Mapuche

Mapuche means in mapudungun "people of the land", and together with the numbers is almost unique words I know in this language, but also some places I visited, as Pichilemu and Bucalemu (Little forest and Big forest), Nirivilo (Snakepit), Curicó (Black river), and many others of South of the country. Here, in Santiago, we have some municipalities with names of tokis (war leaders) as Vitacura and Tobalaba, or hills as Manquehue (Place of condors).

Otherwise it is little what we preserve the culture of a people that despite its efforts to maintain its roots it is becoming increasingly overshadowed by a national state that recognized since the late nineteenth century nominally cultural pluralism via ratification of Convention 169 ILO, but in practice only distinguishes one type of subject: the Chilean.

The people of this ethnic group, according to the last census of 2002, represents the 4 percent of the total population of Chile, and corresponds to 23,4 percent in the region of Araucanía.

4.6 percent of national total recognizes to belong to an ethnic , or the same 692,192 people are indigenous in Chile.

Mapuche issue? They haven't any problem except us; we are responsible for a highly inadequate recognition of their dignity. Is the question that when we come to the conclusion that some are more equal than others, is better cut heads than count them.