Chiquitano people

Chiquitano people
Chiquitano
Regions with significant populations
 Bolivia 181,894 (2001)
Santa Cruz: 175,515
Cochabamba: 1,816
La Paz: 1,533;
Beni: 1,497
other: 1,533
[1]
 Brazil 2,000 (2000) [2]
Languages

Chiquitano language

The Chiquitano are a native ethnic group living primarily in the Chiquitanía tropical savanna of Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia, with a small number also living in Beni Department and in Brazil. In the 2001 census, self-identified Chiquitanos made up 3.6% of the total Bolivian population or 181,894 people, the largest number of any lowland ethnic group.[3] A relatively small proportion of Bolivian Chiquitanos speak the Chiquitano language, which is a linguistic isolate; 93.9% reported to the census that they neither speak the language nor learned it as children.[4] The Chiquitano ethnicity emerged among socially and linguistically diverse populations required to speak a common language by the Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos.[5]

The name Chiquitos means "little ones" in Spanish. It was chosen by the Spanish Conquistadores, when they found the small doors of the Indian huts in the region.

In Bolivia, the Chiquitano people are represented by the organization Chiquitano Indigenous Organization (Organización Indígena Chiquitana, OICH). OICH is led by José Bailaba, who serves as Cacique Mayor.[6]

References

  1. ^ Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL) (2005). Los pueblos indígenas de Bolivia: diagnóstico sociodemográfico a partir del censo del 2001. Santiago, Chile: United Nations. pp. 46–47. 
  2. ^ Ethnologue:cax
  3. ^ Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL) (2005). Los pueblos indígenas de Bolivia: diagnóstico sociodemográfico a partir del censo del 2001. Santiago, Chile: United Nations. p. 46. 
  4. ^ Albó, Xavier; Carlos Romero (2009). Autonomías Indígenas en la realidad boliviana y su nueva Constitución. La Paz: Vicepresidencia del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia. p. 19. http://www.vicepresidencia.gob.bo/Portals/0/documentos/AUTONOMIAS_INDIGENAS1.pdf. 
  5. ^ Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL) (2005). Los pueblos indígenas de Bolivia: diagnóstico sociodemográfico a partir del censo del 2001. Santiago, Chile: United Nations. p. 39. 
  6. ^ "Indígenas chiquitanos y guaraníes se sumarán a la marcha indígena del 15 de agosto.". Agencia Intercultural de Noticias Indígenas. 2011-08-03. http://www.aininoticias.org/2011/08/indigenas-chiquitanos-y-guaranies-se-sumaran-a-la-marcha-indigena-del-15-de-agosto/. Retrieved 2011-08-04. 

External links