The resurgence of the Selk'nam. Dynamics of ethnoheterogenesis, ethnicity, and legal recognition in the Tierra del Fuego

Abstract

This article has two central objectives, on the one hand, to analyze the process by which the Selk'nam population was declared extinct on the island of Tierra del Fuego, putting special emphasis on the process of colonization and the consequences this brought, especially the process of assimilation and ethnocide. Subsequently, a theoretical review is made of the concepts of ethnicity and ethnogenesis as processes through which the resurgence of groups of individuals who currently recognize themselves as members of the indigenous Selk'nam group can be explained. In this sense, the concept of Ethnoheterogenesis is linked as a model through which the current processes of self-recognition of individuals with ethnic groups can be explained. To conclude the article focuses the discussion on recognizing those cultural aspects present today, the action of ethnic groups, and the need for legal and symbolic recognition of the current existence of Selk'nam ethnic groups.