Inacayal (1835-1888) was a

cacique A ''cacique'' (Latin American ; ; feminine form: ''cacica'') was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, the indigenous inhabitants at European contact of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. The term is a Spa ...

(chief) of the

Tehuelche people The Tehuelche people, also called the Aónikenk, are an indigenous people from eastern Patagonia in South America. In the 18th and 19th centuries the Tehuelche were influenced by Mapuche people, and many adopted a horseriding lifestyle. Once a ...

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and gl ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

who led a resistance against government. They were hunter-gatherers who had a

nomad A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

ic society, and had long been independent of the Argentine government established in coastal areas. He was one of the last indigenous rulers to resist the Argentine

Conquest of the Desert The Conquest of the Desert ( es, Conquista del desierto) was an Argentine military campaign directed mainly by General Julio Argentino Roca in the 1870s with the intention of establishing dominance over the Patagonian Desert, inhabited primari ...

in the late 19th century and its resultant campaigns. He did not surrender until 1884. His hospitality to

Francisco Moreno Francisco Pascasio Moreno (May 31, 1852 – November 22, 1919) was a prominent explorer and academic in Argentina, where he is usually referred to as ''Perito'' Moreno (''perito'' means "specialist, expert"). Perito Moreno has been credited as on ...

during the explorer's 1880 expedition to Patagonia was recalled after his surrender, which was covered by the press. Moreno argued with the government on his behalf to spare Inacayal time in military prison. In exchange, Moreno studied him for anthropology. Along with others in his clan, Inacayal was studied for his resemblance to "prehistoric man." After his death in 1888, anthropologists displayed the indigenous chief's brain and skeleton as an exhibit in the anthropological museum in Buenos Aires. His remains were finally returned to his people in 1994 for reinterment in the Comunidad Tehuelche Mapuche of

Chubut Province Chubut ( es, Provincia del Chubut, ; cy, Talaith Chubut) is a province in southern Argentina, situated between the 42nd parallel south (the border with Río Negro Province), the 46th parallel south (bordering Santa Cruz Province), the Andes ra ...

.Myriam Angueira - Guillermo Glass, directors, ''INACAYAL: La Negación de Nuestra Identidad'' (trailer), Vimeo, accessed 14 October 2013
/ref> A fossil species of

damselfly Damselflies are flying insects of the suborder Zygoptera in the order Odonata. They are similar to dragonflies, which constitute the other odonatan suborder, Anisoptera, but are smaller and have slimmer bodies. Most species fold the wings along ...

found in

Nahuel Huapi National Park Nahuel Huapi National Park () is the oldest national park in Argentina, established in 1934. It surrounds Nahuel Huapi Lake in the foothills of the Patagonian Andes. The largest of the national parks in the region, it has an area of , or nearly ...

, Argentina was named after him in 2015, ''Inacayalestes aikunhuapi'' Petrulevičius 2015.

References

Indigenous leaders of the Americas Argentine people of indigenous peoples descent 1835 births 1888 deaths {{Argentina-bio-stub