Territory as a Resource to Revalorize the Mapuche Cultural Landscape. Commune of Arauco, Bío-Bío Region, Chile.

Abstract

The Mapuche people have suffered sustained encroachment throughout history. The misappropriation of their ancestral lands and the wholesale expansion of forest plantations have caused multiple issues, resulting in their disconnection from their natural lands and the further downgrading of their identity. There is still a strong legacy embedded in their territory, however, resulting from the buildup and overlapping of historical, social and cultural events, all crucial for Mapuche communities. Acknowledging the cultural arrangements entrenched in that territory will be critical for the revalorization of the Mapuche cultural landscape. Based on a specific case study –the Commune of Arauco– this work attempts to define several strategies and actions aimed at protecting, recovering and revalorizing the elements that make up the Mapuche cultural landscape in order to assert and reinforce their usurped identity.