Chile’s Indigenous Languages – Use It or Lose It, Experts Say

Educations experts say Chilean indigenous cultures need a new breath of life.

The Universidad Católica Silva Henríquez hosted a seminar on Thursday addressing the need for Chile to advance in promoting sustainability of the country’s indigenous cultures, including their languages, customs and traditions.

Intercultural integration were words of the day as speakers called for stronger human rights protection and education for indigenous people and the need for unified language and culture in Chile.

Linguist Felipe Hasler told the crowd of traditionalists, educators and students that if a language is not practiced it will die.

“I took English classes for six years in college, but I did not practice it and so my skills in that language are terrible,” Hasler said. “In the same way Santiago will lose its indigenous languages if they are not practiced.”

The country has approximately 700,000 households, or 4.6 percent of the total population, who identify themselves as indigenous, according to the latest available figures in the 2002 Census.

The Chilean government recognizes nine indigenous groups within its borders. Some of the larger groups include the Mapuche, Aymara and Rapa Nui cultures.

The largest is the Mapuche people who live in the South and Central parts of Chile and make up for 95 percent of indigenous people in the country, according to Indigenous News.

They themselves are divided into various territorial groups.

The Aymara people in the North of Chile make up for 7.1 percent of indigenous people and the Rapa Nui populaces who live on Easter Island are down to about 2,000, according to Indigenous News.

One observer in the seminar noted that many of the indigenous languages in Chile had become obsolete, yet other cultures were still hanging onto their language and customs.

Language professor Silvia Castillo proposed an education bilingual program as a way to counteract the fading of these cultures. This would involve placing indigenous teaching programs in schools, where the environment often has become a battleground for these kids.

She said many indigenous children are discriminated against in schools and new teaching programs can be used to counteract the fading of these cultures.

“These children are often not permitted to talk in their own language, are victims of bullying and have difficulty understanding classes,” Castillo said. “We want to propose bilingual programs that can be used to strengthen the indigenous languages in schools and teachers need to be willing to take these on.”

Education Professor Hector Mariano, who is Mapuche, said Chile is focused too much on the economy, causing smaller cultures to be forgotten.

“The problem with the country is that it is dominated by a system of how much money can be made and how the economy can advance. We need to unite together culturally – now is the time to do it,” Mariano said.

Mariano added that New Zealand was a great example for Chile to follow in terms of integrating its cultural heritage. The country engages and promotes its indigenous Maori culture in many aspects of life, such as sports, politics, arts and education.

“Many officials speak Maori in New Zealand for the cultures are unified and we need to imitate this,” Mariano said. “This is time of increasing knowledge and renewal for Chile.”

The seminar will continue on Friday where contemporary Mapuche politics will be discussed. The event starts at 10 a.m. at the Universidad Católica Silva Henríquez campus. Cultural activities including music will start at 1 p.m. in the campus patio area.

By Jade Hobman (hobman@santiagotimes.cl)