Through travelling light projection, Corporation Traitraico and Delight Lab artists help highlight the depossession history of the Selk’nam people and the fight for their recognition and repair.
Translated from Spanish – Article from the El Mostrador newspaper (Chile)
A light art piece travelled through the Chilean South Patagonia to shine light on the recognition and repair of the Selk’nam people.
The Selk’nam people has been indigenous to Patagonia for thousands of years. During colonization, they suffered persecution, murder, rape and hostage to be shown in European human zoos. The Church banished them and forced them to abandon their culture; and the Chilean State did not recognize them as subjects to rights and later even considered the culture as extinct.
Thanks to two decades of fight, the Chilean Congress finally approved, in September 2023, bill 19.253 for the State to recognize the Selk’nam as an Indigenous people and its culture as living, adding them to the list of other ethnic groups such as Mapuche and Aimara.
« We will now be able to promote our culture more heavily. We need a political presence, and laws to protect our heritage because we suffer from a lot of cultural appropriation. It is the responsibility of the State to repair, through education, the content that is taught today and that leave the Selk’nam people for dead”, says Mauricio Astroza, young Selk’nam individual and member of the Telkacher Assembly.
To help remember, highlight and support the people, cultural and environmental organization Corporation Traitraico and video projection team Delight Lab have gathered the testimonials of Selk’nam individuals from Chile and Argentina and projected them, using their territory as a background.
The projections are part of the “Relatos de Luz” (Stories of Light) project started in 2019 and that travels through the Southern territories. The team also went to Los Lagos, Aysén, Los Ríos et La Araucanía.
The project was made possible thanks to the 2021 Regional Artistic Fund for the Culture of the Native Peoples of the Magallanes Region and Chilean Antarctica; the National Arts Foundations; the Visual Arts and Creation and Production; the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Heritage. The Telkacher Assembly, Bandera Selk’nam, the Selk’nam Language Academy, the Selk’nam Women Group Khol Hool Na from the Lola Kjepja Lineage and representants of the Rafaela Ishton Indigenous community also help support the initiative.
The Assembly has approved a bill to add the Selk’nam people among the list of Indigenous Ethnic Groups recognized by the State.
Before it moved to the Executive for enactment into law, a bill was still waiting on a vote (bulletin 12862) to officially integrate the Selk’nam people to the Indigenous Ethnies recognized by the State.
This was made possible thanks to the Chamber Assembly, who approvel the modifications that were asked by Senate. The requested amendments were mainly about formality.
For the first review, the Chamber had drafted a text that specified the inclusion of the Selk’nam people into the norm of law 19.253 about Protection, Promotion and Development of Indigenous People. The Senate chose to refer to this norm and re-write the bill to include the Selk’nam people.
On this topic, the official bill now states:
“The State recognizes the following as main people or Indigenous ethnies of Chile: Mapuches, Aimara, Rapa Nui or Pascuense, Atacameño, Quechua, Colla, Diaguita, North Chango, Kawashkar or Alacalufe, Yámana or Yagán of the Southern Canals, and Selk’nam. The State recognizes their existence as an integral part of the foundation of the Chilean Nation, as well as their integrity and development, in accordance with their customs and values.”
The initiative started back in 2019 with a motion brought on by Claudia Mix (Comunes), Emilia Nuyado (PS), Camila Rojas (Comunes), Andrés Longton (RN), Jorge Rathgeb (RN) and Cristóbal Urruticoechea (PREP). Former Deputees Jaime Bellolio, Gabriel Boric, Amaro Labra and Gabriel Silber later joined the movement.
Justice for the Selk’nam people
The debate and original motion were presented by three of the authors: Claudia Mix, Cristóbal Urruticoechea and Emilia Nuyado; as well as independent speakers Hernan Palma and Carlos Bianchi.
The Deputee unanimously supported the proposition and marked the importance of justice and providing those who survived the near extermination of the Ethnic group with rights.
In this context, many turned their speech and their looks towards the benches to recognize the work of Selk’nam community leaders who had long fought to make this legal recognition happen.
The specificity of the Selk’nam people and their unique lifestyle at the Southernmost areas of our country were also highlighted. At the same time, the Chilean State’s role in the relentless hunt of Indigenous people in the 19th and 20th century was reminded. This genocide was motivated by land ownership and livestock farming.
Javiera Toro, Minister of Social Development, declared that this announcement helped repay the debt that the Chilean State owed the Selk’nam people. She also highlighted that the State now recognize them as ‘people’ and not just as an ethnic group.
Archaeological Research in Patagonia: Tolhuin, in Argentine Tierra del Fuego
On the road leading to Cerro Michi, a team of archaeologists from GIATMA (affiliated with CADIC-CONICET) made a significant discovery: during fieldwork, the archaeologists found materials and a new archaeological site, which they then began to study.
This discovery is part of the ImpaCT.AR project, Challenge 2, “Archaeological Cultural Heritage in Tolhuin,” supported by the municipality and accompanied since the first term of Daniel Harrington. The main objective is the identification and protection of the region’s archaeological cultural heritage.
The research team carried out fieldwork, including surveys and excavations within the urban area of Tolhuin, with the aim of creating an archaeological risk map to zone sensitive areas. This provides municipal authorities with crucial information for the preservation of heritage during infrastructure projects.
The ImpaCT.AR project is not limited to identifying archaeological sites; it also includes training for personnel directly or indirectly involved in changes to the urban landscape. Workers are made aware of the importance of archaeological heritage and the need to be vigilant during activities involving ground movement.
The discovery on the road to Cerro Michi adds to other finds in Tolhuin, such as on the road to the pier, at Laguna Varela, the descent to Lake Fagnano, and in the residential neighborhood of Las Laderas del Kamuk. The central strategy of this collaboration between CADIC-CONICET and the Municipality of Tolhuin is prevention, ensuring that infrastructure works are carried out carefully and with respect for the heritage shared by the community.
What is an archaeological discovery?
According to the Guide for the Formulation of the Protocol for Chance Discoveries of Archaeological Heritage and Public Archaeology, an archaeological discovery is the unexpected encounter with archaeological materials such as vessels or fragments, lithic objects (stones or rocks), animal or human bones, figurines, wooden or metal utensils, or any other ancient element. In this regard, the municipality of Tolhuin was expected to specify the nature of the materials found to provide context for the news; however, the community will have to wait for a forthcoming report to learn more.
Representantes de las comunidades de pueblos originarios de Tierra del Fuego viajan a Francia a exponer sobre sus culturas ancestrales, en el marco del mes de la ciencia y la cultura que se desarrolla en ese país. El 2019 fue declarado por la ONU el Año internacional de las Lenguas Indígenas, con el fin de difundir su importante aporte a la cultura de los pueblos.
La secretaria de Relaciones Internacionales Cecilia Fiocchi destacó la presencia en Francia de los representantes de las comunidades originarias: “Es un orgullo para todos los fueguinos que integrantes de las comunidades originarias puedan participar de eventos internacionales como este, que es impulsados por investigadores de la Universidad de la Sorbona y del Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas, instituciones académicas francesas de gran prestigio”. “Es una oportunidad para visibilizar las culturas ancestrales de nuestra provincia” valoró.
Mirtha Salamanca, integrante de la comunidad selk´nam de Río Grande, Víctor Vargas, integrante del pueblo yagán de Ushuaia y José González Calderón, de la comunidad yagán de Puerto Williams viajan a Francia a exponer sobre las culturas ancestrales originarias de Tierra del Fuego.
Mirtha Salamanca es integrante del Consejo Nacional de Pueblos Indígenas, como representante del pueblo selk´nam. “Viajaremos a Francia invitados por investigadores de ese país, para visibilizar allí nuestra cultura ancestral y complementar una serie de investigaciones que estamos realizando sobre nuestro pueblo. Además de participar como expositores en charlas y conferencia en distintas partes del país, podremos visitar los archivos de Anne Chapman, quien fue una gran investigadora de nuestra cultura y complementar los estudios que nosotros venimos realizando para dar a conocer nuestra cosmovisión. Tenemos la esperanza de que esto promueva el arraigo a nuestra tierra y el derecho a la identidad originaria” expresó.
Por su parte, Víctor Vargas es autor del libro “Mi Sangre Yagán”, editado en 2017 por la Editora Cultura Tierra del Fuego y trabaja en el Museo del Fin del Mundo de Ushuaia, desde donde promueve mediante charlas e investigaciones, la cultura e historia de su pueblo. “Esto se trata de unir el pasado con el presente. Los yaganes son la comunidad humana que habitó de forma permanente la parte más al sur de todo el continente.
En cuanto a José González Calderón, reside en Puerto Williams, Chile y cabe destacar que es sobrino de Cristina Calderón, quien fue declara tesoro humano vivo, ya que es la última hablante nativa viva de su lengua yagán. Este año, ha sido declarado por la ONU el año internacional de las lenguas indígenas.
