Mapuche

The Mapuche (whose name means "people of the land") are the original inhabitants of Chile and Argentina. Fierce warriors, the Mapuche withstood invasion attempts by the Inca and early Spanish Conquistadors.

Under the Chilean government the Mapuche had vast areas of their land taken away from them. In a country where colonization has encouraged people to disown their indigenous ancestry, the Mapuche have been looked down upon and marginalized.

Under the Pinochet regime the Mapuche were especially singled out for brutal treatment with many of their leaders imprisoned, tortured and murdered. According to an I.W.I.G.I.A document in Oct 1973 the Chilean air force installed themselves in Mapuche communities close to Llaima in Southern Chile. They tortured entire communities allowing neither women nor children to escape. Some Mapuche were tied to flying helicopters in the presence of their families. In the months immediately following the coup according to Mapuche leaders 80% of their fellow prisoners in Temuco were Mapuche. The prison in Temuco was frequently visited by civilians from the fascist movement "Patrio y Libertdad" who took away certain Mapuche leaders who were never heard from again. Prime agricultural land belonging to Mapuche were given to Italian and German immigrants and non-Mapuche farmers while the Mapuche were pushed off onto less fertile marginal land. Often these non-Mapuche farmers would expand the boundaries of their farms further marginalizing the Mapuche. At the same time logging companies and those wishing to build giant hydroelectric projects destructive to the environment were given access to Mapuche land.

Traveling through Mapuche territory we were able to witness first hand the enormous devastation of the land by logging companies. Beautiful natural forests full of medicinal plants had been destroyed. Often we saw sites where the natural forests have been replaced by orderly rows of eucalyptus trees planted by logging companies so they can be logged more efficiently for higher yields of wood. These eucalyptus trees destroyed the natural ecological balance since they drew so much water from the earth making it harder for other vegetation to survive. So much water has been drained from the water table that in some places we saw what used to be large flowing rivers, were now reduced to thin trickles of water. Currently the Mapuche are putting up various forms of resistance in an effort to reclaim their land and fight back against logging companies. In some cases the Mapuche are taking direct action. They have gone into areas and forcibly reclaimed their land and logging companies have been deliberately sabotaged. Other Mapuches have held peaceful protest and talks with the government on these pressing issues. At the same time some Mapuches are setting up their agricultural co-operatives and working on projects like establishing a Mapuche radio station and constructing Mapuche cultural centers.

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The vast majority of photos of Mapuche people that are seen outside of Chile only show the Mapuche dressed in what is described as traditional regalia. The Mapuche women are typically shown wearing their trapelocha and trarilanca (chains of silver coins that are worn as necklaces or attached to kerchiefs worn around the forehead.) However the reality is that Mapuche women often do not wear these ornaments in their daily life. These types of images with their focus on presenting exotic images of Mapuche people provide a very limited one-dimensional view of Mapuche people.

All over the world as indigenous people are being pushed to look a certain way in order to be considered "authentic" as indigenous people. This reality was confirmed by the experiences of a Mapuche friend of ours who was present at the filming of a European documentary made in support of the Mapuche struggles against the Bio Bio hydroelectric project. The European producers of the documentary pressured our friend to wear a Mapuche headband so he would look more "Mapuche!" and more exotic to European viewers. The photos in this book show a non-exotised and what we describe as an "unadorned" perspective of Mapuche people. It is vital not just to focus on the appearance of the Mapuche people but also to make an effort to understand the other dimensions of their life. The Mapuche you see in the photos are all actively involved in efforts to maintain their traditional culture but at the same time they are also radio technicians, construction workers and medical students. This is a side of Mapuche people that hasn't been respected and presented because of an obsession to present the Mapuches as exotic, indigenous people.