Or the true antiquity of the Mapuche in Argentina

For one reason or another, I received a few texts about the "Mapuche situation," but I felt the need to learn a bit more. They seemed insufficient to me, and even gave me the feeling that the texts I read only addressed the topic from a single perspective—specifically, the Mapuche perspective.

There is some information on Wikipedia at the following link: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pueblo_mapuche

The issue is complex; for the purpose of this blog post, I am going to drastically reduce the topic to two points: as an indigenous people and as a land claim.

The question is: are they an "indigenous" people of anywhere within what comprises present-day Argentine territory? The texts I read bypass the question and focus on speaking about "genocide" as a consequence of the Conquest of the Desert, or as a state massacre—ultimately, theoretical categories of study. Even these categories or terminology have their shifts and nuances, because they are not sufficiently defined, and there are many disagreements in both the legal field and the social sciences.

The other issue is the land claim: is it valid or not? Why to the Mapuche and not to other ethnic groups? Etc… along with several similar questions.

I will not delve deep into the matter, as it is beyond my scope and not the purpose of this blog, but rather the following.

There are detractors—those who question these two points, or at least the main one—stating that the Mapuche are not indigenous to Argentina (unlike other ethnic groups that are or were, such as the Tehuelche), but instead settled in the territory later, subjugating other ethnic groups that already inhabited it. This in itself undermines or complicates the grounds for the land claim.

An Argentine paleontologist, archaeologist, historian, writer, and professor named Rodolfo Casamiquela (1932–2008) http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodolfo_Casamiquela wrote a book titled "Rodolfo Casamiquela, 'racista-antimapuche'... o la verdadera antigüedad de los mapuches en la Argentina" ["Rodolfo Casamiquela, 'racist-anti-Mapuche'... or the true antiquity of the Mapuches in Argentina"]. Book cover photo

Author of more than twenty books and around 400 research articles, this particular book—brief, concise, and precise at 80 pages—appears to be a sensible response, through debate and science, to an aggressive public confrontation (escrache) the author suffered at the hands of individuals who staged a picket during a lecture at a university in 2005—a violent way of protesting by these individuals.

In an interview, Casamiquela answers various questions regarding the topic—very interesting to read—and points out that these Mapuche groups are essentially political; the Mapuche in Argentina have only been here for 100 years, are not indigenous, and their claim is for land and nothing more. The interview can be read on this blog: http://losmatuastos.blogspot.com.ar/2012/09/casamiquela-los-mapuches-son-chilenos.html

There is a blog dedicated to gathering and publishing material by this author at http://casamiquelablog.blogspot.com.ar/ with a lot of reading material.

Other interesting links to get closer to the topic of the Mapuche and their land claim:

Who are the Mapuche? - By Rolando Hanglin - For LA NACION http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1727466-historia-mapuche

The arguments that invalidate the territorial claim of the Mapuche.http://www.lanacion.com.ar/1187505-los-argumentos-que-invalidan-el-reclamo-territorial-de-los-mapuches

The Mapuche myth - By Hugo Martínez Viademonte http://www.rionegro.com.ar/diario/rn/nota.aspx?idart=703689&idcat=10101&tipo=2

Patagonia, Chile, The Mapuche, and Argentine sovereignty.http://lagazeta.com.ar/patagonia-1878.htm#.Usq1gGPBsPE.facebook

Casamiquela "THE MAPUCHE ARE CHILEAN" - Article by Estela Jorquera http://losmatuastos.blogspot.com.ar/2012/09/casamiquela-los-mapuches-son-chilenos.html

http://elcaminodenuestrospobladores.blogspot.com.ar/2012/09/los-tehuelches-esa-otra-historia.html