Where is Mapuche Woman Julia Chuñil?

Where is Mapuche Woman Julia Chuñil? -- SUN, 1/12, 12-2pm Lake Merritt - Fairyland Hill - 211 GRAND AVE., OAKLAND, CA -- Lonko Juanita, a Mapuche leader currently seeking political asylum in the Bay Area, will be present at this event. She, along with other advocates will be present to guide the conversation on Julia Chuñil and her disappearance. In Chile, the Mapuche people have fiercely defended their rights to ancestral lands, often becoming victims of violence associated with extractive industries. This event seeks to raise awareness about the human rights/environmental issues in this region, and at the same time, connect it back to our own lives.

Summary of article of website URL: “Julia Chuñil Catricura remains missing. President of the Mapuche community of Putreguel, in the commune of Mafil, Los Rios region. She and her family reported receiving threats for refusing to sell their land and for defending the native forest in the area. On Nov. 8, she went out in search of some animals on the hill with her dog Cholito. Since then, nothing has been heard of her or her dog. The search only turned up tracks from a truck in the area where she was headed.” The victim’s daughter, Janet Chuñil, stated that the exacerbation of these tensions was the responsibility of the National Corporation for Indigenous Development (CONADI)), which left the Lafrir area in a legal limbo due to the Mapuche community’s refusal to cede the land.

In Chile, the Mapuche people have fiercely defended their rights to ancestral lands, often becoming victims of violence associated with extractive industries.