Indigenous peoples in Uruguay

Indigenous peoples in Uruguay or Native Uruguayans, are the peoples who have historically lived in the modern state of Uruguay. Because of colonial practices, disease and active exclusion, only a very small share of the population is aware of the country's indigenous history or has known indigenous ancestry.

Scholars disagree agree about the first settlers in what is now Uruguay, but there is evidence of human presence from 10,000 BCE. Indigenous Uruguayans disappeared in the 1830s and, with the exception of the Guaraní, little is known about these peoples and even less about their genetic characteristics. The Charrúa peoples were perhaps the best-known indigenous people of the Southern Cone in what was called the Banda Oriental. Other significant tribes were the Minuane, Yaro, Güenoa, Chaná, Bohán and Guaraní, and the Arachán. Languages once spoken in the area include Charrúa, Chaná, Güenoa, and Guaraní.

A 2005 genetic study showed 38% of Uruguayans had some indigenous ancestry. In the 2011 Census, 4.9% of the population reported having indigenous ancestry. A 2004 DNA study in the American Journal of Human Biology suggested that the Native American contribution to Uruguay's genetic composition may be far higher than is commonly assumed.