An engineered ecological collapse
For over 10,000 years, the Selk'nam people were the human apex predator of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego. A nomadic people, their society was structured around hunting the native guanaco (a relative of the llama), which provided their main source of food and leather. This ecological balance was abruptly shattered in the 1880s. The governments of Chile and Argentina saw the vast grasslands not as a functioning ecosystem, but as empty territory prime for economic exploitation. They issued massive land concessions to European settlers for large-scale sheep ranching, or estancias.
The arrival of hundreds of thousands of sheep had a catastrophic effect on the island's ecology. The dense herds of this invasive species displaced the native guanacos, decimating the Selk'nam's primary food source. Without a concept of private property, the Selk'nam viewed the plentiful sheep as a new type of game. The ranchers, however, considered it poaching. This conflict, born from a human-engineered ecological shift, justified a systematic campaign of extermination. The Patagonian rangelands had a low carrying capacity, often requiring one hectare per sheep, leading to rapid expansion and environmental degradation that further fueled the conflict.
The mechanics of genocide
The estancieros, or large ranch owners, implemented a bounty system to "clear" the land. They paid private militias and bounty hunters for every Selk'nam killed. To prove a kill, hunters were required to present a pair of the victim's ears; some ranchers later demanded the entire head. A higher price was often paid for the death of a woman. One of the most notorious hunters was a Romanian engineer named Julius Popper, who established a private army, minted his own coins from local gold, and photographed himself posing with his men and the bodies of their Selk'nam victims.
The violence was brutally effective. The Selk'nam population, estimated at 3,500 to 4,000 in the 1880s, plummeted. By 1919, only 279 were known to remain. By 1930, the number was just over 100. Besides the bounty killings, diseases like tuberculosis and smallpox were devastating. Survivors were forcibly relocated to Salesian missions on Dawson Island, where poor conditions, disease, and loss of their culture led to more deaths. For decades, the Selk'nam were officially considered extinct. Only on September 5, 2023, did the National Congress of Chile formally recognize the Selk'nam as one of the country's 11 original, living Indigenous peoples.