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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

For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another.
readIsaiah 48:11

Pray that those who have been living for their own glory will turn to the One who is worthy of all praise and find their true identity in Him.

Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth!
readPsalm 96:9

Pray that many who do not yet know Jesus will come to know Him and worship Him in the splendor of His holiness.

"And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you"...And the King will answer them, "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me."
readMatthew 25:38-40

Pray that as people place their faith in Christ and serve others in faithfulness to Him, they will know that by serving others, they are serving Jesus, who is present with them.

Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, who stand by night in the house of the LORD!
readPsalm 134:1

Pray that God will raise up believers among them who are in awe of Him and that, in service to Him, they will share the gospel with others so that they too may bless the Lord!

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

Strategic Progress Index
All

1 people group

PhotoPeople Group IDNameCountry ▼PopulationStrategic 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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