Alacalufe people

The people of the Kawesqar (also Kaweskar or Kawashkar written, foreign name: Alakaluf, Halakwulup ) is one of the four ethnic groups that settled until the early 20th century to Tierra del Fuego. Like the other natives of Tierra del Fuego, they were there already almost completely eradicated in the course of colonization by white settlers early 20th century.

The Kawesqar settled as sea nomads of the Brecknock Peninsula northward into the water passages on the west coast of Patagonia. Originally submitted their settlement area to the vicinity of Puerto Montt. Individual families moved in large bark canoes from a storage bin to another, in search of sea lions, fish or penguins.

Of the built near the coast huts wooden scaffolds were continued pulling left and served so often descendant -off families as accommodation.

The Kawesqar were compared to the other natives of the west coast of Tierra del Fuego and Patagonia relatively early in contact with the whites who invaded as trappers and whalers in their territories.

Like the other natives of Tierra del Fuego, the Kawesquar were almost completely wiped out by white settlers during the colonization; today survive only a few ethnic Kawesqar the associated people ( 1990, about 50 people) in Puerto Edén in southern Chile.