Who Are the Selk'nam?
The Selk'nam (also called Ona) were the indigenous people of the main island of Tierra del Fuego at the southernmost tip of South America. They were among the world's southernmost terrestrial hunter-gatherers, inhabiting the windswept grasslands and forests of "the land of fire" for over 10,000 years. The Selk'nam were nearly exterminated during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in one of history's most complete genocides—their population collapsed from perhaps 4,000 to near zero within decades as sheep ranchers and gold seekers invaded their homeland. Today, some individuals of Selk'nam descent work to preserve and revitalize their heritage, though the language and traditional culture have largely been lost.
Life at the End of the World
The Selk'nam adapted to one of Earth's harshest habitats: the cold, windswept grasslands of Tierra del Fuego, where temperatures rarely exceed 10°C even in summer and strong winds blow constantly. Unlike their canoe-using neighbors the Yámana, the Selk'nam were primarily terrestrial, hunting the guanaco (wild relative of the llama) that grazed the Fuegian plains. Guanaco provided nearly everything: meat, hides for clothing and shelter, sinew for bowstrings. The Selk'nam also hunted birds, gathered shellfish along the coast, and collected plant foods. Groups were nomadic, following guanaco herds across defined territorial ranges. The name "Tierra del Fuego" (Land of Fire) derives from the many fires these peoples kept burning for warmth in the cold climate.
Genocide
The arrival of sheep ranchers in the 1880s initiated the destruction of the Selk'nam. Ranchers viewed the Selk'nam as obstacles to sheep farming; the Indigenous people, whose territory was being invaded, sometimes killed sheep for food (seeing them as equivalent to guanaco). Ranchers responded with systematic extermination. "Hunting parties" killed Selk'nam men; women and children were captured and enslaved. Bounty hunters were paid per head; ears were presented as proof. Missionaries gathered survivors into missions where disease and disrupted lifeways took further toll. Within forty years, a population of thousands was reduced to handfuls of survivors. By 1930, the Selk'nam were considered "extinct" as a distinct people. The genocide was documented by photographs showing captives and executions—images now seen as evidence of crimes against humanity.
Legacy and Revival
Despite claims of extinction, people of Selk'nam descent survived. In recent decades, descendants in Chile and Argentina have organized to reclaim their heritage. The "Comunidad Selk'nam Chile" and similar organizations advocate for recognition, document oral histories, and work to revitalize cultural practices. The Selk'nam language is functionally extinct (the last fluent speaker died in 1974), but documentation by early ethnographers preserved vocabulary, myths, and ceremonial knowledge. The elaborate "Hain" initiation ceremony, documented through photographs and testimony, has become a symbol of Selk'nam identity. In 2020, the Chilean government formally recognized the Selk'nam as a living indigenous people rather than an extinct one. This recognition supports ongoing efforts to ensure that the Selk'nam story—both the richness of their culture and the horror of their genocide—is never forgotten.
References
- Gusinde, M. (1931-1939). Die Feuerland-Indianer (The Fireland Indians)
- Chapman, A. (1982). Drama and Power in a Hunting Society: The Selk'nam of Tierra del Fuego
- Bridges, E. L. (1948). Uttermost Part of the Earth