Aché Indians

1968 - 1978

During this time, the four ethnically and linguistically diverse, peaceful, nomadic Indian tribes of hunter-gatherers in Paraguay were systematically pacified. These forest dwellers were killed, raided, abused, raped, forcibly removed, relocated and sold from the early 60s to 1976. The cause for this genocide was essentially an economic one, and involved to the desire to expand territorially. The Aché Indians were forcibly removed from their ancestral homeland so that Western international investors could move in and develop the lands that once belonged to the Aché.

The attempted extermination of the Aché Indians was additionally caused by the contraction of Western diseases, such as respiratory illnesses, which their immune systems could not fight. The initially large Aché Indian population has dwindled down to six communities comprising of approximately 170 families.