The indigenous Fuegian peoples of southern Patagonia, encountered by Charles Darwin during his 1830s voyage on the HMS Beagle, navigated an extreme environment of wet, windy conditions through remarkable cultural adaptations. Ethnographic accounts, including Darwin’s observations and those of sealing master Mr. Low, reveal a society shaped by scarcity, with practices such as cannibalism of elderly women during famine reflecting desperate survival strategies. This study examines Fuegian resilience, their maritime and foraging lifeways, and the cultural practices that sustained them in a harsh landscape, drawing parallels with Chono diving traditions to contextualize gender roles, while situating these accounts within the broader dynamics of colonial encounters.