The Chatino people live mainly in southern Oaxaca, especially in areas near the Pacific coast and mountains. Chatino languages are part of Oaxaca’s broad Indigenous language landscape and vary by community.

For someone studying Mexico, the Chatino help illustrate how geography shapes Indigenous life: coastal, mountain, and rural regions can preserve distinct languages and local identities. They are also another reason Oaxaca is so important for understanding the diversity of Indigenous Mexico.