The Selk’nam
November 27, 2008
The Selk’nam also known as the Ona, lived in the Tierra del Fuego islands, in southern Chile and Argentina. They were one of the last aboriginal groups in South America to be reached by Westerners, in the late 19th century, when the Chilean and Argentine governments began efforts to explore and integrate Tierra del Fuego (literally, the “land of fire” based on early European explorers observing Selk’nam smoke from their bonfires).
The pictures are scanned postcards and the additional info mentions E. Lucas Bridges, the only European to live amongst the Ona and learn their language and customs before they became extinct.
