The Yagan people (also called Yámana) are original canoe nomads and marine collectors whose ancestors inhabited the channels south and west of Chilean Fireland. The Word Yagan comes from the Word Yahga-shaga which is the name these people gave to the Murray Channel. It was the place, that and where these people reunited and it was adopted by the protestant missioners from England when they constructed a Mission. The Yagan people arrived at this place about 6.000 years ago. The first contact with the White man was probably in the year 1830 with the crew of Captain Fitzroy, who estimated a population of 3.000 indigenous people.

The contact with Europeans brought various deadly diseases and in the second part of the 19th century hundreds of pneumonia, tuberculosis and measles. In the beginning of the 20th century there where less tan 200 members of the Yagan society left. In these times there estate was occupied by foreigners, mainly colonists from Croatia.

At the moment there do still survive 74 members of the Yagan society. The majority of them lives in Puerto Williams and the small village of Ukika. Some of them also moved to Punta Arenas and Puerto Eden. The language of the Yagan is most southern one in the world and it appears to be in the process of extinction. In Ukika lives Cristina Calderón, who is the last speaker of this language. In any case do other members of the Yagan society show interest to learn her language in order to preserve her culture.