province of Chaco, the Pilagá of the northwest of the Chaco, the Abipón and the Payaguá (these last two are now disappeared).

The ethnic Mbayámocoví-qom ethnic complex traditionally occupied the western shore of the Paraná-Paraguay hydrographic axis, had a relatively unfriendly relationship with the Guaraní peoples of the east and tenaciously opposed Spanish and Creole colonization from Paraguay and Buenos Aires.

They managed to maintain their independence until the end of the 19th century, in particular until the Argentine military offensive of 1884, which determined their subordination to the power of the central government of that country.

Originally, the Toba were divided into four subgroups with dialectal differences: the iolojpí (peoples of the "water dad"), the kolpi (people the mountain) and the eadgaipí (fire people in the houses) and the diapicoche (whose meaning it is unknown). When the Argentine government unleashed the war the Toba were organized under the leadership of Meguexogochi.

Its defeat implied that many qom had to take refuge in the sands of Santiago del Estero and in other remote lands

Labor in the "obrajes"

After the conquest of the Chaco by the Argentine government, an agricultural and forestry colonization process was established in which the qom were used as labor for the plantations and obrajes.

To resist forced acculturation they developed multiple strategies, one of which was "Christianized" in the Valdense cult. Indeed, there is a strong Qom-Waldensian church, in which the Qom have managed to maintain many of their ceremonial practices without further interference from governmental or religious authorities.

Some people maintain a traditional economy by planting, hunting and fishing, and selling their products in local markets. Others are forced to migrate camping along roadsides or along riverbanks.

Many communities have no land and others survive with enormous difficulties in areas of low productivity.

Due to this, the qom of Argentina are in a situation of extreme poverty, which has forced many of them to emigrate to the cities, where important colonies are located in the "villas" of Buenos Aires, Rosario, Santa Fe, Resistance, Formosa and Salta. The total population of the qom is about 130,000 people. Some tens of thousands still inhabit their old territories, stripped of their land and in a situation of extreme poverty. Perhaps more than 60,000 have been forced to migrate to the cities, where they locate important colonies in the "villas" of Buenos Aires, Rosario, Santa Fe, Resistencia, Formosa and Salta.

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.

The Yagans: a recent genocide
Danilo Anton

The elimination of one of the most resilient cultures of America due to the Chilean-Argentine conquest and colonization of their territories.

The yagans or yamanes constituted one of the native peoples of America that lived in one of the most hostile environments of the continent where they were able to develop effective strategies that allowed them to effectively adapt.
They lived south of Tierra del Fuego, from the northern bank of the Beagle Channel to Cape Horn and Isla de los Estados.
It is a cold climate zone, with monthly temperatures varying between -2 and 9 degrees on average, with abundant precipitation in the form of rain or snow and frequent strong winds from the west. The water that can be more or less salty depending on the season, remaining cold all year round oscillating between 2 and 8 degrees above zero.

While weather conditions are uncomfortable, the presence of cold, oxygen-rich waters with abundant fish, invertebrates, mammals and seabirds provide an important source of food. In addition, on the protected slopes of the adjacent mountains there are trees of various species also adapted to the cold and windy character of the local climate. These are trees (generally of the genus Nothofagus), with capacity to live in a thin layer of soil, cold temperatures all year and very strong winds.
The yagans used this environment skillfully developing a fishing and harpoon culture that allowed them to feed themselves and obtain other raw materials to manufacture their clothing, tools and other needs for their subsistence. The yagans lived in houses built with structures of tree branches covered by leathers. Their clothes were made with leathers of sea lions or locally, of guanacos. The canoes were constructed with barks of trees and they covered the bottom with a layer of sand and pebbles where they kept a permanent fire.

The canoes were conducted by the women from behind and men did the harpooning (dolphins and whales) from the bow of the boat. When they harpooned a prey women dived into the water to pick them up.
According to the references of the first chroniclers the population of the yagans was originally of about 3,000 to 5,000 individuals.
The Chilean and Argentinean colonization of Yagan territory occurred late in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The impact of the arrival of the advanced creoles was lethal. Newcomers seized land and coastal areas, displacing, enslaving, and even killing those who resisted. 

The Chilean advance was brutal, a colonizing landowner, José Menéndez, created a kind of lordship in the South based on the exploitation of sheep wool and other local products not hesitating to execute the indigenous families as if they were hunting prey. The arrival of the Argentina colonists was similar. The yaganes were quickly eliminated in order to seize their lands, establish estates, and affirm the creole sovereignty of the Buenos Aires authorities. The yagans could not prevent that their places of habitation, fishinng and hunting were occupied by the newcomers. Massacres, diseases and acculturation eliminated without pause the vulnerable Yagan communities.

As it is pointed out, at present there is only one woman Yagan pure survivor. Her name is Cristina Calderón, and she lives in the  Villa Ukika in the vicinity of Puerto Williams (Navarino Island) on the southern shore of the Beagle Channel.
The Chilean-Argentine genocide of one of the most astonishing and resilient cultures in the Americas is almost over. The southern sovereignties of Argentina and Chile are finally consolidated.
There will be the habitual mention to be made of these ancient inhabitants in the tourist circuits and, perhaps, the sale of handicrafts, more or less related to the old cultures, that will be no more than a pale caricature of the intrepid, strenuous and old indomitable Nation of the yaganes at the southern tip of the American continent.
Danilo Antón