Country: Argentina

Group: Mapuche

Date Finalized: 3/29/2020

Team: Vianney Mancilla (lead), Arisha Khan, Maya Shrikant

Content Warning: violence, war, death, genocide

Approximate Time Period: 1878-1885

The Mapuche primarily populate both sides of the Andes, known as Patagonia. Argentinians have perceived the Mapuche and other indigenous people as ‘foreigners,’ because the indigenous people of Patagonia were ‘known’ to be extinct (Delrio, 2010). With the goal of expelling the indigenous population from their land, the Argentine army, led by President Julio Roca initiated the military campaign, “Conquest of the Desert” (Coha, 2019). From 1878 to 1885, over 15,000 indigenous people were displaced (Coha, 2019). According to the Minority Rights Group, “many Mapuche were killed or forced to flee their communities” during the “Conquest of the Desert”; the exact number of deaths of the Mapuche people is not explicitly stated (Mapuche, 2008). The killings would be considered targeted given the anti-indigenous sentiment surrounding the “Conquest of the Desert.” Moreover, the Mapuche have petitioned the International Criminal Court to hold the Argentine and Chilean governments accountable for “acts of genocide and crimes against humanity” (Youkee, 2019). The data quality is rated a 3 because there is significant information backing up the “Conquest of the Desert” and the maltreatment of the Mapuche. 

Sources

  1. Coha. (2019, November 21). Benetton in Patagonia – The Oppression of Mapuche in the Argentine South. Retrieved from http://www.coha.org/benetton-in-patagonia-the-oppression-of-mapuche-in-the-argentine-south/
  2. Delrio, W., Lenton, D., Musante, M., Nagy, M., Papazian, A., & Pérez, P. (2010). Discussing Indigenous Genocide in Argentina: Past, Present, and Consequences of Argentinean State Policies toward Native Peoples. Genocide Studies and Prevention, 5(2), 138-159. doi:10.3138/gsp.5.2.138
  3. Mapuche. (2008). Retrieved from https://minorityrights.org/minorities/mapuche/
  4. Youkee, M. (2019, April 12). ‘We are hostages’: Indigenous Mapuche accuse Chile and Argentina of genocide. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/apr/12/indigenous-mapuche-accuse-chile-brazil-genocide