Juana Millal’s Story

Who is Juana Millal and the Mapuche?

Juana Millal is the head chief of the Mapuche living in Oakland, with her community being Chol Chol, the 9th region of Chile. The Mapuche are a group of Indigenous people from South America, inhabiting the Central Valley of Chile. The Mapuche consider the Earth as their mother, as Earth produces all their food. Protecting the environment, land, and water is the most important to Mapuche. They have a unique and rich culture, with kultrún drums being the life and soul of their people. All Mapuche have kultrún drums, which represent their joy and sadness. When Chile became independent of Spain in the 1800s, the Mapuche were forced onto reservations and were often forced to sell their land due to debts they could not repay. Over the years, the Mapuche slowly lost their lands and their rights as the Chilean government exercised their dictatorship without mercy, destroying the environment and land that the Mapuche lived so harmoniously with.

Life in Chile

Many Mapuche had a hard and rough life in Chile, Juana Millal included. In Chile, there was no education for Mapuche, and they were forbidden and even punished for speaking their language. In addition, Millal could not even wear Mapuche clothes without being punished and badgered by police. There were no schools that taught the Mapuche language, and it was difficult teaching their children and grandchildren their language and culture without getting in trouble with the government. Millal only went to school for 7 years, and her great-grandfather was deported from the country as well, for no reason other than being Mapuche. The government took their family’s land, leaving them with almost nothing, taking away their rights at the same time. Even worse, Millal’s son was killed 4 years ago to silence him, and many other Mapuche are imprisoned to this day unfairly. 

Experience Coming to America

Recently, Juana Millal decided to come to America to escape the Chilean dictatorship, bringing several other Mapuche with her. In America, she was free to do work on the environment, protecting and nourishing the land that she could not in Chile. She connected with Partnerships for Trauma Recovery (PTR), a nonprofit organization dedicated to healing the psychological impacts that refugees may have faced. Fortunately, PTR helped Millal settle and helped her with basic necessities when she needed help the most. They also supported her psychologically so that she could adjust to life in America. After coming to America, Millal states that she felt freedom for the first time in her life. Back in Chile, she and the other Mapuche lived in constant fear of their land and rights being taken away. However, here, there is no dictatorship, and she is free to express herself and her culture. 

Goals for the Mapuche

Millal has many goals for her Mapuche community, one of them being to contact an indigenous lawyer to raise awareness about the many imprisoned Mapuche. Many Mapuche are in prison in Chile unfairly. In particular, 1 Mapuche was sentenced to jail for 18 years– not only was his own life taken away from him, his right to be a father to his young kids was stripped away as well. Being a chief, Millal wants to do all she can to help free her people. Building a school to teach young Mapuche kids is also another main goal for the Mapuche chief. Until now, they’ve had to rent a place because they do not have enough money to buy any land. It is hard to teach kids about Mapuche culture with limited resources. 

How Do We Support the Mapuche?

As with most Indigenous people, the Mapuche were driven out of their righteous land by the government, leaving them with almost nothing. To support the Mapuche people, donating money would be the most impactful way to help them revive their culture and thrive. With the money, the Mapuche can build a school and more buildings to pass down their culture to their young. Even if you can’t donate, teaching others to be aware of the rightful owners of the lands they currently live on and showing Indigenous people respect is important as well. The first step to a better life for Indigenous groups is awareness. Together, we can honor their heritage, support their resilience, and help preserve their rich culture for future generations of Mapuche. 

Sources:

Juana Millal’s Exclusive Interview with Voiceopedia

https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-Chile 

https://traumapartners.org/about-partnerships-for-trauma-recovery/ 

Picture 1:

Picture 2: Esteban Ignacio (via Creative Commons) https://www.flickr.com/photos/estebanignacio/6696560079