Māoris and Mapuches

                                  

Firstly, I decided to compare different integration processes between Māoris and mapuches in this opportunity. I know that it is a big problem the mapuche people in Chile but I want to share a possible solution explaining how Maoris and New Zealand could live together.

The Māori integration was hard. It is estimated that the Māori population was reduced by the British repression from 1840 to 1892 and they also lost many of their lands, were impoverished and their culture was being lost. However in 1970 something changed, when The British government and Maoris finally decided to talk and created the Waitangi Tribunal to initiate a review process of indigenous claims. So lands were returned, reparation policies were established and spaces of political participation of the Māori people were expanded. Now Maoris have important positions in parliament and they are an important part of New Zealand in the economy and culture.

The mapuche integration was a sad episode in Chile too. Around 100,000 Mapuches were massacred as a result of the joint military campaigns for territories. The situation still now, they have land disputes and violent confrontations. Even so, most mapuches believe in the communication can be also success in Chile but there aren’t plans to started a dialogue or new ideas in political participation. Therefore Mapuche culture every day more distances in Chilean identity and still vulnerable because Chile is a strongly pronounced class society where                                                                               the Mapuches belong to the lowest class.

In my opinion the government need a dialogue with Mapuches to understand their position and considerer the issue of their lands, that as a nation over the time we’ve gradually taken more. For that we should take the way of New Zealand, conducting a meeting, to take steps to include the opinions of mapuches in the Chilean government.

What do you think?

 Bibliography:

http://www.24horas.cl/nacional/el-modelo-que-podria-solucionar-el-conflicto-mapuche--362621.

http://esblog.panampost.com/editor/2015/01/21/siete-claves-para-comprender-el-conflicto-mapuche-en-chile/

https://intercontinentalcry.org/peoples/mapuche/

http://www.quepasa.cl/articulo/opinion---posteos/2013/01/20-11013-9-camino-maori.shtml

http://diario.latercera.com/2014/11/09/01/contenido/pais/31-177194-9-analista-sobre-asuntos-maories-no-puede-haber-consulta-indigena-sin.shtml