Alberto Achacaz Walakial (1929? – 4 August 2008) was a Chilean citizen and one of the last full-blooded Kaweskars, who are also known as the Alacaluf, or Halakwulup. [1] The Kaweskar are an indigenous Native American people who were once found in coastal regions of Chilean Patagonia. There are estimated to be only approximately a dozen full-blooded Kaweskars still living following Achacaz's death in 2008. [1] However, there are no Kaweskar women of fertile age remaining, so the tribe appears to be headed for extinction. [1]
Achacaz lived in a modest home, which lacked a modern drainage system. [1] He had lived alone since his wife died in 1999. He earned a living by crafting small canoes out of sea lion skins and weaving traditional baskets. [1]
Achacaz had been hospitalized in Punta Arenas, Chile since late June 2008. [1] Achacaz had arrived at the hospital malnourished, dehydrated and weighing less than 130 pounds. [1] He was admitted to the intensive care unit of the Hospital Naval. [1] Additionally, Achacaz was found to be suffering from septic shock which affected his gall bladder and lungs. [1]
Alberto Achacaz Walakial died of blood poisoning at the hospital in Punta Arenas on 4 August 2008, according to reports by the local Chilean newspaper, La Prensa Austral. [1] Official Chilean government documents listed Achacaz's age at 79 years old. [1] However, some believed that Achacaz was closer to 90 years of age. [1]
The Kaweskars were known as the "Nomads of the Sea." They are also known as the Alacaluf. Traditionally, the Kaweskar lived aboard their canoes within the channels of southern Patagonia. [1] They were nomadic hunter-gatherers whose diet consisted of sea birds and seafood. [1] It is believed that their nomadic way of life may have stretched back 6,000 years. [1]
The Kaweskars did not establish semi-permanent settlements on dry land until the middle of the 20th century. [1] They settled in and around the hamlet of Villa Puerto Edén on Wellington Island. [1]
The Kaweskars are facing cultural extinction as a distinct group as their surviving, full-blooded members grow older. [1] Since the arrival of Europeans, Chile has lost five of its original fourteen indigenous tribes. [1]