Via Starwars.com:
Tusken Raiders are one of the most identifiable character groups in Star Wars. Threatening. Mysterious. Iconic. In this post, StarWars.com looks at everything from their origins to known, individual Sand People.
The Tuskens and the Skywalkers…
The name Tuskens goes back to the second draft of Star Wars from January 1975, which mentions them as soldiers of the Empire. The third draft (August 1975) already names the Tusken Raiders as desert dwellers who ride on banthas and who attack Luke. The Sand People, as they are also called, were designed by Ralph McQuarrie, who envisioned them as mutated humanoids. Their goggles, mouthpiece, and filter were an evidence of their mutations, according to McQuarrie. The unique sound of the Sand People, derived by Ben Burtt from barking mules, certainly added to the popularity and the mystery of the species.
There is more about the memorable Sand People ambush in A New Hope than meets the eye. In the hero’s journey, the Sand People are threshold guardians that Luke must face in order to break free from his life as a farm boy on Tatooine. Despite the presence of his benign guardians, uncle Owen and aunt Beru, Luke still has to confront the dangers that are lurking in the wilderness, far away from his familiar surroundings. The Sand People are an obstacle that Luke cannot pass unaided, but with the help of Ben Kenobi, Luke is able to take another step in his journey.
The Tusken Raiders just made one appearance in the original trilogy, but they had a more prominent role to play in the prequels. In The Phantom Menace, we see them shooting at Podracers, and that might even explain why they wanted to shoot down Luke’s landspeeder in Episode IV. In Attack of the Clones, a Tusken Raider tribe plays an important role in Anakin Skywalker’s turn to the dark side. Even in Revenge of the Sith, there is an echo of their existence when you hear a soft wail, as Palpatine reminds Anakin aboard the Invisible Hand of what happened to his mother in the Sand People camp.
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