First, I would like to copy some information which I found at Wikipedia and it’s really useful to understand different indigenous groups who inhabited in Argentina before the Spanish colonization and now a days how many descendant are living in there.
“Argentina's indigenous population in 2005 was about 600,329 (1.6% of total population); this figure includes 457,363 people who self-identified as belonging to an indigenous ethnic group, and the remaining 142,966 who recognized themselves as first-generation descendants of an Amerindian people.[10] The ten most populous indigenous peoples are the Mapuche (113,680 people), the Kolla (70,505), the Toba (69,452), the Guaraní (68,454), the Wichi (40,036), the Diaguita-Calchaquí (31,753), the Mocoví (15,837), the Huarpe (14,633), the Comechingón (10,863) and the Tehuelche (10,590). Minor but important peoples are the Quechua (6,739), the Charrúa (4,511), the Pilagá (4,465), the Chané (4,376), and the Chorote (2,613). The Selknam (Ona) people are now virtually extinct in its pure form. The languages of the Diaguita, Tehuelche, and Selknam nations are now extinct or virtually extinct: the Cacán language (spoken by Diaguitas) in the 18th century, the Selknam language in the 20th century; whereas one Tehuelche language (Southern Tehuelche) is still spoken by a small handful of elderly people.” Wikipedia.
As same as American natives, Argentina’s government tried to kill all indigenous. First, Spanish’s colonists force them to work as slaves but after that, when Spanish people got the gold/silver of the country, knowledge of boundaries lines and land, the started to push them out of the main city (Buenos Aires).
Then, after Argentina’s revolution, around 1870’s, President Julio A. Roca launched the worst and genocide ward that called “Campaña del Desierto” (Desert Campaign).
Finally, after they have killed all indigenous, the government distributed the land with the soldiers that they have been fighting. Maybe, this is one of the differences with the American history.
If I have to highlight something else… maybe Argentina’s government didn’t have the American Film Industry to try to explain the history…;)
Very interesting! The Natives in your country do sound like they have suffered many of the same abuses as in the United States. I had a couple of questions after I read your post! I read in the Wikipedia quote that there are people who identify as "first-generation descendants" of Amerindians. Do you think that means that they are part Indian and part something else (European, perhaps)? Also, do you think that Amerindians have similar rules for being allowed to join/be a part of a tribe?
ReplyDelete-Christina