the arawak were a group of people who lived in the northern part of south america, and the carribean. after the colonization of south america, they became extinct, within a period of about a century, to a century and a half. today, only very few people who call themselves arawak remain. there's also a group of languages called the arawakian languages, which show what influence these people probably once had. today, there are about 2000 speakers left, 1500 in guyana, and 700 in suriname.