Kaweskar

The Kawésqar, also known as the Kaweskar, Alacaluf, Alacalufe or Halakwulup, are an Indigenous people who live in Chilean Patagonia, specifically in the Brunswick Peninsula, and Wellington, Santa Inés, and Desolación islands northwest of the Strait of Magellan and south of the Gulf of Penas. Their traditional language is known as Kawésqar, a word that means “person” or “human being”; it is endangered as few native speakers survive.

In the last century, their population was reduced by massacres and death from colonial diseases. Furthermore, their traditional way of life underwent a major transformation after contact firstly with European sailors and later with Chileans. In the 21st century, most of the Kawésqar live in the village of Puerto Edén and in the cities of Puerto Natales and Punta Arenas.