The Enxet are an

indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

of about 17,000 living in the

Gran Chaco The Gran Chaco or Dry Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semiarid lowland natural region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, western Paraguay, northern Argentina, and a portion of the Brazilian states of Mato ...

region of western

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

. Originally hunter-gatherers, many are now forced to supplement their livelihood as laborers on the cattle ranches that have encroached upon their dwindling natural forest habitat. Nevertheless, the Enxet are still engaged in an ongoing conflict with the government and ranchers, who want to destroy what remains of the forest to open the land for massive settlement. Today, only a handful of Enxet are still able to maintain their traditional way of life, while the majority live in small settlements sponsored by various

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

organizations. The Enxet and

Enlhet Enlhet (Eenlhit), or Northern Lengua, is a language of the Paraguayan Chaco, spoken by the northern Enxet people. It is also known as ''Vowak'' and ''Powok''. In Filadelfia Filadelfia () is the capital of Boquerón Department in the Gran ...

languages are still vigorous.

References

Ethnic groups in Paraguay Indigenous peoples of the Gran Chaco Indigenous peoples in Paraguay {{Paraguay-stub