Ranquel

The Ranquel or Rankülche are an indigenous tribe from the northern part of La Pampa Province, Argentina, in South America.

[2] Between 1775-1790 a group of Pehuenche advanced from the side of the Andes mountains east to the territory they called Mamül Mapu (mamül: kindling, woods; mapu: land, territory) as it was covered by dense woods of Prosopis caldenia, Prosopis nigra, and Geoffroea decorticans.

They were hunters, nomads and during a good part of the 19th century they had an alliance with the Tehuelche people, with whom they traveled east into the western part of today's Buenos Aires Province and southern end of Córdoba Province, and also to Mendoza, San Luis and Santa Fe.

They allied themselves with the forces of Felipe Varela during the rebellion against the Paraguayan War and the Central Government in Buenos Aires.

On 14 August 2007 the government of San Luis province returned 2,500 ha (6,178 acres) to the Ranquel people, including two small lakes, about 124 km (77 mi) south of the town of Fraga.