Argentine Indigens

[from the 07/12/10 Salta (newspaper), my translation]

According to the latest estimates of the Secretariat for Indigenous Peoples, 100,000 indigens of nine ethnicities live in Salta. The estimate corresponds to the latest statistics from the 2001 national census and will be updated in October, according to the national government.

Of the 100,000 indigens, the most numerous ethnicities are the Kolla, the Guaraní, and the Wichis. The Kollas number around 40,000, while the other two ethnicities are nearly equal, each having between 20,- and 21,000 individuals.

They are distributed in the Iruya, Santa Victoria, Orán, and Andes districts. Currently, at least two lawsuits seek to recognize two alleged new ethnicities, the Lules and Diaguitas, lawsuits that should be resolved "promptly, though the ethnicities may well be recognized as part of the extensive Kolla culture." Also, it is remarkable that this culture has a large percentage of individuals who have studied at the tertiary and university levels, which also makes them strongest.

The Wichi are located mostly in the Orán and San Martín regions, with some exceptions settled in El Metán, El Galpón, and General Pizarro. Note that they define themselves as hunters and gatherers, accustomed, like their ancestors, to living in forests rich in honey and wild animals they could easily hunt, and often, to settling on the banks of rivers that have supplied fish sufficient for their diet.

Today, the picture has changed dramatically, and Wichis are being forced to become laborers, because over the past 20 years thousands of acres became private property and have been cleared and cultivated.

Farmers

The Guaraní, meanwhile, have always been excellent farmers. It is well known that thousands of Guaraní were traditionally employed by the district’s sugar cane mills, due to the good working conditions. These indigens are settled in Orán and San Martín.

The other ethnic groups have small populations. The Chorotes, for example, have a relatively important nucleus in the northern part of the Rivadavia region, on the shores of the Pilcomayo. Chanés and Chulupíes have at present very few individuals, settled mostly in Aguaray and areas near Tartagal. And the same applies to ethnic groups like the Toba, for example, with a few hundred members in the Rivadavia region.