The word “ Mapuche” means “people of the earth”. The Mapuche’s culture, customs, religion, social organization and Cosmo vision are based on belonging to the land.

Today, there are approximately one million Mapuche people living in Chile. In a country of 11 million people, they represent nearly 10% of the population. It is estimated that about 350,000 Mapuche people live in reservations in the 8th and 9th Regions and another 400,000 Mapuche people live in the capital, Santiago, and other urban centres.

During the colonial period, the Mapuche people defiantly fought for their identity and their right to the land. The Spanish colonists were never able to penetrate any further south than the Bio-Bio River, which became the northern boundary of the Mapuche territory.

Toward the end of the 19th century, the Mapuche territory was occupied by the Chilean State and Reserves or “ Reducciones” were established. The reserve lands were dispersed and of poor quality.

Over the years, the Mapuche people have had to be constantly on guard against attempts to confiscate their land. However, through various means, they have gradually lost their land base so that today many possess less than 2 hectares of land. The living conditions in the rural areas are very harsh. Hunger, infant mortality, sickness, cold, inadequate housing and clothing are the daily lot of the Mapuche people today.

Attempts are currently being made by the multinational forestry industry to establish Pine and Eucalyptus plantations in Mapuche territory. During the last two decades the situation has resulted in many conflicts which have led to the intervention of the police, and the arrest, detention and imprisonment of many leaders of Mapuche organizations.

The Mapuche people of Chile, the last indigenous people of the Americas to be conquered, are tired of eking out a living on small plots of land while the environment around them are deteriorates. Their territory today is only about 4% of their ancestral lands, which once occupied a quarter of Chile.

The south of Chile, the provinces of Bio-Bio, Malleco, Arauco, Cautin and Valdivia, are exploding with Mapuche protest. The multinational timber companies have acquired most of the ancestral land with the consent of the present Government of Chile.

BROTHER ARMANDO MARILEO IS GOING TO TALK ABOUT
THE STRUGGLE FOR LAND, SELF-DETERMINATION, TERRITORY, AND CONSTITUTIONAL RECOGNITION.
HE IS ALSO GOING TO TALK ABOUT THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE MAPUCHE NATION, THEIR COSMO-VISION AND THE ANCESTRAL SCIENCE OF THE ABORIGINAL PEOPLE OF CHILE.
 
 

CALENDAR OF ARMANDO MARILEO TOUR IN CANADA

SIKSIKA NATION              FROM  APRIL  16th        TO  APRIL  20th

EDMONTON:                      FROM  APRIL  22nd       TO APRIL 28th

TORONTO:                          FROM APRIL   29th        TO  MAY 5th

CALGARY:                            FROM   MAY    6th         TO MAY 12

For more information about the mapuche people, please go to the web pages

• Ñuque Mapu
http://www.soc.uu.se/mapuche

• Mapuche Link
http://members.aol.com/mapulink/index.html
 

 In Calgary you can contact Victor Gavilan – vgavilan@shaw.ca
 In Edmonton you can Contact Dionisio Barrales – mbarrale@epsb.net