Patagones

the common name for South American Indians of three language families—the Jet, Puelche, and Chon—who inhabited the southern part of Argentina (the pampas and Patagonia). Most of the Patagones were exterminated by Argentinian colonizers in the 19th century.

Members of the Tehuelche tribe (of the Chon group), who lived south of the Chubut River, were the first to be called “Patagones.” The name was given to the tribe by Magellan’s expedition in the 16th century and means “big feet.”