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The Tehuelche of Argentina

The Tehuelche of Argentina, numbering approximately 30,000 people, are Engaged yet Unreached. They are a nomadic hunting people of eastern Patagonia, also called Aonikenk, who adopted the Mapuche language and customs during the 16th-19th century Araucanization of the region before Argentina's 1870s Conquest of the Desert devastated their population. They mostly adhere to Ethnoreligion and Mapudungun is their primary language.

Photo by Google. (2026). Image generated by Gemini 2.5 Flash: Tehuelche

Fast Facts:

Affinity Group: Latin American and Caribbean Peoples
Country: Argentina
People Cluster: South American Indigenous
Primary Language(s): Mapudungun (arn)
Primary Religion(s): Ethnoreligion
Population: 30,000
Strategic Progress Index (SPI): Engaged yet Unreached
Global Status of Evangelical Christianity (GSEC): Less than 2% Evangelical, No Recent CP Activity
People Group ID: PG017370
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Pray for the Tehuelche of Argentina

Join others around the world in praying for the lost to be saved, the gospel to advance, the global Church to grow, and for laborers to be sent out and sustained in the harvest.

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Dig Deeper (Religion):

Primary Religion: Ethnoreligion
Religious Affiliation: Ethnoreligion

—
%
Ethnoreligion Adherents

Dig Deeper (Language):

Primary Language: Mapudungun
Language Family: Araucanian

100%
%
Mapudungun Speakers

Media Resources in Mapudungun:

Films:
TitleLink
JESUSView Film

1 film

Provided by the Jesus Film Project

View all resources

Bible Resources in Mapudungun:

Bible Name (Translation)VideoAudioText
Chilean Bible Society✓

1 entry

Provided by Faith Comes by Hearing

Or check out the Mapudungun bible at Bible.com

Linked from YouVersion

View all resources

SPI: Unreached yet Engaged

The Tehuelche are Engaged yet Unreached, which means there are less than 2% evangelical Christian populations but there are sustained efforts at establishing self-sustaining churches consistent with evangelical faith and practice.

Next steps for the Tehuelche:
Continue prayer and fasting for this group
Continue gospel seed sowing and church planting among this group
Begin training up local leaders to lead and develop strategies to reach their own people

Pray specifically for the Tehuelche of Argentina

These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self- made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
readColossians 2:23

Pray for those without Christ, that they will see the emptiness of human traditions and turn to the truth and grace found in Jesus.

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
readLamentations 3:23-23

Pray that they will have hope in the Lord, knowing that His compassions never fails and that His mercies are new every morning.

He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.
readPsalm 62:2

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ, they will be in awe of Jesus, remembering that He is their rock, their fortress, and their salvation.

You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.
read2 Corinthians 1:11

Pray that many people will join in praying for the spread of the gospel here, and that God will answer these prayers by drawing more people to Himself.

Tehuelche Across Countries (ROP3 - 109920) reported in the following countries:

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group ID ▼NameCountryPopulationStrategic Progress IndexLanguageReligion
TehuelchePG017370TehuelcheArgentina30,000Engaged yet UnreachedMapudungunEthnoreligion

To download a comprehensive people group list in spreadsheet form, visit our Research Data page.

Peoplegroups.org relies on updates from the field and other organizations for much of our data, so if you have any updates, please contact us. We use various international naming standards. For a list of these standards and fields, visit our Data Standards section.

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