In 1673, he sent a large punitive expedition against the Mocoví and other tribes of the Gran Chaco, who had been raiding the province.
Native Argentines on the other hand have significant populations in the country's North-West (Quechua, Diaguita, Kolla, Aymara); in the North-East (Guaraní, Mocoví, Toba, Wichí); and in the Patagonia or South (Mapuche, Tehuelche).
Before the arrival of the conquistadores in the 16th Century the area was populated by ethnic Sanavirónes and Mocovíes.