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{{Short description|Indigenous people of South America}}
{{Infobox ethnic group
| group            = Mapuche
| flag             = Ancient mapuche flag.svg
| flag_caption     = Traditional flag of the Mapuche
| image            = Mujeres mapuches en la entrega terreno a Comunidad Mapuche Lorenzo Quintrileo de Tirúa.jpg
| caption          = Mapuche women from [[Tirúa]] in 2015
| pop              = c. 1,768,856
| region1          = Chile
| pop1             = 1,623,073 (2024)
| ref1             = <ref name=2024census>{{cite web |url=https://www.ine.gob.cl/docs/default-source/prensa-y-comunicacion/presentacion-nacional_resultados-4-final-v2-(1).pdf?sfvrsn=60351119_2 |title=Resultados características de la población: Censo 2024 |publisher=[[National Statistics Institute (Chile)|National Statistics Institute]]
 |access-date=13 December 2025 }}</ref>
| region2          = Argentina
| pop2             = 145,783 (2022)
| ref2             = <ref name='Censo 2022'>{{cite news |agency=INDEC |title=Censo 2022 |trans-title=Census 2022 |url=https://www.indec.gob.ar/indec/web/Nivel4-Tema-2-41-165 |website=Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos, República Argentina |access-date=8 March 2024 }}</ref> <small>([[Pehuenche]])</small>
| langs            = {{hlist|[[Mapuche language|Mapudungun]]|[[Spanish language|Spanish]]}}
| religions        = [[Mapuche religion|Traditional]], [[Catholicism]], [[Evangelicalism]], [[Jehovah's Witnesses]]
| related          = {{plainlist|
*'''Core groups:''' [[Boroano people|Boroano]], [[Cunco people|Cunco]], [[Huilliche]], Lafquenche, [[Moluche]], [[Picunche]], [[Promaucae]]
*'''Araucanized groups:''' [[Pehuenche]], [[Puelche people|Puelche]], [[Ranquel]], [[Tehuelche people|Tehuelche]]}}
| native_name      = 
| native_name_lang = 
}}
{{infobox ethnonym|root=mapu|person=|people=Mapuche|language=[[Mapuche language|Mapudungun]]}} 
The '''Mapuche''' ({{IPAc-en|m|ə|ˈ|p|uː|tʃ|i}} {{respell|mə|POO|chee}},<ref>{{OED|Mapuche}}</ref> {{IPA|es|maˈputʃe|label=Mapuche and Spanish:}}), also known as '''Araucanians''', are a group of [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Indigenous]] inhabitants of south-central [[Chile]] and southwestern [[Argentina]], including parts of [[Patagonia]]. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who share a common social, religious, and economic structure, as well as a common linguistic heritage as [[Mapudungun]] speakers. Their homelands once extended from [[Choapa River|Choapa Valley]] to the [[Chiloé Archipelago]] and later spread eastward to [[Puelmapu]],{{clarify|date=June 2023}} a land comprising part of the [[Pampas|Argentine pampa]] and [[Patagonia]]. Today, the Mapuche represent 77.16% of Chile’s [[Indigenous peoples in Chile|indigenous peoples]] and about 8.8% of the total national population.<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 July 2025 |title=Población mapuche en Chile: Censo 2024 confirma 1,6 millones de personas |url=https://www.mapuchediario.cl/2025/07/18/poblacion-mapuche-en-chile/ |access-date=13 December 2025 |website=Mapuche Diario |language=es}}</ref> The Mapuche are concentrated in the [[Araucanía (historic region)|Araucanía]] region. Many have migrated from rural areas to the cities of [[Santiago]] and [[Buenos Aires]] to pursue economic opportunities. Around 92% of the Mapuches are from Chile.

The Mapuche traditional economy is based on agriculture; their traditional social organization consists of extended families, under the direction of a ''[[lonko]]'' or chief. In times of war, the Mapuche would unite in larger groupings and elect a ''[[toqui|toki]]'' (meaning "axe" or "axe-bearer") to lead them. Mapuche material culture is known for its [[Mapuche textiles|textiles]] and [[Mapuche silverwork|silverwork]].

At the time of [[Conquest of Chile|Spanish arrival]], the [[Picunche]] inhabited the valleys between the [[Choapa River|Choapa]] and [[Itata River|Itata]], Araucanian Mapuche inhabited the valleys between the [[Itata River|Itata]] and [[Toltén River|Toltén]] rivers, south of there, and the [[Huilliche people|Huilliche]] and the [[Cunco people|Cunco]] lived as far south as the [[Chiloé Archipelago]]. In the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries, Mapuche groups migrated eastward into the [[Andes]] and [[Pampas]], conquering, fusing with and establishing relationships with the [[Poya (tribe)|Poya]] and [[Pehuenche]]. At about the same time, ethnic groups of the Pampa regions, the [[Puelche people|Puelche]], [[Ranquel]], and northern [[Tehuelche people|Aonikenk]], made contact with Mapuche groups. The Tehuelche adopted the Mapuche language and some of their culture, in what came to be called [[Araucanization]], during which Patagonia came under effective Mapuche suzerainty.

Mapuche in the Spanish-ruled areas, especially the [[Picunche]], mingled with the Spanish during the colonial period, forming a [[mestizo]] population that lost its Indigenous identity. But Mapuche society in [[Araucanía (historic region)|Araucanía]] and Patagonia remained independent until the late nineteenth century, when Chile [[Occupation of Araucanía|occupied Araucanía]] and Argentina [[Conquest of the Desert|conquered Puelmapu]]. Since then the Mapuche have become subjects, and later nationals and citizens, of those states. Today, many Mapuche and Chilean communities are engaged in the so-called [[Mapuche conflict]] over land and [[Indigenous peoples|Indigenous]] rights in both Argentina and Chile.

==Etymology==
[[File:Mapuche macro-ethnicity.png|thumb|[[Euler diagram]] of Mapuche ethnicities. Historical denominations no longer in use are shown with white fields. Groups that adopted Mapuche language and culture or that have partial Mapuche descent are shown in the periphery of the main magenta-colored field.]]
Historically, the Spanish colonizers of South America referred to the Mapuche people as '''Araucanians''' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|æ|r|ɔː|ˈ|k|eɪ|n|i|ə|n|z}} {{respell|ARR|aw|KAY|nee|ənz}};<ref>{{OED|Araucanian}}</ref> {{langx|es|araucanos}}). This term is now considered [[pejorative]] by some people.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mapuche.info/azkin/az_domingo13.pdf |title=''AZ Domingo 17 de Febrero de 2008'' |access-date=2013-09-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326014014/http://www.mapuche.info/azkin/az_domingo13.pdf |archive-date=2009-03-26 |url-status=dead }}</ref> For others, the importance of the term Araucanian lies in the universality of the epic work {{lang|es|[[La Araucana]]}},<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-3286.html|title=La Araucana |website= Memoria Chilena|publisher= Biblioteca Nacional de Chile}}</ref> written by [[Alonso de Ercilla]], and the feats of that people in their long and interminable war against the Spanish Empire. The name is probably derived from the placename {{lang|arn|rag ko}} (Spanish [[Arauco, Chile|Arauco]]), meaning "chalky/clayish water".<ref name="serindigena">{{cite web|url=http://www.serindigena.cl/territorios/recursos/biblioteca/monografias/lenguas/monografia_lenguas_mapuche2.htm |title=Mapuche o Araucano|website= Ser Indígenas|publisher= O.N.G. Comunidad Ser Indígena|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061105150802/http://www.serindigena.cl/territorios/recursos/biblioteca/monografias/lenguas/monografia_lenguas_mapuche2.htm |archive-date=2006-11-05 |language=es}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=Algunas aspectos de las costumbres y reseñas del cuidados del niño entre los antiguos Araucanos|publisher=[[Universidad Católica de Chile]]|journal=Ars Medica|url=http://escuela.med.puc.cl/publ/ArsMedica/ArsMedica4/08Zuniga.html |volume=4|issue=4 |pages=111–9|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061107232547/http://escuela.med.puc.cl/publ/ArsMedica/ArsMedica4/08Zuniga.html |archive-date=2006-11-07 |language=es|first=Sergio Zúñiga |last=Rocha|year=2001}}</ref> The [[Quechua languages|Quechua]] word {{lang|qu|awqa}}, meaning "rebel, enemy", is probably not the root of ''araucano''.<ref name="serindigena"/>

Scholars believe that the various Mapuche groups ([[Moluche]], Williche, Pikunche, etc.) called themselves {{lang|arn|Reche}} during the early Spanish colonial period, due to what they referred to as their pure native blood, derived from {{lang|arn|re}} meaning "pure" and {{lang|arn|che}} meaning "people".<ref>{{Cite web | title=Entrar {{!}} Revista de Historia Indígena | url=http://www.revistahistoriaindigena.uchile.cl/index.php/RHI/article/download/40261/41815 | access-date=2025-06-29 | website=www.revistahistoriaindigena.uchile.cl}}</ref>

The name ''Mapuche'' is used both to refer collectively to the Pikunche, Williche, and [[Moluche|Moluche or Nguluche]] from [[Araucanía (historic region)|Araucanía]], at other times, exclusively to the Moluche or Nguluche from Araucanía. However, Mapuche is a relatively recent endonym meaning "People of the Earth" or "Children of the Land", with {{lang|arn|mapu}} meaning "earth" or "land", and {{lang|arn|che}} meaning "person". It is preferred as a term when referring to the people after the Arauco War.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.memoriachilena.cl/602/w3-article-100855.html|title = Las poblaciones reche-mapuche – Memoria Chilena, Biblioteca Nacional de Chile}}</ref>

The Mapuche identify by the geography of their territories, such as:
* '''[[Puelche people|Pwelche]]''' (also Hispanicized as '''Puelche'''): "people of the east" occupied ''Pwel mapu'' or {{lang|arn|Puel mapu}}, the eastern lands (Pampa and Patagonia of Argentina).
* '''[[Picunche|Pikunche]]''' (also Hispanicized as '''Picunche'''): "people of the north" occupied {{lang|arn|Pikun-mapu}}, the "northern lands".
* '''[[Huilliche|Williche]]''' (also Hispanicized as '''Huilliche'''): "people of the south" occupied {{lang|arn|Willi mapu}}, the "southern lands".
* '''[[Pehuenche|Pewenche]]''' (also Hispanicized as '''Pehuenche'''): "people of the pewen (''[[Araucaria araucana]]'')" occupied {{lang|arn|Pewen mapu}}, "the land of the pewen".
* '''Lafkenche''': "people of the sea" occupied {{lang|arn|Lafken mapu}}, "the land of the sea"; also known as ''Coastal Mapuche''.
* '''Nagche''': "people of the plains" occupied {{lang|arn|Nag mapu}}, "the land of the plains" (located in sectors of the [[Cordillera de Nahuelbuta]] and the low zones bordering it). Its epic and literary name is '''Araucanians''' and its old autochthonous name is '''Reche'''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-100855.html|title = Las poblaciones reche-mapuche – Memoria Chilena, Biblioteca Nacional de Chile}}</ref> The ancient Mapuche [[Toqui]] ("axe-bearer") like Lef-Traru ("swift hawk", better known as [[Lautaro]]), Kallfülikan ("blue quartz stone", better known as [[Caupolicán]] – "polished flint") or Pelontraru ("Shining Caracara", better known as [[Pelantaro]]) were Nagche.
* '''Wenteche''': "people of the valleys" occupied {{lang|arn|Wente mapu}}, "the land of the valleys".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://turismoculturalmapuche.com/en/mapuche-culture/ |title=Mapuche territorial identities of Araucania |access-date=2019-02-11 |archive-date=2019-02-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190212011741/http://turismoculturalmapuche.com/en/mapuche-culture/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

== History ==
{{main|Mapuche history}}
[[File:MapvsInc.JPG|thumb|right|upright|[[Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala|Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala's]] picture of the confrontation between the Mapuches (left) and the [[Incas]] (right)]]

=== Pre-Columbian period ===
{{see also|Origin of the Mapuche|Incas in Central Chile}}
Archaeological finds have shown that Mapuche culture existed in Chile and Argentina as early as 600 to 500 BC.<ref name=Bengoaorigen>[[José Bengoa|Bengoa]] 2000, pp. 16–19.</ref> Genetically the Mapuche differ from the adjacent Indigenous peoples of Patagonia.<ref name="Rey2013">{{cite journal|last1=Rey|first1=Diego|last2=Parga-Lozano|first2=Carlos|last3=Moscoso|first3=Juan|last4=Areces|first4=Cristina|last5=Enriquez-de-Salamanca|first5=Mercedes|last6=Fernández-Honrado|first6=Mercedes|last7=Abd-El-Fatah-Khalil|first7=Sedeka|last8=Alonso-Rubio|first8=Javier|last9=Arnaiz-Villena|first9=Antonio|s2cid=14709971|year=2013|title=HLA genetic profile of Mapuche (Araucanian) Amerindians from Chile|journal=[[Molecular Biology Reports]]|volume=40|issue=7|pages=4257–4267|doi=10.1007/s11033-013-2509-3|pmid=23666052}}</ref> This suggests a "different origin or long-lasting separation of Mapuche and Patagonian populations".<ref name=Rey2013/>

Troops of the [[Inca Empire]] are reported to have reached the [[Maule River]] and had [[Battle of the Maule|a battle]] with the Mapuche between the Maule and the [[Itata River]]s there.<ref name=BengoaAntiguo37-38>Bengoa 2003, pp. 37–38.</ref> The southern border of the Inca Empire is believed by most modern scholars to have been situated between [[Santiago, Chile|Santiago]] and the [[Maipo River]], or somewhere between Santiago and the Maule River.<ref name=Dillehay1988>{{Cite book
| last1  = Dillehay
| first1 = T.
| last2  = Gordon
| first2 = A.
| author-link1  = Tom Dillehay
|editor1-first=Tom
|editor1-last=Dillehay
|editor2-first=Patricia
|editor2-last=Netherly
|chapter=La actividad prehispánica y su influencia en la Araucanía
| title   = La frontera del estado Inca
| pages   = 183–196
| year    = 1988
| language = es
}}</ref> Thus the bulk of the Mapuche escaped Inca rule. Through their contact with Incan invaders Mapuches would have for the first time met people with [[State (polity)|state organizations]]. Their contact with the Incas gave them a collective awareness distinguishing between them and the invaders and uniting them into loose geo-political units despite their lack of state organization.<ref name=BengoaAntiguo40>Bengoa 2003, p. 40.</ref>

At the time of the arrival of the first Spaniards to Chile, the largest Indigenous population concentration was in the area spanning from the [[Itata River]] to [[Chiloé Island]]{{snd}}that is the Mapuche heartland.<ref name=Oteropop>Otero 2006, p. 36.</ref> The Mapuche population between Itata River and [[Reloncaví Sound]] has been estimated at 705,000–900,000 in the mid-sixteenth century by historian [[José Bengoa]].<ref name=BengoaAntiguo157>Bengoa 2003, p. 157.</ref>{{refn|group="note"|Note that [[Chiloé Archipelago]] with its large population is not included in this estimate.}}

[[File:Pueblos indigenas de Chile.svg|thumb|center|700px|Distribution of pre-Hispanic people of Chile]]

===Arauco War===
{{Main|Arauco War}}

The Spanish expansion into Mapuche territory was an offshoot of the [[Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire|conquest of Peru]].<ref name=villalobos91-93>Villalobos et al. 1974, pp. 91–93.</ref> In 1536, [[Diego de Almagro]] set out to conquer Chile, after crossing the Itata River they were intercepted by a numerous contingent of Araucanian Mapuche armed with many bows and pikes in the [[Battle of Reynogüelén (1536)|Battle of Reynogüelén]]. Discouraged by the ferocity of the Mapuches, and the apparent lack of gold and silver in these lands, Almagro decided upon a full retreat the following year to Peru. In 1541, [[Pedro de Valdivia]] reached Chile from [[Cuzco]] and founded [[Santiago, Chile|Santiago]].<ref name=villalobos96-97>Villalobos et al. 1974, pp. 96–97.</ref> The northern Mapuche tribes, known as [[Picunche]]s had recently gained independence from Inca rule, being commanded by [[Michimalonco]], who had defeated the Inca governor Quilicanta. It would be the same Michimalonco who would lead the Picunche resistance against the Spanish between 1541 and 1545. His most famous achievement is the [[Destruction of Santiago]].<ref name=BengoaAntiguo250-251>Bengoa 2003, pp. 250–251.</ref>

[[File:El joven Lautaro - P. Subercaseaux.PNG|thumb|left|upright=1.4|Painting ''El joven [[Lautaro]]'' of [[Pedro Subercaseaux]]]]
In 1550, Pedro de Valdivia, who aimed to control all of Chile to the [[Straits of Magellan]], campaigned in [[Zona Sur|south-central Chile]] to conquer more Mapuche controlled territory.<ref name=villalobos98-99>Villalobos ''et al''. 1974, pp. 98–99.</ref> Between 1550 and 1553, the Spanish founded several cities{{refn|group="note"|These "cities" were often no more than forts.<ref name=MCLGuerraarauco/>}} in Mapuche lands including [[Concepción, Chile|Concepción]], [[Valdivia]], [[Carahue|Imperial]], [[Villarrica, Chile|Villarrica]], and [[Angol]].<ref name=villalobos98-99/> The Spanish also established the forts of [[Arauco, Chile|Arauco]], [[Purén]], and [[Cañete, Chile|Tucapel]].<ref name=villalobos98-99/> Further efforts by the Spanish to gain more territory engaged them in the [[Arauco War]] against the Mapuche, a sporadic conflict that lasted nearly 350 years. Hostility towards the conquerors was compounded by the lack of a tradition of [[forced labour|forced labor]] akin to the Inca [[mit'a]] among the Mapuche, who largely refused to serve the Spanish.<ref name=BengoaAntiguo252-253/>

From their establishment in 1550 to 1598, the Mapuche frequently laid siege to Spanish settlements in [[Araucanía (historic region)|Araucanía]].<ref name=MCLGuerraarauco>{{Cite journal| url   = http://www.memoriachilena.cl/602/w3-article-691.html
| title = La Guerra de Arauco (1550–1656)
| journal  = Memoria Chilena
| publisher  = [[Biblioteca Nacional de Chile]]
| access-date = January 30, 2014
| language = es
}}</ref> In 1553, the Mapuches held a council at which they resolved to make war. They chose as their "[[toqui]]" (wartime chief) a strong man called [[Caupolicán]] and as his vice toqui [[Lautaro (toqui)|Lautaro]], because he had served as an auxiliary to the Spanish cavalry; he created the first Mapuche cavalry corps. With six thousand warriors under his command, Lautaro attacked the fort at [[Tucapel]]. The Spanish garrison was unable to withstand the assault and retreated to Purén. Lautaro seized and burned the fort and prepared his army certain that the Spaniards would attempt to retake Tucapel. Valdivia mounted a counter-attack, but he was quickly surrounded. He and his army was massacred by the Mapuches in the [[Battle of Tucapel]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Crónica y relación copiosa y verdadera de los reinos de Chile |last=Vivar |first=Jerónimo de |author-link=Jerónimo de Vivar |language=es |chapter=CXVI |quote=...ayer mataron al apo y todos los cristianos que con él venían, que no escapó ninguno, y todos los yanaconas de servicio, si no eran los que se habían escondido |url=http://www.artehistoria.jcyl.es/cronicas/contextos/10876.htm |access-date=January 4, 2009 |archive-date=April 28, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120428171505/http://www.artehistoria.jcyl.es/cronicas/contextos/10876.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1554 Lautaro went to destroy Concepción where in the [[Battle of Marihueñu]] he defeated [[Francisco de Villagra|Governor Villagra]] and devastated the city. In 1555 Lautaro went to the city of [[Angol]] and destroyed it, he also returned to Concepción, rebuilt by the Spanish and destroyed it again. In 1557 Lautaro headed with his army to destroy Santiago, fighting numerous battles with the Spanish along the way, but he and his army were devastated in the [[Battle of Mataquito]].

From 1558 to 1598 war was mostly a [[low-intensity conflict]].<ref name=Dillehay2007p335>Dillehay 2007, p. 335.</ref> Mapuche numbers decreased significantly following contact with the Spanish conquerors and settlers; wars and [[epidemic]]s decimated the population.<ref name=BengoaAntiguo250-251/> Others died in Spanish-owned gold mines.<ref name=BengoaAntiguo252-253>Bengoa 2003, pp. 252–253.</ref>
[[File:Grabado Caupolican-Nicanor Plaza.jpg|thumbnail|[[Caupolican]] by [[Nicanor Plaza]]]] 
In 1598 a party of warriors from [[Purén]] led by [[Pelantaro]], who were returning south from a raid in the [[Chillán]] area, ambushed Governor [[Martín García Óñez de Loyola]] and his troops in the Battle of Curalaba<ref name=BengoaAntiguo320-321>Bengoa 2003, pp. 320–321.</ref> while they rested without taking any precautions against attack. Almost all the Spaniards died, save a cleric named Bartolomé Pérez, who was taken prisoner, and a soldier named Bernardo de Pereda. Led by Pelantaro the Mapuche then initiated a general uprising that destroyed all the cities in their homeland south of the Biobío River.

In the years following the [[Battle of Curalaba]], a general uprising developed among the Mapuches and Huilliches led to the [[Destruction of the Seven Cities]]. The Spanish cities of Angol, Imperial, [[Osorno, Chile|Osorno]], [[Santa Cruz de Oñez]], [[Valdivia]], and Villarrica were either destroyed or abandoned.<ref name=Villaloboes109>Villalobos et al. 1974, p. 109.</ref> The city of Castro was taken by a Dutch-Mapuche alliance in 1599, but reconquered by the Spanish in 1600. Only [[Chillán]] and Concepción resisted Mapuche sieges and raids.<ref name=BengoaAntiguo324-325>Bengoa 2003, pp. 324–325.</ref> Except for the [[Chiloé Archipelago]], all Chilean territory south of the Bíobío River was freed from Spanish rule.<ref name=Villaloboes109/> Despite continued Spanish attempts to reconquer the territories south of the Biobio River, the border remained stable during the centuries in which the Spanish reigned in South America. In this period the Mapuche Nation crossed the Andes to conquer the present Argentine provinces of Chubut, Neuquen, La Pampa, Buenos Aires and Río Negro. Historians disagree over the time period during which the expansion took place, but estimate it occurred roughly between 1550 and 1850.<ref>{{cite book |title=Victims of Progress |last=Bodley |first=John |publisher=Alta Mira Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-7591-1148-6 |location=Lanham, MD |pages=62–63}}</ref>

===Boroano people===
The '''Boroano''', '''Boroga''', or '''Borogano''' (also spelled with ''v'') were a group of mapuche native to the [[aillarehue]] of [[Boroa]] in [[Araucanía (historic region)|Araucanía]]. They were involved in several conflicts in the northern [[Patagonia]]n [[pampa]]s, and supported figures such as [[José Miguel Carrera]], the [[Pincheira brothers]], and [[Juan Manuel Rosas]]. The military power and influence of the Boroano ended with the massacre carried out by the [[lonco]] [[Calfucurá]] in 1834 during a trade meeting.

===Incorporation into Chile and Argentina===
{{further|Occupation of Araucanía|Conquest of the Desert}}
[[File:Ocupacion de la Araucanía 1869.JPG|thumb|left|[[Cornelio Saavedra Rodríguez]] in meeting with the main lonkos of Araucania in 1869]]
In the nineteenth century, Argentina and Chile experienced a fast territorial expansion. Argentina established a colony at the [[Falkland Islands]] in 1820, settled Chubut with [[Welsh settlement in Argentina|Welsh immigrants]] in 1865 and [[Paraguayan War|conquered Formosa, Misiones and Chaco from Paraguay]] in 1870. Later Argentina would also annex the [[Puna de Atacama]] in 1898. Chile on the other hand, established [[Chilean colonization of the Strait of Magellan|a colony at the Strait of Magellan]] in 1843, settled [[Valdivia]], [[Osorno, Chile|Osorno]], and [[Llanquihue Lake|Llanquihue]] [[German colonization of Valdivia, Osorno and Llanquihue|with German immigrants]], and [[war of the Pacific|conquered land from Peru and Bolivia]].<ref name=MemCHLfuertebulnes>{{Cite journal| url   = http://www.memoriachilena.cl/602/w3-article-714.html
| title = El fuerte Bulnes
| journal  = Memoria Chilena
| publisher  = [[Biblioteca Nacional de Chile]]
| language = es
| access-date = January 3, 2014
}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Villalobos R.|first1=Sergio |last2=Silva G.|first2=Osvaldo |last3=Silva V.|first3=Fernando |last4=Estelle M. |first4=Patricio |author-link=Sergio Villalobos|author-link2=Osvaldo Silva |title=Historia de Chile|year=1974 |edition=1995 |publisher=[[Editorial Universitaria]] |isbn=956-11-1163-2 |pages=456–458, 571–575}}</ref> Later Chile would also annex [[Easter Island]].<ref name=MemCHLRapanui>{{Cite journal| url   = http://www.memoriachilena.cl/602/w3-article-94620.html
| title = Incorporándola al territorio chileno
| journal  = Memoria Chilena
| publisher  = [[Biblioteca Nacional de Chile]]
| language = es
| access-date = January 3, 2014
}}</ref> In this context, Mapuche controlled territory began to be conquered by Argentina and Chile due to two reasons. First, the Argentinean and Chilean states aimed for territorial continuity,<ref name=PintoR194>Pinto 2003, p. 153.</ref> and second it remained the sole place for Argentinean livestock to expand and [[agriculture in Chile|Chilean agriculture]] to expand.<ref name=Bengoa156>Bengoa 2000, p. 156.</ref>

Between 1861 and 1879 Argentina and Chile incorporated several Mapuche territories to their controlled territory. In January 1881, with Chile having decisively defeated Peru in the [[Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos|battles of Chorrillos]] and [[Battle of Miraflores|Miraflores]], Chile and Argentina resumed the conquest of Mapuche controlled lands.<ref name=Bengoa275-276>Bengoa 2000, pp. 275–276.</ref><ref name=Ferrando547>Ferrando 1986, p. 547</ref><ref name=Bengoa277-278>Bengoa 2000, pp. 277–278.</ref>
[[File:Calfulcurá.jpg|thumb|Mapuche war party led by [[Calfucurá]]]]
The conquest of [[Araucanía (historic region)|Araucanía]] caused numerous Mapuches to be displaced and forced to roam in search of shelter and food.<ref name=Bengoa232-233>Bengoa 2000, pp. 232–233.</ref> Scholar Pablo Miramán claims the introduction of state education during the [[Occupation of Araucanía]] had detrimental effects on traditional Mapuche education.<ref name=PintoR205>Pinto 2003, p. 205.</ref> Chile finally achieved the occupation and integration of the territories south of the Biobío River in 1884 when the last communities surrendered, and the cities of [[Villarrica, Chile|Villarrica]] and previously [[Angol]] were reestablished.<ref name=Angol>{{cite web |title=Angol |url=https://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-92187.html |website=Memoria Chilena |access-date=December 14, 2024}}</ref> Schools,<ref name=Escuela>{{cite journal |author1=Juan Mansilla Sepúlveda |author2=Elizabeth Montanares Vargas |author3=Daniel Llancavil Llancavil |author4=Manuel Mieres Chacaltana |title=Instalación de la escuela monocultural en la Araucanía, 1883-1910: dispositivos de poder y Sociedad Mapuche |url=https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/7166977.pdf |journal=Educação e Pesquisa |date=2016 |volume=42 |pages=213–228 |doi=10.1590/S1517-9702201603140562 |access-date=December 14, 2024}}</ref> cities, and legal systems were established, incorporating inhabitants into the national framework.

The [[rural-to-urban migration]] of the Mapuche people in the 20th century<ref>{{cite web |title=EL PROCESO MIGRATORIO DE LA POBLACIÓN MAPUCHE EN CHILE: SU ADAPTACIÓN E INTEGRACIÓN A LA VIDA URBANA. |last1=Castro Romero |first1=Marisol |url=https://www.ub.edu/geocrit/sn-94-19.htm |website=Universidad de Zaragoza |date=August 1, 2001 |access-date=December 14, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=El pueblo Mapuche |url=https://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-781.html |website=Memoria Chilena |access-date=December 14, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=¿Indígena campesino o indígena urbano? Aproximaciones desde los procesos de movilidad mapuche en la ciudad intermedia de Temuco (Chile) |last1=Salazar |first1=Gonzalo |last2=Riquelme Maulén |first2=Wladimir |last3=Zúñiga Becerra |first3=Paulina |url=https://www.redalyc.org/journal/814/81464333003/html/ |journal=Antípoda. Revista de Antropología y Arqueología |date=July 1, 2020 |issue=40 |access-date=December 14, 2024 |pages=53–78 |doi=10.7440/antipoda40.2020.03|doi-access=free }}</ref> can be divided into two main stages: economic migration, which intensified from the 1920s and peaked in the 1950s and 1960s, and political migration following the 1973 coup. Economic migration initially responded to the need for jobs in cities, such as Santiago, where Mapuche arrived in the 1920s to work in bakeries<ref>{{cite web |title=El pan mapuche. Un acercamiento a la migración mapuche en la ciudad de Santiago |author1=Walter Alejandro Imilan |author2=Valentina Álvarez |url=http://revistas.uach.cl/pdf/racs/n14/art02.pdf |website=Revista Austral de Ciencias Sociales |date=2008 |doi=10.4206/rev-austral.cienc.soc.2008.n14-02|doi-broken-date=1 July 2025 }}</ref> and formed organizations like the "Sociedad Galvarino." This migration flow was accentuated by industrial growth and the lack of rural opportunities.<ref>{{cite web |title=La Migración por Obligación: Los Movimientos Migratorios de los Mapuche |author1=Rebecca Jones |url=https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1442&context=isp_collection |website=SIT Study Abroad |date=2005 |access-date=December 14, 2024}}</ref> By 1961, it was estimated that up to 25% of the Mapuche population lived outside traditional communities, though data was incomplete, and censuses did not differentiate between Mapuche and non-Mapuche citizens.<ref name=Migraciones/>

Despite its impact, statistics on Mapuche rural-to-urban migration have historically been insufficient, marked by integrationist policies that did not account for their Indigenous identity but treated them as citizens. Forced community divisions under laws such as the 1931 Decree with Force of Law No. 266 and the record-breaking divisions under Decree-Law No. 2568 of 1979 contributed to land fragmentation and forced migration to cities. In the 1952 census, only 875 Mapuche were recorded in Santiago, a figure significantly lower than independent estimates, such as Domingo Curaqueo's, which identified 10&nbsp;000 Mapuche over the age of 21 in the same province.<ref name=Migraciones>{{cite journal |title=Migraciones mapuche en el siglo xx |last1=Chihuailaf |first1=Arauco |journal=Amérique Latine Histoire & Mémoire |date=November 10, 2006 |volume=12 |doi=10.4000/alhim.1212|doi-access=free }}</ref>

[[File:Lautaro flag.svg|thumb|right|Ancient flag of the Mapuche on the [[Arauco War]].]]
In the years following the occupation the economy of Araucanía changed from being based on sheep and cattle herding to one based on [[agriculture in Chile|agriculture]] and [[forestry in Chile|wood extraction]].<ref name=Pinto>{{Cite journal| last  = Pinto Rodríguez| first = Jorge| author-link = Jorge Pinto Rodríguez| title = Ganadería y empresarios ganaderos de la Araucanía, 1900–1960| journal = [[Historia (history of the Americas journal)|Historia]]| volume  = 44| issue   = 2| year    = 2011| pages   = 369–400| url     = http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?pid=S0717-71942011000200004&script=sci_arttext}}</ref> About 70% of the Mapuche Territory left in the hands of Argentina, the loss of land by Mapuches following the occupation caused severe [[erosion]] since Mapuches continued to practice a massive livestock herding in limited areas.<ref name=Bengoa262-263>Bengoa 2000, pp. 262–263.</ref>

== Modern political conflict (1990–present) ==
{{Main|Mapuche conflict}}

{{See also|Ralco Hydroelectric Plant}}
The term "[[Wallmapu]]" began to gain widespread use outside Mapudungun-speaking communities after the [[Council of All Lands]] adopted its Mapudungun name, ''Aukiñ Wallmapu Ngulam,'' upon the organization's founding in 1990.<ref>{{cite web|title=Autonomy in Debate: Indigenous Self-Government and the Plurinational State in Latin America|url=https://www.corteidh.or.cr/tablas/r26635.pdf|publisher=FLACSO|date=2010|access-date=18 March 2022|page=30}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author1=Mariman, José|title=The Mapuche Organization Aukiñ Wallmapu Ngulam|url=https://www.mapuche.info/mapuint/jmar2.htm|publisher=Mapuche Info|date=April 1995|access-date=18 March 2022|location=Denver, United States|archive-date=16 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220816093126/https://www.mapuche.info/mapuint/jmar2.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> It arose in response to what Indigenous movements describe as "repression" and the perceived disregard of land deeds (''Títulos de Merced'').<ref name="Unnamed1">{{cite journal|title=Martín Correa and Eduardo Mella, The Reasons for "illkun"/Anger: Memory, Dispossession, and Criminalization in the Mapuche Territory of Malleco|last=Cano Christiny|first=Daniel|date=June 2011|journal=Historia (Santiago)|volume=44|issue=1|pages=203–205|issn=0717-7194|doi=10.4067/S0717-71942011000100009|doi-access=free|url=http://americanae.aecid.es/americanae/es/registros/registro.do?tipoRegistro=MTD&idBib=2909404}}</ref> This was accompanied by a wave of Mapuche migration from the south-central region to major Chilean cities during the [[Military dictatorship of Chile (1973–1990)|Chilean military dictatorship]] and before.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://bibliotecadigital.academia.cl/xmlui/handle/123456789/6238|title=Military Dictatorship and the Mapuche Movement|journal=Pacarina del Sur, Revista de Pensamiento Crítico Latinoamericano|last=Espinoza Araya|first=Claudio|author2=Mella Abalos, Magaly|date=2013|access-date=28 January 2023|language=es}}</ref> The council was notable for engaging in [[historical revisionism]] and adopting political stances opposing the Chilean state's interests in the region, particularly regarding demands for "ancestral land recovery" and "political territorial autonomy for the Mapuche people." This movement also included the creation of the [[Wenufoye]] national Mapuche flag in 1992, along with five additional flags representing key Mapuche territories in southern Chile.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mapuche.nl/doc/moens9908.pdf|title=Mapuche Poetry: Expressions of Identity|access-date=15 March 2022|date=August 1999|publisher=University of Utrecht|author1=J.A. Moens}}</ref> Since 2005, the term has also been promoted by the Mapuche nationalist party [[Wallmapuwen]].

The Chilean historian Cristóbal García Huidobro states that: "the terminology ‘Wallmapu’ is not a relatively old one, but rather a newer one. It arises, as far as it has been understood, from a revisionist movement, at the beginning of the 1990s (...) they make a re-study and a revisionism of the identity, of the language, as well as of the symbols that would represent the Mapuche people (...) it is not a historical question as such, it does not come from the ancestral culture of the Mapuche people who never perceived their territory as a particularly defined place".<ref name=T13>{{cite web|title="Wallmapu": Historiador chileno afirma que término "no proviene de la cultura ancestral mapuche"|url=https://www.t13.cl/noticia/nacional/wallmapu-historiador-chileno-termino-no-proviene-cultura-ancestral-mapuche-31-03-2022|publisher=T13|date=March 31, 2022|access-date=March 31, 2022}}</ref> The term means "Universe" ancestraly in the [[Mapuche language]].<ref>{{cite web |title=NUESTRO PUEBLO HUILLICHE DE LA TIERRA QUIERE SEGUIR SIENDO DE LA TIERRA |url=https://web.worldbank.org/archive/website00638/WEB/PDF/4_CHILE.PDF |publisher=Consejo General de Caciques de Chiloé |access-date=4 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220315143939/https://web.worldbank.org/archive/website00638/WEB/PDF/4_CHILE.PDF |archive-date=15 March 2022 |location=Chile |language=es}}</ref>

The construction of the [[Ralco Hydroelectric Plant]], which displaced Indigenous burial sites, was a breaking point in state-Mapuche relations, contributing to the formation of the [[Coordinadora Arauco-Malleco]] (CAM) in December 1997 following the burning of three trucks belonging to Forestal Arauco. This first attack marks the beginning of the period of violence in the Southern Macrozone of Chile and a turning point in the development of the Mapuche autonomist political movement.<ref name="P23">{{cite book|title=Rebellion in Wallmapu: Resistance of the Mapuche Nation-People|year=2013|publisher=We Still Believe in Dreams|location=Santiago, Chile|author=Caniuqueo, Sergio|author2=Mariman, Pablo|author3=Levil, Rodrigo|author4=Millalen, José}}</ref> Since then, violence has progressively increased and expanded to the neighboring regions of [[Biobío Region|Biobío]] and [[Los Lagos Region|Los Lagos]].<ref name="20a">{{cite web |url=https://www.latercera.com/noticia/los-20-anos-del-conflicto-la-araucania-viene-ahora/# |title=Los 20 años del conflicto en La Araucanía: ¿Qué viene ahora? |access-date=February 11, 2019 |date=March 19, 2017 |website=La Tercera |language=Spanish |last1=Reyes |first1=C. |last2=Palomera |first2=F. |last3=Zamorano |first3=C.}}</ref>

Land disputes and violent confrontations continue in some Mapuche areas, particularly in the northern sections of the Araucanía region between and around [[Traiguén]] and [[Lumaco]]. In 2003, the Commission for Historical Truth and New Treatments issued a report to defuse tensions calling for drastic changes in Chile's treatment of its Indigenous people, more than 80% of whom are Mapuche. The recommendations included the formal recognition of political and "territorial" rights for Indigenous peoples, as well as efforts to promote their cultural identities.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

Though Japanese and Swiss interests are active in the economy of Araucanía ({{Lang|arn|Ngulu Mapu}}), the two chief forestry companies are Chilean-owned.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} In the past, the firms have planted hundreds of thousands of hectares with non-native species such as [[Monterey pine]], [[Douglas fir]]s, and [[eucalyptus]] trees, sometimes replacing native [[Valdivian temperate rain forest|Valdivian forest]]s, although such substitution and replacement is now{{when|date=June 2022}} forgotten.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

Chile exports wood to the United States, almost all of which comes from this southern region, with an annual value of around $600 million. [[Stand.earth]], a conservation group, has led an international campaign for preservation, resulting in the [[Home Depot]] chain and other leading wood importers agreeing to revise their purchasing policies to "provide for the protection of native forests in Chile". Some Mapuche leaders want stronger protections for the forests.{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

In recent years{{when|date=June 2022}}, the crimes committed by Mapuche armed insurgents have been prosecuted under counter-terrorism legislation, originally introduced by the [[Military dictatorship of Chile (1973–1990)|military dictatorship]] of [[Augusto Pinochet]] to control political dissidents. The law allows prosecutors to withhold evidence from the defense for up to six months and to conceal the identity of witnesses, who may give evidence in court behind screens. Insurgent groups, such as the [[Coordinadora Arauco Malleco]], use multiple tactics with the more extreme occurrences such as the burning of homes, churches, vehicles, structures, and pastures, which at times included causing deaths and threats to specific targets. As of 2005, protesters from Mapuche communities have used these tactics against properties of both multinational forestry corporations and private individuals.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cooperativa.cl/p4_noticias/antialone.html?page=http://www.cooperativa.cl/p4_noticias/site/artic/20051111/pags/20051111124708.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928044705/http://www.cooperativa.cl/p4_noticias/antialone.html?page=http://www.cooperativa.cl/p4_noticias/site/artic/20051111/pags/20051111124708.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 28, 2013 |title=Redireccionando |publisher=Cooperativa.cl |access-date=2013-09-25 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.speroforum.com/a/20549/Mapuche-struggle-for-autonomy-in-Chile "Mapuche struggle for autonomy in Chile"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617112944/https://www.speroforum.com/a/20549/Mapuche-struggle-for-autonomy-in-Chile |date=2019-06-17 }}, Spero Forum</ref> In 2010 the Mapuche launched many hunger strikes in attempts to effect change in the anti-terrorism legislation.<ref>[http://www.soundsandcolours.com/articles/chile/mapuche-hunger-strike-in-chile-highlights-the-real-problem-facing-president-sebastian-pinera/ "Mapuche hunger strike in Chile highlights the real problem facing President Sebastian Pinera"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129160347/http://www.soundsandcolours.com/articles/chile/mapuche-hunger-strike-in-chile-highlights-the-real-problem-facing-president-sebastian-pinera/ |date=2014-11-29 }}, ''Sounds and colors'' website</ref>
As of 2019, the Chilean government committed human rights abuses against the Mapuche based on Israeli military techniques and surveillance according to the French website Orin21.<ref name="Independent 2019-11-11">{{cite news |first=Benjamin |last=Zinevich
|title=You've heard about the violence in Chile. You probably haven't about their relationship with Israel's army |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/chile-protests-army-israel-palestine-santiago-pinera-pinochet-mapuche-a9167021.html |work=The Independent |date=11 November 2019 |access-date=3 January 2021}}</ref>

In May 2022, the [[Chamber of Deputies of Chile]] declared the Coordinadora Arauco-Malleco, [[Resistencia Mapuche Malleco]], [[Resistencia Mapuche Lavkenche|Resistencia Mapuche Lafkenche]], and [[Weichán Auka Mapu]] as "illegal terrorist organizations".<ref name=CamaraCAM2022>{{cite web |url=https://www.camara.cl/verDoc.aspx?prmId=7159&prmTipo=RESOLUCION |title=Proyecto de Resolución N° 128 |language=es}}</ref><ref name=CooperativaCAM2022>{{cite web |url=https://cooperativa.cl/noticias/pais/regiones/zona-sur/camara-baja-declaro-a-la-cam-y-otros-tres-grupos-radicales-como/2022-05-31/213626.html |title=Cámara de Diputados declara a la CAM y otras tres organizaciones radicales como "asociaciones ilícitas de carácter terrorista" |publisher=Cooperativa |date=May 31, 2022 |access-date=June 20, 2023 |language=es}}</ref><ref name=LTCAM2022>{{cite web |url=https://www.latercera.com/nacional/noticia/camara-de-diputados-declara-a-la-cam-y-otras-tres-organizaciones-radicales-como-asociaciones-ilicitas-de-caracter-terrorista/RZYPRDJ6QJEORBWNIYHQMZDI6E/ |title=Cámara Baja declaró a la CAM y otros tres grupos radicales como asociaciones terroristas |access-date=June 3, 2022 |last=S |first=Rodrigo Gómez |date=June 1, 2022 |website=La Tercera |language=es}}</ref>

Oil exploitation and fracking in the [[Vaca Muerta]] site in Neuquen, one of the biggest shale-oil and shale-gas deposits in the world, has produced waste dumps of sludge waste, polluting the environment close to the town of [[Añelo]], which is about 1,200&nbsp;km south of Buenos Aires. In 2018, the Mapuche were suing Exxon, French company [[TotalEnergies]] and [[Pan American Energy]].<ref name="batimes">{{Cite news |title=Mapuche group files lawsuit against multinationals over pollution from Vaca Muerta |pages=2018–12–22 |work=Buenos Aires Times  |url=https://www.batimes.com.ar/news/economy/mapuche-group-files-lawsuit-against-multinationals-over-pollution-from-vaca-muerta.phtml |access-date=2022-06-25}}</ref>

== Culture ==
[[File:Juego de chueca.jpg|thumb|Mapuche playing chueca, by [[Claude Gay]], 1854]]
At the time of the arrival of Europeans, the Mapuche organized and constructed a network of forts and defensive buildings. Ancient Mapuche also built ceremonial constructions such as some earthwork [[mound]]s discovered near Purén.<ref>[[Dillehay, Tom]], ''[http://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521872621&ss=fro Monuments, Empires, and Resistance: The Araucanian Polity and Ritual Narratives]'' (Cambridge University Press, Washington, 2007)</ref> Mapuche quickly adopted [[iron]] [[metal-working]] ([[Picunche]]s already worked [[copper]]<ref>Pedro Mariño de Lobera, in '''Crónica del Reino de Chile''', ch. XXXI and XXXIII, mentions copper points on the Mapuche pikes in the [[Battle of Andalien]] and [[Battle of Penco]].

Copper metallurgy was flourishing in South America, particularly in Peru, from around the beginning of the 1st millennium AD. The Mapuche may have learned copper metal working from their prior interaction with the Inca Empire or prior Peruvian cultures, or it may have been a native craft that developed independently in the region (copper being common in Chile).</ref>) Mapuche learned [[horse riding]] and the use of [[cavalry]] in war from the [[Spaniards]], along with the cultivation of [[wheat]] and [[sheep]].

In the 300-year co-existence between the Spanish colonies and the relatively well-delineated autonomous Mapuche regions, the Mapuche also developed a strong tradition of trading with Spaniards, Argentines, and Chileans. Such trade lies at the heart of the Mapuche silver-working tradition, for Mapuche wrought their jewelry from the large and widely dispersed quantity of Spanish, Argentine, and Chilean silver coins. Mapuche also made headdresses with [[coins]], which were called ''trarilonko,'' etc.

===Mapuche languages===
{{Main|Mapudungun}}

[[File:Mapuche telas y juegos.jpg|thumb|right|upright|{{lang|es|Familia Mapuche}}, by [[Claudio Gay]], 1848.]]
Mapuche languages are spoken in Chile and Argentina. The two living branches are [[Huillice language|Huilliche]] and [[Mapudungun]]. Although not genetically related, lexical influence has been discerned from [[Quechua language|Quechua]]. Linguists estimate that only about 200,000 full-fluency speakers remain in Chile. The language receives only token support in the educational system. In recent years, it has started to be taught in rural schools of Bío-Bío, Araucanía, and Los Lagos Regions.

Mapuche speakers of [[Chilean Spanish]] who also speak Mapudungun tend to use more [[One (pronoun)|impersonal pronouns]] when speaking Spanish.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=La expresión de impersonalidad en el español de Chile|date=2009|volume=13|journal=Cuadernos de Lingüística Hispánica|last=Hurtado Cubillos|first=Luz Marcela|pages=31–42|language=es}}</ref>

===Cosmology and beliefs===
{{Main|Mapuche religion}}

[[File:A council of araucanian philosophers (1904).jpg|thumb|left|upright|''A council of Araucanian philosophers'', 1904]]
Central to Mapuche cosmology is the idea of a creator called {{lang|arn|ngenechen}}, who is embodied in four components: an older man ({{lang|arn|fucha/futra/cha chau}}), an older woman ({{lang|arn|kude/kuse}}), a young man, and a young woman. They believe in worlds known as the {{lang|arn|Wenu Mapu}} and {{lang|arn|Minche Mapu}}. Also, Mapuche cosmology is informed by complex notions of spirits that coexist with humans and animals in the natural world, and daily circumstances can dictate spiritual practices.<ref>Ngenechen, and Don Armando Marileo</ref>

The most well-known Mapuche ritual ceremony is the {{lang|arn|Ngillatun}}, which loosely translates as "to pray" or "general prayer". These ceremonies are often major communal events that are of extreme spiritual and social importance. Many other ceremonies are practiced, and not all are for public or communal participation but are sometimes limited to family.

The main groups of deities and/or spirits in Mapuche mythology are the {{lang|arn|[[Pillan]]}} and {{lang|arn|Wangulen}} (ancestral spirits), the {{lang|arn|[[Ngen]]}} (spirits in nature), and the {{lang|arn|[[wekufe]]}} (evil spirits).

Central to Mapuche [[belief]] is the role of the {{lang|arn|[[Machi (Shaman)|machi]]}} (shaman). It is usually filled by a woman, following an apprenticeship with an older machi, and has many of the characteristics typical of [[shaman]]s. The machi performs ceremonies for curing diseases, warding off evil, influencing weather, harvests, social interactions, and [[dreamwork]]. Machis often have extensive knowledge of regional [[medicinal herbs]]. As biodiversity in the Chilean countryside has declined due to commercial agriculture and forestry, the dissemination of such knowledge has also declined, but the Mapuche people are reviving it in their communities. Machis have an extensive knowledge of sacred stones and sacred animals.

[[File:Hija del Cacique Quilprán, en 1868.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The daughter of [[lonko]] Quilapán]]
Like many cultures, the Mapuche have a [[deluge myth]] ({{lang|arn|epeu}}) of a major flood in which the world is destroyed and recreated. The myth involves two opposing forces: {{lang|arn|[[Kai Kai]]}} (water, which brings death through floods) and {{lang|arn|[[Tren Tren]]}} (dry earth, which brings sunshine). In the deluge almost all humanity is drowned; the few not drowned survive through [[Human cannibalism|cannibalism]]. At last, only one couple is left. A machi tells them that they must give their only child to the waters, which they do, and this restores order to the world.

Part of the Mapuche ritual is prayer and animal sacrifice, required to maintain the cosmic balance. This belief has continued to current times. In 1960, for example, a machi sacrificed a young boy, throwing him into the water after an [[1960 Valdivia earthquake|earthquake and a tsunami]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Bacigalupo|first=Ana Mariella|title=Shamanism: an encyclopedia of world beliefs, practices, and culture|year=2004|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=978-1-57607-645-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X8waCmzjiD4C&q=mapuche+boy+1960&pg=PA419|author-link=Mapuche Shamanism|editor=Mariko Namba Walter, Eva Jane Neumann Fridman|access-date=15 July 2011|page=419}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Bacigalupo|first=Ana Mariella |title=Shamans of the Foye Tree: Gender, Power, and Healing among Chilean Mapuche|year=2007|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-71659-9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j8aolrvQetoC&q=mapuche+boy+1960&pg=PA47|pages=46–47}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Aladama|first=Arturo J.|title=Violence and the Body: Race, Gender, and the State|year=2003|publisher=Indiana University Press|isbn=978-0-253-21559-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aCH6zsDB5mkC&q=mapuche+boy+1960&pg=PA326|page=326}}</ref>

The Mapuche have incorporated the remembered history of their long independence and resistance from 1540 (Spanish and then Chileans and Argentines) and of the treaty with the Chilean and Argentine governments in the 1870s. Memories, stories, and beliefs, often very local and particularized, are a significant part of the Mapuche traditional culture. To varying degrees, this history of resistance continues to this day amongst the Mapuche. At the same time, a large majority of Mapuche in Chile identify with the state as Chilean, similar to a large majority in Argentina identifying as Argentines.{{citation needed|date=January 2013}}

=== Ethnobotany ===
{{Main|Paleoethnobotany of the Mapuche}}

[[File:Che mamull proporcion.svg|thumb|Height of a {{lang|arn|italic=no|[[chemamull]]}} (Mapuche funeral statue) compared to a person.]]

=== Ceremonies and traditions ===
{{lang|arn|[[We Tripantu]]}} is the Mapuche [[New Year]] celebration.

===Textiles===
{{main|Mapuche textiles}}

[[File:Artesania Chilena - Manta Mapuche.jpg|thumb|left|Traditional Mapuche [[poncho]] exhibited in Museo Artesanía Chilena.]]
One of the best-known arts of the Mapuche is their [[textiles]]. The oldest data on textiles in the southernmost areas of the American continent (southern Chile and Argentina today) are found in some [[archaeological]] excavations, such as those of Pitrén Cemetery near the city of [[Temuco]], and the Alboyanco site in the [[Biobío Region]], both of Chile; and the Rebolledo Arriba Cemetery in [[Neuquén Province]] (Argentina). researchers have found evidence of fabrics made with complex techniques and designs, dated between AD 1300–1350.<ref>Brugnoli y Hoces de la Guardia, 1995; Alvarado, 2002</ref>

The Mapuche women were responsible for spinning and weaving. Knowledge of both weaving techniques and textile patterns particular to the locality was usually transmitted within the family, with mothers, grandmothers, and aunts teaching a girl the skills they had learned from their elders. Women who excelled in the textile arts were highly honored for their accomplishments and contributed economically and culturally to their kinship group. A measure of the importance of weaving is evident in the expectation that a man gives a larger [[dowry]] for a bride who was an accomplished weaver.<ref name="Wilson">Wilson, 1992; Mendez, 2009a.</ref>

In addition, the Mapuche used their textiles as an important surplus and an exchange trading good. Numerous sixteenth-century accounts describe their bartering the textiles with other Indigenous peoples, and with colonists in newly developed settlements. Such trading enabled the Mapuche to obtain those goods that they did not produce or held in high esteem, such as horses. Tissue volumes made by Aboriginal women and marketed in the Araucanía and the north of Patagonia Argentina were considerable and constituted a vital economic resource for Indigenous families.<ref>Garavaglia, 1986; Palermo, 1994; Mendez, 2009b.</ref> The production of fabrics in the time before European settlement was intended for uses beyond domestic consumption.<ref>Méndez, 2009b.</ref>

At present, the fabrics woven by the Mapuche continue to be used for domestic purposes, as well as for gift, sale, or barter. Most Mapuche women and their families now wear garments with foreign designs and tailored with materials of industrial origin, but they continue to weave ponchos, blankets, bands, and belts for regular use. Many of the fabrics are woven for trade, and in many cases, are an important source of income for families.<ref>Wilson, 1992; Alvarado, 2002; Mendez, 2009a.</ref> Glazed pots are used to dye the wool.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://tiruasj.blogspot.com/2009/05/noticias-de-mayo.html|title=Misión Jesuita Mapuche: Noticias de Mayo...|last=Jesuitas|first=Misión Mapuche-|date=2009-05-28|website=Misión Jesuita Mapuche|access-date=2017-04-14}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|reason=blogs generally not acceptable as sources per [[WP:RS]]|date=January 2021}} Many Mapuche women continue to weave fabrics according to the customs of their ancestors and transmit their knowledge in the same way: within domestic life, from mother to daughter, and from grandmothers to granddaughters. This form of learning is based on gestural imitation, and only rarely, and when strictly necessary, the apprentice receives explicit instructions or help from their instructors. Knowledge is transmitted as the fabric is woven, the weaving and transmission of knowledge go together.<ref name="Wilson" />

===Clava hand-club===

[[File:Clava symbol in Cañete, Chile.JPG|thumb|Monument in the form of a gigantic ''clava mere okewa'', located in Avenida [[Eduardo Frei Montalva|Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva]], [[Cañete, Chile]]]]
There is a traditional stone hand club used by the Mapuche which has been called a {{Lang|es|clava}} (Spanish for club). It has a long flat body. Another name is {{Lang|arn|clava mere okewa}}; in Spanish, it may also be called a {{Lang|es|clava cefalomorfa}}. It has some ritual importance as a special sign of distinction carried by tribal chiefs. Many kinds of clubs are known.

This is an object associated with masculine power. It consists of a disk with an attached handle; the edge of the disc usually has a semicircular recess. In many cases, the face portrayed on the disc carries incised designs. The handle is cylindrical, generally with a larger diameter at its connection to the disk.<ref>[http://www.tesauroregional.cl/trp/tesauro/default.asp?a=338&Element_ID=400 Several types of clavas] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140312224904/http://www.tesauroregional.cl/trp/tesauro/default.asp?a=338&Element_ID=400 |date=2014-03-12 }} Tesauro Regional Patrimonial, Chile</ref><ref>[http://chileprecolombino.cl/coleccion/clava-cefalomorfa/ Image of ''clava cefalomorfa''] Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino</ref>

===Silverwork===
{{Main|Mapuche silverwork}}

[[File:trapelacucha drawing.svg|thumb|upright|Drawing of a trapelacucha, a silver finery piece.|right]]
In the later half of the eighteenth century, Mapuche [[silversmith]]s began to produce large amounts of silver finery.<ref name=Aldunate>{{cite journal |last=Aldunate |first=Carlos |year=1984 |title=Refrexiones acerca de la platería mapuche |journal=CUHSO |volume=1 |pages=1–19 |doi=10.7770/cuhso-v1n1-art129 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The surge of silversmithing activity may be related to the [[1726 parliament of Negrete]] that decreased hostilities between Spaniards and Mapuches and allowed trade to increase between colonial Chile and the free Mapuches.<ref name=Aldunate/> In this context of increasing trade Mapuches began in the late eighteenth century to accept payments in [[silver coin]]s for their products, usually cattle or horses.<ref name=Aldunate/> These coins and silver coins obtained in political negotiations served as raw material for Mapuche metalsmiths ({{langx|arn|rüxafe}}).<ref name=Aldunate/><ref name=Kangiser/><ref name=Painecura25-26/> Old Mapuche silver [[pendant]]s often included unmelted silver coins, something that has helped modern researchers to date the objects.<ref name=Kangiser>{{cite journal |last=Kangiser Gómez |first=María Fernanda |year=2002 |title=Conservación en platería mapuche: Museo Fonck, Viña del Mar |url=http://www.museodevalparaiso.cl/dinamicas/DocAdjunto_27.pdf |journal=Conserva |volume=6 |access-date=13 November 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202234953/http://www.museodevalparaiso.cl/dinamicas/DocAdjunto_27.pdf |archive-date=2 December 2013 }}</ref> The bulk of the Spanish silver coins originated from mining in [[Potosí]] in [[Upper Peru]].<ref name=Painecura25-26>Painecura 2012, pp. 25–26.</ref>

The great diversity in silver finery designs is because designs were made to be identified with different {{lang|arn|reynma}} (families), {{lang|arn|lof mapu}} (lands) as well as specific {{lang|arn|[[lonko]]s}} and {{lang|arn|[[machi (shaman)|machi]]s}}.<ref name=Painecura27-28>Painecura 2012, pp. 27–28.</ref> Mapuche silver finery was also subject to changes in [[fashion]] albeit designs associated with philosophical and spiritual concepts have not undergone major changes.<ref name=Painecura27-28/>

In the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century, Mapuche silversmithing activity and artistic diversity reached its climax.<ref name=Painecura30>Painecura 2012, p. 30.</ref> All important Mapuche chiefs of the nineteenth century are supposed to have had at least one silversmith.<ref name=Aldunate/> By 1984 Mapuche scholar Carlos Aldunate noted that there were no silversmiths alive among contemporary Mapuches.<ref name=Aldunate/>

===Literature===
The Mapuche culture of the sixteenth century had an [[oral tradition]] and lacked a writing system. Since that time, a writing system for Mapudungun was developed, and Mapuche writings in both [[mapuche language|Spanish]] and [[Mapudungun]] have flourished.<ref name=Carrasco>Carrasco, I. 2000. [http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0071-17132000003500009 "Mapuche poets in Chilean literature"], ''[[Estudios Filológicos]]'', 35, 139–149.</ref> Contemporary Mapuche literature can be said to be composed of an oral tradition and Spanish-Mapudungun bilingual writings.<ref name=Carrasco/> Notable Mapuche [[poet]]s include Sebastián Queupul, Pedro Alonzo, [[Elicura Chihuailaf]], and Leonel Lienlaf.<ref name=Carrasco/>

=== Cogender views ===
Among the Mapuche in La Araucanía, in addition to heterosexual female {{lang|arn|machi}} shamanesses, there are homosexual male {{lang|arn|machi weye}} shamans, who wear female clothing.<ref>Bacigalupo, 2007. pp. 111–114</ref><ref>Bacigalupo, Ana Mariella. "The Struggle for Mapuche Shamans' Masculinity: Colonial Politics of Gender, Sexuality, and Power in Southern Chile"<!-- Link removed due to tripping the filter against non-public URLs. See history to recover or, if it can be recovered -->. ''Ethnohistory'', vol. 51, no. 3, Summer 2004, pp. 489–533. EBSCO''host''.</ref><ref>Vilaça, Aparecida. [https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/cunygc/detail.action?docID=438515 "The Re-Invention of Mapuche Male Shamans as Catholic Priests: Legitimizing Indigenous Co-Gender Identities in Modern Chile"]. In ''Native Christians: Modes and Effects of Christianity among Indigenous Peoples of the Americas'', edited by Robin M. Wright, Taylor and Francis, 2009, pp 89–108. ProQuest Ebook Central.</ref> These {{lang|arn|machi weye}} were first described in Spanish in a chronicle of 1673.<ref>Francisco Núñez de Pineda y Bascuñán. ''Cautiverio felíz y razón de las guerras dilatadas de Chile''. Santiago: Imprenta el Ferrocarril, 1863.</ref> Among the Mapuche, "the spirits are interested in machi's gendered discourses and performances, not in the sex under the machi's clothes".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.buffalo.edu/ubreporter/archives/vol38/vol38n24/articles/BacigalupoShamens.html |title=The gendered realm of the foye tree |date=22 February 2007 |first=Patricia |last=Donovan |access-date=2021-01-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120315193258/http://www.buffalo.edu/ubreporter/archives/vol38/vol38n24/articles/BacigalupoShamens.html |archive-date=2012-03-15 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In attracting the {{lang|arn|filew}} (possessing spirit), "Both male and female {{lang|arn|machi}} become spiritual brides who seduce and call their {{lang|arn|filew}} – at once husband and master – to possess their heads ... The ritual transvestism of male {{lang|arn|machi}} ... draws attention to the relational gender categories of spirit husband and {{lang|arn|machi}} wife as a couple ({{lang|arn|kurewen}})."<ref>Bacigalupo, 2007. p. 87</ref> As concerning "co-gendered identities"<ref>Bacigalupo, 2007. pp. 131–133</ref> of "{{lang|arn|machi}} as co-gender specialists",<ref>{{cite book |url=https://utpress.utexas.edu/books/bacsha |title=Shamans of the Foye Tree: Gender, Power, and Healing among Chilean Mapuche |first=Ana Mariella |last=Bacigalupo |date=April 2007 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-0-292-71659-9 |access-date=2021-01-03 |archive-date=2020-12-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230045035/https://utpress.utexas.edu/books/bacsha |url-status=dead }}</ref> it has been speculated that "female [[berdaches]]" may have formerly existed among the Mapuche.<ref>Bacigalupo, 2007. p. 268, n. 5:18</ref>

==Mapuche, Chileans and the Chilean state==
Following the independence of Chile in the 1810s, the Mapuche began to be perceived as Chilean by other Chileans, contrasting with previous perceptions of them as a separate people or nation.<ref name=Foerster>Foerster, Rolf 2001. ''Sociedad mapuche y sociedad chilena: la deuda histórica.'' Polis, Revista de la Universidad Bolivariana.</ref> However, not everybody agreed; 19th-century Argentine writer and president [[Domingo Faustino Sarmiento]] presented his view of the Mapuche-Chile relation by stating:<ref>{{Citation|last=Cayuqueo|first=Pedro|author-link=Pedro Cayuqueo|title=Hernan Curiñir Lincoqueo, historiador mapuche: 'Sobre el Bicentenario chileno tenemos mucho que decir'|language=es|date=August 14, 2008|url=http://www.azkintuwe.org/agos12_01.htm|newspaper=Azkintuwe.org}}</ref>

{{blockquote|Between two Chilean provinces ([[Concepción, Chile|Concepción]] and [[Valdivia]]) there is a piece of land that is not a province, its language is different, it is inhabited by other people and it can still be said that it is not part of Chile. Yes, Chile is the name of the country over where its flag waves and its laws are obeyed.}}

===Civilizing mission discourses and scientific racism===
[[File:Monvoisin, Raymond - Naufragio del Joven Daniel -f02 det.jpg|thumb|Painting by [[Raymond Monvoisin]] showing [[Elisa Bravo]] who was said to have survived the 1849 wreck of ''[[Joven Daniel]]'' to be then kidnapped by Mapuches.]]

The events surrounding the [[Joven Daniel|wreck of ''Joven Daniel'']] at the coast of Araucanía in 1849 are considered an "inflection point" or "point of no return" in the relations between Mapuches and the Chilean state.<ref name=Munoz2010/> It cemented views of Mapuches as brutal barbarians and showed in the view of many that Chilean authorities' earlier goodwill was naive.<ref name=Munoz2010>{{Cite journal|title=El naufragio del bergantín Joven Daniel, 1849. El indígena en el imaginario histórico de Chile|journal=Tiempo Histórico|last=Muñoz Sougarret|first=Jorge|issue=1|year=2010|language=es|pages=133–148}}</ref><ref name=Bengoa163-165>Bengoa 2000, pp. 163–165.</ref>

There are various recorded instances in the nineteenth century when Mapuches were the subject of [[civilizing mission]] discourses by elements of the Chilean government and military. For example, [[Cornelio Saavedra Rodríguez]] called in 1861 for Mapuches to submit to Chilean state authority and "enter into reduction and civilization".<ref name=Ferrando398-402>{{cite book |last=Ferrando Kaun |first=Ricardo |title=Y así nació La Frontera...|year=1986 |edition=Second |publisher=Editorial Antártica |isbn=978-956-7019-83-0 |pages=405–419}}</ref> When the Mapuches were [[Occupation of Araucanía|finally defeated in 1883]] President [[Domingo Santa María]] declared:<ref name=Ferrando583>{{cite book |last=Ferrando Kaun |first=Ricardo |title=Y así nació La Frontera...|year=1986 |edition=Second |publisher=Editorial Antártica |isbn=978-956-7019-83-0 |page=583|language=es}}</ref>

{{blockquote|The country has with satisfaction seen the problem of the reduction of the whole Araucanía solved. This event, so important to our social and political life, and so significant for the future of the republic, has ended, happily and with costly and painful sacrifices. Today the whole Araucanía is subjugated, more than to the material forces, to the moral and civilizing force of the republic&nbsp;...}}
{{quote box|align=right|width=30%|The Chilean race, as everybody knows, is a mestizo race made of Spanish [[conquistador]]s and the Araucanian&nbsp;...|— [[Nicolás Palacios]] in ''La raza chilena'', p. 34.}}

After the [[War of the Pacific]] (1879–1883) there was a rise of racial and national superiority ideas among the Chilean ruling class.<ref>Ericka Beckman, ''Imperial Impersonations: Chilean Racism and the War of the Pacific'', University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign</ref> It was in this context that Chilean physician [[Nicolás Palacios]] hailed the Mapuche "race" arguing from a [[scientific racism|scientific racist]] and nationalist point of view. He considered the Mapuche superior to other tribes and the Chilean [[mestizo]] a blend of Mapuches and [[Visigoths|Visigothic]] elements from Spain.<ref>{{Cite book|title=La raza chilena|last=Palacios|first=Nicolás|year=1918|language=es|author-link=Nicolás Palacios|orig-year=1904}}</ref> The writings of Palacios became later influential among [[Nazism in Chile|Chilean Nazis]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.memoriachilena.gob.cl/602/w3-article-97363.html|title=Nicolás Palacios (1854-1911)|access-date=2020-05-10|website=[[Memoria Chilena]]|publisher=[[Biblioteca Nacional de Chile]]|language=es}}</ref>

As a result of the [[Occupation of Araucanía]] (1861–1883) and the War of the Pacific, Chile had incorporated territories with new Indigenous populations. Mapuches obtained relatively favourable views as "primordial" Chileans contrasting with other Indigenous peoples like the [[aymara people|Aymara]] who were perceived as "foreign elements".<ref name=Vergara>{{cite journal |last1=Vergara |first1=Jorge Iván |last2=Gundermann |first2=Hans |year=2012 |title=Constitution and internal dynamics of the regional identitary in Tarapacá and Los Lagos, Chile |journal=[[Chungara (journal)|Chungara]] |language=es |publisher=[[University of Tarapacá]] |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=115–134 |doi= 10.4067/s0717-73562012000100009|doi-access=free |url=https://www.redalyc.org/pdf/326/32623101009.pdf }}</ref>

===Contemporary attitudes===
{{quote box
| align = right
| width = 30%|Since some four years ago a History of the Civilization in Araucanía has been published in the said ''[[Anales de la Universidad de Chile|Anales]]'' in which our indigenous ancestors are treated like savages, cruel, depraved, lacking morals, lacking warrior skills&nbsp;...|— [[Nicolás Palacios]], ''La raza chilena'', p. 62.
}}
Contemporary attitudes towards Mapuches on the part of non-Indigenous people in Chile are highly individual and heterogeneous. Nevertheless, a considerable part of the non-Indigenous people in Chile have a prejudiced and discriminatory attitude towards Mapuche. In a 2003 study, it was found that among the sample, 41% of people over 60 years old, 35% of people of low [[Socioeconomics|socioeconomic]] standing, 35% of the supporters of right-wing parties, 36% of Protestants, and 26% of Catholics were prejudiced against Indigenous peoples in Chile. In contrast, only 8% of those who attended university, 16% of supporters of left-wing parties, and 19% of people aged 18–29 were prejudiced.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Aymerich |first1=Jaime |last2=Canales |first2=Manuel  |last3=Vivanco |first3=Manuel |date=2003 |title=Encuesta Tolerancia y No Discriminación Tercera Medición |url=http://www.libros.uchile.cl/files/presses/1/monographs/240/submission/proof/files/assets/basic-html/index.html#page70  |publisher=Universidad de Chile, Departamento de Sociología, Fundación Facultad de Ciencias Sociales |pages=60–74 |language=es |access-date=17 January 2018}}</ref> Specific prejudices about the Mapuche are that the Mapuches are lazy and alcoholic; to some lesser degree, Mapuche are sometimes judged antiquated and dirty.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Representación social mapuche e imaginario social no mapuche de la discriminación percibida|journal=[[Atenea]]|last1=Quilaquea R.|first1=Daniel|volume=496|pages=81–103|issue=II|year=2007|last2=Merino D.|url=https://scielo.conicyt.cl/scielo.php?pid=S0718-04622007000200006&script=sci_arttext|first2=María Eugenia|last3=Saiz V.|first3=José Luis}}</ref>

In the 20th century, many Mapuche women migrated to large cities to work as [[domestic workers]] ({{langx|es|nanas mapuches}}). In Santiago, many of these women settled in [[Cerro Navia]] and [[La Pintana]].<ref name=Serena2010>{{Cite book|title=Leadership from the Margins: Women and Civil Society Organizations in Argentina, Chile and El Salvador|chapter=Chile|last=Cosgrove|first=Serena|publisher=Rutgers University Press|year=2010|isbn=978-0-8135-4799-2|pages=128}}</ref> Sociologist [[Éric Fassin]] has called the occurrence of Mapuche domestic workers a continuation of [[Colonial Chile|colonial relations]] of servitude.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uchile.cl/noticias/85110/sociologo-frances-eric-fassin-reflexiono-sobre-violencia-sexual |title=Sociólogo francés Éric Fassin reflexionó sobre el abuso y la violencia sexual |last1=Godoy Valdés |first1=Gloria |date=September 13, 2012|website=uchile.cl |access-date=June 20, 2015 |language=es }}</ref>
[[File:Flag of the Mapuches (1992).svg|thumb|right|''Wenufoye'' flag created in 1992 by the Indigenist organization "[[Consejo de Todas las Tierras]]".]]

Historian [[Gonzalo Vial Correa|Gonzalo Vial]] claimed that the Republic of Chile owes a "historical debt" to the Mapuche. The [[Coordinadora Arauco-Malleco]] claims to have the goal of a "national liberation" of Mapuche, with their regaining sovereignty over their lands.<ref name=Foerster/> Reportedly there is a tendency among female Mapuche activists to reject [[feminism]] as they consider their struggle to go beyond gender.<ref name=Serena2010/>

==Mapuches and the Argentine state==
[[File:Tehuelche flag.svg|thumb|Flag of Argentinian Tehuelche-Mapuche]]
19th-century Argentine authorities aiming to incorporate the Pampas and Patagonia into national territory recognized the [[Puelmapu]] Mapuche's strong connections with Chile. This gave Chile a certain influence over the Pampas. Argentine authorities feared that in an eventual war with Chile over Patagonia, Mapuches would align themselves with Chile.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Argentina and Chile: The Struggle for Patagonia 1843–1881|journal=The Americas|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/981291|last=Perry|first=Richard O.|volume=36|pages=347–363|issue=3|doi=10.2307/981291|year=1980|jstor=981291|s2cid=147607097 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> In this context, [[Estanislao Zeballos]] published the work {{Lang|es|italic=yes|La Conquista de quince mil leguas}} (''The Fifteen Thousand League Conquest'') in 1878, which had been commissioned by the Argentine Ministry of War. In {{Lang|es|italic=yes|La Conquista de quince mil leguas}} Mapuches were presented as Chileans who were bound to return to Chile.<ref name=Lenton2020/> Mapuches were thus indirectly considered foreign enemies.<ref name=Lenton2020/> Such a notion fitted well with the expansionist designs of [[Nicolás Avellaneda]] and [[Julio Argentino Roca]] for Puelmapu.<ref name=Lenton2020/> The notion of Mapuches as Chileans is however an anachronism as Mapuches precede the formation of the modern state of Chile.<ref name=Lenton2020/> By 1920 Argentine {{Lang|es|[[Nacionalismo (Argentine political movement)|Nacionalismo]]}} revived the idea of Mapuches being Chileans, in strong contrast with 20th-century scholars based in Chile such as [[Ricardo E. Latcham]] and [[Francisco Antonio Encina]] who advanced a theory that [[Origin of the Mapuche|Mapuches originated east of the Andes]] before penetrating what came to be Chile.<ref name=Bengoaorigen/><ref name=Lenton2020>{{Cite news|title=La nación mapuche no es argentina ni chilena|url=https://www.nodal.am/2020/08/la-nacion-mapuche-no-es-argentina-ni-chilena-por-diana-lenton-especial-para-nodal/|last=Lenton|first=Diana|date=August 14, 2020|access-date=November 12, 2020|work=Nodal|language=es}}</ref>

As late as 2017 Argentine historian Roberto E. Porcel wrote in a communiqué to the [[National Academy of History]] that those who often claim to be Mapuches in Argentina would be rather [[Mestizo]]s, emboldened by European-descent supporters, who "lack any right for their claims and violence, not only for NOT being most of them Araucanians [sic], but also because they [the Araucanians] do not rank among our indigenous peoples".<ref>{{Cite report|title=Los mapuches en nuestro territorio – historia y actualidad|date=2017-08-22|url=https://www.ancmyp.org.ar/user/FILES/14-%20PORCEL-comp.pdf|last=Porcel|first=Roberto E.|issue=Comunicación del Dr. Roberto E. Porcel, en la sesión pública del Instituto de Política Ambiental|access-date=2021-01-05}}</ref>

== Modern politics ==
In the 1935 local elections, [[Herminia Aburto Colihueque]] was the first Mapuche woman to run for public office, although she was not elected.<ref name=gob>{{cite web|url=https://www.pueblosoriginarios.gob.cl/multimedia/herminia-ni-rupu|title=Herminia ñi rüpü|website=[[Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage (Chile)|National Service of Cultural Heritage]]}}</ref>

In the [[2017 Chilean general election]], the first two Mapuche women were elected to the [[Chilean Congress]]; [[Aracely Leuquén Uribe]] from [[National Renewal (Chile)|National Renewal]] and [[Emilia Nuyado]] from the [[Socialist Party of Chile|Socialist Party]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Día histórico en el Congreso: asumen las primeras dos diputadas mapuche |url=https://www.t13.cl/noticia/politica/dia-historico-congreso-asume-primera-diputada-mapuche |access-date=2022-03-23 |website=www.t13.cl|date=11 March 2018 }}</ref>

Other Mapuche politicians include [[Victorino Antilef]], [[Alexis Caiguan]], [[Rosa Catrileo]], [[Francisco Huenchumilla]], [[Francisca Linconao]], [[Natividad Llanquileo]], [[Elisa Loncón]], [[Adolfo Millabur]] and [[Luz Vidal]].

==In popular culture==
* In 1950, the soccer club [[Colo-Colo]] adopted the Mapuche leader [[Colocolo (tribal chief)|Colocolo]] as their logo. The club has a deep connection with Mapuche culture, been nicknamed "El Cacique" after the term [[cacique]], a name for indigenous leaders. 
* In 2002, a species of Argentinian lizard, ''[[Liolaemus mapuche]]'', was named in honor of the Mapuche people.<ref>{{EponymDictionaryReptiles}}</ref>{{rp|167}}
* In 2012, renowned Mapuche weaver [[Anita Paillamil]] collaborated with [[Chileans|Chilean]] artist Guillermo Bert to create "Encoded Textiles", an exhibit that combined traditional mapuche [[Weaving|textile weaving]] with [[QR code|QR Code]] designs.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sandford |first=Maggie |date=July 2013 |title=What's a QR Code Doing on That Blanket? |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/whats-a-qr-code-doing-on-that-blanket-4613884/ |access-date=2022-11-21 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref>
* The 2020 Chilean-Brazilian animated film ''[[Nahuel and the Magic Book]]'' features major characters, Fresia and Huenchur who represent her clothing attire and her tribe.
* The [[4X]] video game ''[[Civilization VI]]'' features the Mapuche as a playable civilization (added in the ''Rise and Fall'' expansion). Their leader is [[Lautaro]], a young Mapuche toqui known for leading the Indigenous resistance against Spanish conquest in [[Chile]] and developing the tactics that would continue to be employed by the Mapuche during the long-running ArauIsab.
* The novel "[[Inés of My Soul]]" by [[Isabel Allende]] features the conquest of Chile by Pedro Valdivia, and a large part of the book deals with the Mapuche Conflict.
* The plot of the 2021 Chilean thriller film "[[Immersion (film)|Immersion]]" is a power struggle between a vacationing family and three Mapuche men.
* The 2023 film "Sayen" depicts Mapuche villagers resisting an international mining company seeking to exploit cobalt.
* In 2024 expansion pack Trial of Allegiance for grand-strategy video game [[Hearts of Iron IV]] the player may play as [[Chile]] and with respective focus trees, either restore the kingdom of Araucania and Patagonia, with recognized Mapuche minority or have Mapuche coup and liberate the Native Americans from both North and South American continents.

== See also ==
* [[Guaraní people]]
* [[Flag of the Mapuches]]
* [[Guñelve]]
* [[Wekufe]]
* [[Pillan]]

{{Portal|Indigenous peoples of the Americas}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* Alvarado, Margarita (2002), "El esplendor del adorno: El poncho y el chanuntuku", in ''Hijos del Viento, Arte de los Pueblos del Sur, Siglo XIX.'' Buenos Aires: Fundación PROA.
*{{cite book |last=Bengoa |first=José |title=Historia del pueblo mapuche: Siglos XIX y XX |year=2000 |edition=7th |publisher=[[LOM Ediciones]] |isbn=956-282-232-X }}
* Brugnoli, Paulina y Hoces de la Guardia, Soledad (1995). "Estudio de fragmentos del sitio Alboyanco", in ''Hombre y Desierto, una perspectiva cultural'', 9: 375–381.
* Corcuera, Ruth (1987). ''Herencia textil andina''. Buenos Aires: Impresores SCA.
* Corcuera, Ruth (1998). ''Ponchos de las Tierras del Plata''. Buenos Aires: Fondo Nacional de las Artes.
* Chertudi, Susana y Nardi, Ricardo (1961). "Tejidos Araucanos de la Argentina", in ''Cuadernos del Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Folklóricas'', 2: 97–182.
* Garavaglia, Juan Carlos (1986), "Los textiles de la tierra en el contexto colonial rioplatense: ¿una revolución industrial fallida?", in ''Anuario IEHS'', 1:45–87.
* Joseph, Claude (1931). ''Los tejidos Araucanos''. Santiago de Chile: Imprenta San Francisco, Padre Las Casas.
* Kradolfer, Sabine, ''Quand la parenté impose, le don dispose. Organisation sociale, don et identité dans les communautés mapuche de la province de Neuquén (Argentine)'' (Bern etc., Peter Lang, 2011) (Publications Universitaires Européennes. Série 19 B: Ethnologie-générale, 71).
* Mendez, Patricia (2009a). "Herencia textil, identidad indígena y recursos económicos en la Patagonia Argentina", in ''Revista de la Asociación de Antropólogos Iberoamericanos en Red'', 4, 1:11–53.
* Méndez, Patricia (2009b). "Los tejidos indígenas en la Patagonia Argentina: cuatro siglos de comercio textili", in ''Anuario Indiana'', 26: 233–265.
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* Murra, John (1975). ''Formaciones económicas y políticas del mundo andino.'' Lima: Instituto de Estudios Peruanos.
* Nardi, Ricardo y Rolandi, Diana (1978). ''1000 años de tejido en la Argentina''. Buenos Aires: Ministerio de Cultura y Educación, Secretaría de Estado de Cultura, Instituto Nacional de Antropología.
*{{cite book |last=Painecura Antinao |first=Juan |year=2012 |title=Charu. Sociedad y cosmovisión en la platería mapuche }}
* Palermo, Miguel Angel (1994). "Economía y mujer en el sur argentino", in ''Memoria Americana'' 3: 63–90.
* Wilson, Angélica (1992). ''Arte de Mujeres''. Santiago de Chile: Ed. CEDEM, Colección Artes y Oficios Nº 3.

==Further reading==
*'[http://cordite.org.au/reviews/jose-cooke/ Nicholas Jose Reviews ''Speaking the Earth’s Languages: A Theory for Australian-Chilean Postcolonial Poetics'']': ''Cordite Poetry Review'', 2014
*'[http://cordite.org.au/translations/a-bilingual-conversation-in-four-poems/ Fogarty & Garrido: A Bilingual Conversation between Four Poems]': ''Cordite Poetry Review'', 2012
*'[http://cordite.org.au/translations/trilingual-visibility-in-our-transpacific/ Trilingual Visibility in Our Transpacific: Three Mapuche Poets]': ''Cordite Poetry Review'', 2012
*''Language of the Land : The Mapuche in Argentina and Chile'': [http://www.iwgia.org/sw21526.asp IWGIA – International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs], 2007, {{ISBN|978-87-91563-37-9}}
*''When a flower is reborn : The Life and Times of a Mapuche Feminist'', 2002, {{ISBN|0-8223-2934-4}}
*''Courage Tastes of Blood : The Mapuche Community of Nicolás Ailío and the Chilean State, 1906–2001'', 2005, {{ISBN|0-8223-3585-9}}
*''Neoliberal Economics, Democratic Transition, and Mapuche Demands for Rights in Chile'', 2006, {{ISBN|0-8130-2938-4}}
*''Shamans of the Foye Tree : Gender, Power, and Healing among Chilean Mapuche'', 2007, {{ISBN|978-0-292-71658-2}}
*''A Grammar of Mapuche'', 2007, {{ISBN|978-3-11-019558-3}}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.clas.berkeley.edu:7001/Gallery/nakashima/index.html |title=Mapuche Dreamwork |publisher=Clas.berkeley.edu |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070610101202/http://www.clas.berkeley.edu:7001/Gallery/nakashima/index.html |archive-date=2007-06-10 }}
*{{Cite encyclopedia|last=Bandelier|first=Adolph Francis|title=Araucanians|year=1907|encyclopedia=The Catholic Encyclopedia|url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01679b.htm|volume=1|location=New York|publisher=Robert Appleton Company}}
*Eim, Stefan (2010). ''The Conceptualisation of Mapuche Religion in Colonial Chile (1545–1787)'': http://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/volltextserver/volltexte/2010/10717/pdf/Eim_Conceptualisation_of_Mapuche_Religion.pdf.
*Faron, Louis (1961). ''Mapuche Social Structure, Illinois Studies in Anthropology'' (Urbana: University of Illinois Press).

== External links ==
{{Incubator|code= arn}}
{{Commons category|Mapuche}}
* [http://www.mapuche-nation.org Mapuche International Link official website]
* [http://www.mapuche-nation.org/english/main/feature/m_nation.htm Mapuche-nation.org]
* [http://www.xs4all.nl/~rehue/ Rehue Foundation in Netherland]
* [http://members.aol.com/mapulink3/mapulink-3i/mapu-nation.html Mapulink website]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060901183456/http://paa2005.princeton.edu/download.aspx?submissionId=50030 Mapuche Health]
* [http://www.araucania.org Website of the Kingdom of Araucania and Patagonia]

{{Mapuche}}
{{Ancestry and ethnicity in Argentina}}
{{Ancestry and ethnicity in Chile}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mapuche}}
[[Category:Mapuche| ]]
[[Category:Indigenous culture of the Americas]]
[[Category:Indigenous peoples of the Southern Cone]]
[[Category:Society of Chile]]
[[Category:Indigenous peoples in Argentina]]
[[Category:Indigenous peoples in Chile]]
[[Category:Pre-Columbian cultures]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Chile]]