Foundation
El Pueblo Kawésqar
It is one of the eleven indigenous peoples recognised in Chile since 1993 by Indigenous Law 19,253, and in the last 30 years has been organised into 18 indigenous communities living in the Magallanes region, in the extreme south of Chile and the American continent, in what is now known as Patagonia.
Pasado, presente y futuro
Chilean Patagonia inhabited by sea nomads.
The territory of the Kawésqar extends over the western part of the southern tip of the continent, from the Taitao Peninsula in the north to the Brecknock Peninsula in the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in the south, where it meets the territory of the Usi Yagan.
Their uninterrupted presence for more than 7,000 years, sailing in the deepest corners of this region, transformed and civilised by the Chilean state, transformed into the province and current region of Magallanes (1929), as in the south of the Aysén region, roots them in this land with a meaning little understood by those who do not belong to this culture and the indigenous family groups.
Today, the Kawésqar are a population of more than 500 inhabitants, organised in family groups and recognised as indigenous communities (Law 19.253). Most of them live in the territory and are concentrated in populated centres such as Puerto Edén, Puerto Natales, Punta Arenas, Porvenir and Puerto Williams. There are 18 indigenous communities that make up the Kawésqar people.
