Oli ia Casag ande*
‘On Ou Own Te ms’: Re usal, Masks, and
Indigenous Coun e -na a i es in San iago de
Chile Public Space
h ps://doi.o g/10.1515/iph-2022-2050
Published online Decembe 26, 2022
Abs ac : The exhibi ion MapsU be: The in isible Ci y
(Decembe 2018 –Janua y 2019) s aged he c ea ions o
young Mapuche a is s and ac i is s add essing he poli ics
and his o y o he indigenous diaspo a in San iago (Chile).
Engaging wi h u ban space ma e iali y and he ajec o ies
shaped by displacemen and endu ance wi hin he ci y,
he exhibi ion explo ed sub e si e aes he ics and poli ical
imagina ions, c a ing al e na i e spa iali ies and empo-
ali ies. Building on wo yea s o collabo a i e wo k wi h
Mapuche a is s and ac i is s, and mo ing om an ini ial ac
o gene a i e e usal, his pape explo es a edefini ion o
cu a o ial p ac ices wi hin collec i e a is ic p ojec s
ha aim a opposing dominan his o ical na a i es. By
eflec ing on an expe ience o collec i e co-cu a ion, i
shows how hese p ac ices challenge es ablished and ins i-
u ionalized na a i es embedded in public spaces, esul ing
in c ea i e app op ia ions and powe ul coun e -na a i es
‘on ou own e ms.’
Keywo ds: Mapuche a , cu a ion, e usal, collabo a i e
esea ch, coun e -na a i es
On he op o he San C is óbal hill, he ai was hick and we .
The sky o e San iago was a fla off-whi e. Fog co e ed he
me opoli an egion ex ending below: only a ew alle
owe s su aced; he es was almos in isible. The ci y was
hiding unde nea h win e clouds and smog. The geog aphe
Raúl Molina, wea ing his a m and poin ing o diffe en
di ec ions, was alking abou wha we would no be able o
glimpse anyway: he Maipo alley how i was hund eds o
yea s ago, be o e he ounding o ‘San iago de Nue a
Ex emadu a’by Ped o de Valdi ia in 1541. We –a g oup o
young indigenous Mapuche li ing in he Chilean capi al, and
mysel , an I alian an h opologis – ollowed his wo ds by
imagining, a he han ac ually seeing, he e e ence poin s
he men ioned: he ci y’s wen y-six hills; he Mapocho i e
cu ing h ough he u ban space; he Andean moun ain
ange. His body agains he whi eness o he clouds,
ges u ing a he ci y below om one o he e aced iew-
poin s o he hill, Raúl’s expe eye ound i s bea ings e en
in he og.
Be o e –and con a y o he ale o conques and ‘dis-
co e y’– he Maipo alley was a om uninhabi ed,
occupied by a di e se socie y and a c oss oad o a elling
ou es and comme cial exchanges be ween locals and
g oups coming om o he a eas. In he six een h cen u y,
he alley was unde he poli ical con ol o he Inca. A he
ime he Spanish a i ed, i was occupied by he Picun che
(‘people o he no h’), pa o he b oade socie y inhabi ing
he cen al-sou h o Chile and A gen ina, la e o be
denomina ed ‘Mapuche.’The Picun che we e annihila ed
and assimila ed by he Spanish du ing he fi s decades o
he Conquis a, he su i o s fleeing sou h o join wha
emained an independen indigenous e i o y un il he end
o 1800, ecognized by he Spanish C own.
1
Th ee cen u ies
la e –a e he indigenous e i o y was occupied and
ese a ions we e c ea ed as a consequence o he so-called
‘Pacifica ion o he A aucanía,’a mili a y campaign culmi-
na ing in 1883 –began a massi e mig a ion along he same
ou e, bu in he opposi e di ec ion: om indigenous u al
communi ies o he me opoli an ci y. Pu ing in o ela ion
diffe en his o ical momen s and showing us how he alley
was shaped by old and mo e ecen ajec o ies o
displacemen and mobili y, Raúl e e ed o he oponymy o
he me opoli an egion. He explained how i was linked o
local genealogies, in u n connec ed o social ela ionship
and powe , connec ions now los in he e e yday use o
oponyms whose indigenous e ymology was ben o Spanish
w i ing and p onuncia ion.
2
Wha go los was he powe o
*Co esponding au ho : Oli ia Casag ande, The Uni e si y o Sheffield,
Sheffield, England, E-mail: o.casag ande@sheffield.ac.uk
1Pablo Ma imán, Se gio Caniuqueo, José Millalén, and Le il Rod igo,
Escucha Winka! Cua o Ensayos de His o ia Nacional Mapuche y un
epilogo sob e el u u o (San iago: LOM, 2006).
2The Mapuche and indigenous oponomy in he Me opoli an egion is
ound in hills and i e s (e.g. Ce o Manquehue; Ce o Quilapilun; Ce o
Chena; io Mapocho; ío Maipo), municipali ies (e.g. Vi acu a; Peñalolén;
Quilicu a; Ñuñoa); owns (e.g. Chicu eo; Colipeumo; Lipangue); s ee s
and a enues (e.g. A enida Apoquindo; A enida Macul; Tobalaba;
Pocu oYungay; Cacique Caupolicán; Cacique Guacondo; Cacique Mill-
acu a; Los Picunches); andme o s a ions (e.g. Ñuble; Pudahuel;Plaza de
Maipú).
In e na ional Public His o y. 2022; 5(2): 93–104
Open Access. © 2022 he au ho (s), published by De G uy e . This wo k is licensed unde he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 In e na ional License.
name places linked o lineages and amilies li ing in a
ce ain a ea. S ill a key ea u e o he Mapuche adi ional
way o g ee ings and in oducing onesel (chaliwún), gene-
alogical place-bounded memo y, o mos indigenous people
li ing in u ban con ex s, has become blu ed. Tu ning o one
o he gi ls p esen , Raúl asked how a would she be able o
go in acing back he amily lineage. He mo he , he
g andmo he –she answe ed. No many o he you h p esen
would be able o say o he wise and mo e along lines ha had
been iolen ly se e ed by he loss o land and language, by
mig a ion, displacemen , and he li e a he ma gins o he
me opoli an ci y. Family s o ies and pe sonal ajec o ies
a e mixed and messed up by he unwelcoming and ye
che ished u ban landscape, complexly ied o iden i y and
belonging. S anding on op o he San C is óbal hill –whose
indigenous name was Tupahue (quechua ‘place o God’), now
he name o one o he wo swimming pools on i s op – he
hidden ci y appea s bounded o con adic ions and ambi-
gui ies. Unde he og does no lie any smoo h –genealogical
o else –line bu a he c ea i e ways o acing and endu ing
he dis up ions o indigenous u ban diaspo as.
In La in Ame ican coun ies, ci ies a e usually
concei ed as ‘whi e’(o mes izo a he mos ), non-indigenous
spaces. U ban con ex s, cha ac e ized by ‘colonial du a-
bili y,’
3
a icula e codes and aes he ics esul ing in buil
o ms ha ma e ialize and o en disguise spa ial p ac ices o
‘whi ening.’
4
In Chile, he imagina y o he capi al as ‘ci i-
lized’is opposed o he indigenous e i o ies in he sou h o
he coun y. The need o being ‘pacified’is embedded in he
ci y’s ma e iali ies: in i s highly seg ega ed u ban de elop-
men ; in i s oponymy, monumen s, and landma ks; and in
i s Eu opean-like a chi ec u e associa ed wi h na ional
ins i u ions ( he ci y cen e ), economic powe ( he so-called
‘Sanha an’dis ic ), and weal hie esiden ial a eas ( he
no h-eas e n sec o ).
5
In his con ex , while he image o a
acially homogenous ‘whi e na ion’
6
has long been ques-
ioned by a his o ically s ong indigenous mo emen , ecen
affi ma ions o u ban indigenous cul u al and a is ic
p oduc ions ha e challenged he e y imagina ies o he
ci y.
7
Especially du ing he las wo decades, cu en indig-
enous gene a ions inhabi ing San iago ha e been engaging
wi h he space o he capi al as a con ex ha is “bo h a
esou ce o he imagina ion and an impedimen o ac ion.”
8
Ques ioning hegemonic his o y and b inging o he o e
wha Hec o Nahuelpán has defined as “ he g ey zones o
Mapuche his o y and iden i y,” ecen poli ical and c ea i e
mani es a ions ha e igge ed he powe ul eme gence
o o he ways o being indigenous, ou side he spa ially
bounded image o u al communi ies.
9
As shown by schola s
wo king wi h Mapuche you hs in u ban con ex s bo h in
Chile and A gen ina, cu en iden i a ian e-elabo a ions
and sense o belonging a e b oad enough o include
“mul iple expe iences o being”and claims o he ci y.
10
3Ann L. S ole . Du ess:Impe ial Du abili ies in Ou Times (Du ham &
London: Duke Uni e si y P ess, 2016).
4Te esa Caldei a, Ci y o Walls. C ime, Seg ega ion and Ci izenship in
São Paolo (Oakland: Uni e si y o Cali o nia P ess, 2000); Lea Gele ,
“Ca ego ías aciales en Buenos Ai es. Neg i ud, blanqui ud, a o-
descendencia y mes izaje en la blanca ciudad capi al,”Runa: A chi o
pa a las ciencias del homb e, 37, no. 1 (2016): 71–87; Melissa Valle, “The
discu si e de achmen o ace om gen ifica ion in Ca agena de
Indias, Colombia,”E hnic and Racial S udies 41, no.7 (2017): 1–20; Philipp
Ho n, “Indigenous peoples, he ci y and inclusi e u ban de elopmen
policies in La in Ame ica: Lessons om Boli ia and Ecuado ,”De el-
opmen Policy Re iew 36, no. 4: 483–501.
5F ancesca Má quez, “Iden idad y on e as u banas en San iago de
Chile,”Psicologia em Re is a 10, no. 14 (2003): 35–51; Felipe Link, Felipe
Valenzuela, and Luis Fuen es, “Seg egación, es uc u a y composición
social del e i o io me opoli ano en San iago de Chile,”Re is a de
Geog a ía No e G ande 62 (2015): 151–68.
6Gilda M. Waldman, “Chile: Indigenas y Mes izos Negados,”Poli ica y
Cul u a 21 (2004): 97–110; Sa ah Walsh, “‘One o he mos uni o m aces
o he en i e wo ld’: c eole eugenics and he my h o Chilean acial
homogenei y,”Jou nal o he His o y o Biology 48, no. 4 (2015): 613–39.
7Claudio Al a ado Lincopi, Mapu bekis án: ciudad, cue po y acismo,
Diaspo a Mapuche en San iago, siglo XX (San iago: Pehuén, 2021); Oli ia
Casag ande, Claudio Al a ado Lincopi, and Robe o CayuqueoMa ínez,
eds., Pe o ming he Jumbled Ci y. Sub e si e Aes he ics and An icolonial
Indigenei y in San iago de Chile. (Manches e : Manches e Uni e si y
P ess, 2022).
8Abdumaliq Simone, “Ci y o Po en iali ies,”Theo y, Cul u e & Socie y
33, no. 7–8 (2016): 5–29, 6.
9Hec o Nahuelpán, “Las zonas g ises de la his o ia mapuche,”Re is a
de His o ia Social y de las Men alidades 17, no. 1 (2013): 9–31. Chile is
among he coun ies in which he u baniza ion o indigenous popula-
ion is a a highe a e in he egion (81%). 614,881 people sel -iden ified
as Mapuche in he Me opoli an egion o San iago in he 2017 census.
Fo ecen li e a u e on u ban Mapuche, see, o example, A a ena,
Mapuches en San iago; An ileo Baeza, Reflexiones de o ganizaciones
mapuche en o no a la p oblemá ica de la u banidad; An ileo Baeza,
“Poli icas Indigenas, Mul icul u alismo y el En oque Es a al Indigena
U bano,”133–59; Imilán, Wa iache; Sepúl eda and Zuñiga “Geog a ías
indígenas u banas,”127–49; An ileo and Al a ado Lincopi, San iago
Wa ia Mew; Al a ado Lincopi, Mapu bekis án. Fo ecen s udies
ocusing on he b oade La in Ame ican con ex , see, o example,
Kend a McSweeney and B ad D. Jokisch, “Beyond Rain o es s: U bani-
sa ion and Emig a ion among Lowland Indigenous Socie ies in La in
Ame ica,”Bulle in o La in Ame ican Resea ch 26, no. 2 (2007): 159–80;
Miguel N. Alexiades and Daniela M. Peluso, “In oduc ion: Indigenous
U baniza ion in Lowland Sou h Ame ica, The Jou nal o La i Ame ican
and Ca ibean An h opology 20, no. 1 (2015): 1–12; Philip Ho n, Indige-
nous Righ s o he Ci y: E hnici y and U ban Planning in Boli ia and
Ecuado (Mil on Pa k: Rou ledge, 2019).
10 Sa ah Wa en, “Te i o ial d eaming: you h mapping he Mapuche
c oss-bo de na ion,”La in Ame ican and Ca ibbean E hnic S udies 14,
no. 2 (2019): 116–37, 117; see also B iones, “‘Ou S uggle Has Jus Begun,’”
99–121.
94 O. Casag ande
While his ce ainly plays a pa in e i o ial s uggles as
i cons i u es an in e en ion in o he coun y’s iden i y pol-
i ics, wha in e es s me he e is he ques ioning o hegemonic
na a i es and iconog aphies h ough c ea i e
e-imagina ions and a . A key concep o app oaching he
indigenous c ea i e field in San iago is he e m ‘Mapu be,’
coined by he poe Da id Aniñi a he beginning o he
2000s.
11
Playing wi h he wo d Mapu-che (mapu meaning
‘land’and che meaning bo h ‘pe son’and ‘people’in
mapudungun), Mapu be signifies a e-posi ioning wi hin a
p oduc i e ension be ween diffe en spa iali ies and
empo ali ies: u al communi ies and he u ban space; amily
o igin and mig a ion; enewed ies wi h he indigenous e -
i o y, ongoing mobili ies be ween ‘ he e’and ‘he e’; he
ague memo y o indigenous wo ds. This esul s in new ways
o ela ing o he ci y, nego ia ing collec i e belongings as well
as pe sonal li e-p ojec s. Ra he han simply e e ing o one
pa icula iden i y (i.e. being a Mapu be), his e m con eys
he ways young Mapuche eposi ion hemsel es wi hin ci y
space, dwelling wi hin mul iple iden i ies and engaging in
p ac ices ha o en de y he essen ialism o a s a ic ‘indige-
nous adi ion’as much as he neolibe al mul icul u alism o
he Chilean S a e. In he a is ic field in pa icula , his e m
e e s o c ea i e p ac ices playing wi h mul iple na a i es
and aes he ics: mixing Mapuche symbols and language wi h
wes e n a o ms; in oducing mapudungun o indigenous
musical adi ions in o ap and pop music; mobilizing indi-
genei y in eminis quee engaged a , c ea ing mapudungun
neologisms in poe y and p ose; in e ening u ban in-
as uc u es wi h g affi i. F om his pe spec i e, indigenei y
is bo h a fluid and a s ongly claimed concep , beyond clea ly
defined iden ifie s (such as name, amily, abili y o speaking
mapudungun,linkswi haspecific communi y o o igin), and
capable o inhabi ing, a he han esol ing, ensions. As
“c ea i e ac o poiesis,”
12
ecen u ban indigenous a is ic
mani es a ions engage wi h he senso y expe iences o he
p esen , claiming an ac i e emplacemen wi hin he ci y, bu
also and a he same ime in e ening in he na a i e o he
pas . Th ough he app op ia ion o colonial his o y and i s
ep esen a ions, hey de y official o ms o commemo a ion
and ememb ance, ques ioning he smoo h na a i e o
conques , pacifica ion, and he whi ening o he na ion.
In his a icle, I engage wi h his c ea i e con ex as social
phenomenon p oducing bo h audiences and meanings. I
add ess he p oduc ion o al e na i e na a i es, ep esen a-
ions, and subjec i i ies h ough he cen al ideas p oposed by
his special sec ion: cu a ion as a social p ac ice; and he ac i e
p oduc ion o coun e -na a i es in public space (see In o-
duc ion). To do his, I d aw on an e hnog aphic expe ience o
collec i e c ea ion and a exhibi ion in he ame o he p ojec
“MapsU be. The In isible Ci y, Mapuche mapping o San iago
de Chile”(2017–2021).
13
The esea ch was fi s concei ed as a
c i ical ca og aphy p ojec in ol ing u ban Mapuche you hs
in San iago, and ocusing on hei expe iences o mig a ion,
displacemen , and placemaking h ough a me hodology o
digi al s o y elling and biog aphical and walking in e iews.
While om i s s a , he esea ch was mean o be collabo a-
i e, I s uggled wi h finding someone who ac ually was
in e es ed in collabo a ing. A e a ew ailed a emp s, I go in
ouch, h ough a common iend, wi h Claudio Al a ado Lin-
copi, Mapuche his o ian and social scien is , and Robe o
Cayuqueo Ma ínez, Mapuche di ec o , pe o me , and w i e .
The beginning o ou collabo a ion wasn’ smoo h ei he : a e
a ew encoun e s and discussions, i became clea ha as much
as hey we e in e es ed in wha I was p oposing –add essing
he Mapuche diaspo a om he pe spec i e o indigenous
you hs by d awing on he concep o he ‘Mapu be,’some hing
e y much in line wi h hei own wo k – hey wan ed o do i on
hei own e ms.Inwha Idefine he e as a fi s ac o gene a i e
e usal, my esea ch p ojec was hus app op ia ed and deeply
modified: in e iews we e cu offand he c i ical mapping
elemen was e amed as a b oade c ea i e engagemen wi h
he ci y. The cen al claim made by Claudio and Robe o, and
la e by he o he pa icipan s in ol ed, was o hem being
explici ly acknowledged as ac i e knowledge p oduce s, a he
han subjec s o e hnog aphic desc ip ion.
14
The g oup ha e en ually ook pa in he p ojec ,
con ac ed indi idually and h ough an open call on social
media, was composed o fi een young Mapuche a is s and
ac i is s –uni e si y s uden s, isual, hea e, o musical
a is s, and a isans –li ing in San iago a e hei own o
hei amilies’mig a ion. Also esponding o he expe ise o
11 Da id Añiñi , Mapu be (San iago: Pehuén, 2009).
12 Oli ia Casag ande, “Towa ds a uwün wa iache?,”Jou nal o he
Royal An h opological Socie y 27 (2021): 949–75.
13 The p ojec was pa o my Ma ie Skłodowska Cu ie Indi idual
Fellowship a he Uni e si y o Manches e , unded by he EU Com-
mission unde he g an ag eemen MAPURBE 707537. The p ojec 's
coo dina ion eam was o med by mysel , Robe o Cayuqueo Ma í-
nez, and Claudio Al a ado Lincopi. The p ojec ’spa icipan swe e
An il, Ma cela Bascuñán Mad id, Ma ín Llancaman, Dani za And ea
Segu a Licanqueo, Nicolás Cayuqueo, Rod igo Huenchun Pa do,
Simona Mayo, Tomás Meli ilú Díaz, Puelpan, Dania Quezada Vidal,
Cyn hia Salgado Sil a, Ca los So o Quilan, Ma co So o Quilan, and
Ma ie Julie e U u ia Lei a. I am in deb o all he pa icipan s and
my colleagues du ing he p ojec o he sha ed eflec ions and ich
deba es om which he analysis p oposed in his eme ges.
14 See also Oli ia Casag ande, “In oduc ion: e hnog aphic scena io,
emplaced imagina ions and a poli ical aes he ic,”in Pe o ming he
Jumbled Ci y,2–36.
On Ou Own Te ms 95
he pa icipan s in ol ed, diffe en disciplines and me hods
we e mobilized in o de o engage wi h he Mapuche his o y
wi hin he Chilean capi al: om he isual a s o c i ical
ca og aphy and si e-specific pe o mance, o e hnog aphy
and a chi al esea ch. The collec i e wo k was o ganized
in weekly mee ings and mon hly on-si e wo kshops, in
p e iously indi idua ed places wi hin he ci y ha we e
conside ed meaning ul o he Mapuche ela ionship wi h
he me opoli an a ea. The e, issues ha he g oup ound
compelling we e add essed, such as spa ial and social
seg ega ion, acialized wo k, colonialism, and neolibe al
mul icul u alism and i s ela ionship wi h he ci y’s
ma e iali ies. Walking and na a ing he ci y was cen al o
he whole p ocess, and he indi idua ed si es ac ed as
meaning ul ‘kno s’condensing space, ime, indi idual
biog aphies, and collec i e his o ies. Using c ea i e me hods
such as pho og aphic ec ea ion, d awing, mapping, and
collage, San iago was ed awn om he Mapuche poin o
iew. The p ocess culmina ed in an a is ic exhibi ion and a
final si e-specific hea e play be ween Decembe 2018 and
Janua y 2019. In he ollowing, I will ocus on he exhibi ion,
and mo e specifically on he c ea i e mo ion leading o i
and he ways in which i was cons uc ed and amed,
in ol ing collec i e p ac ices o cu a ion ha opened up new
possibili ies o meaning making.
Mo ing om his collabo a i e p ojec and om he
claim o doing hings on hei own e ms by he Mapuche
a is s and ac i is s in ol ed om i s e y s a , my ake on
p ac ices ha bo h coun e and e hink cu a ion is wo old.
Fi s , I app oach i as a e usal. As we will see, my
unde s anding o e usal owes much o Aud a Simpson’s
heo iza ion o “e hnog aphic e usal”
15
–an app oach,
which hinks o e usal no as plain ejec ion bu as
some hing gene a i e. This b ings me o he second way in
which I app oach p ac ices o cu a ion: c ea i e ac s o
aming ha allow he occupa ion o ce ain spaces and he
opening up o in ima e and b oade dialogues. Following
Thea Pi man’s analysis o he cu a ion o indigenous
con empo a y a in B azil, he eme gence o indigenous
cu a o ial agency is buil on he aking o spaces, ( he claim
o ) al e na i e ways o pe o ming indigenei y, and he
wea ing o ne wo ks and ela ionships.
16
In addi ion o
flipping powe hie a chies in e ms o ep esen a ion,
ame, and audience, indigenous p ac ices o cu a ion a e
o en inhe en ly collabo a i e, as in many o Pi man’s
examples and in my own expe ience wi h he MapsU be
p ojec , in line wi h ecen expe imen al app oaches
be ween an h opology and cu a ion.
17
I is hen om my
ole as an e hnog aphe con on ed wi h an ini ial wi h-
holding and hen in ol ed in he ac i e p oduc ion o
al e na i e ways o p oducing meaning ha I concei e
hese as pa icula ac s o coun e -cu a ion: si ua ed and
engaged adical collabo a ion p emised on he a o e-
men ioned gene a i e e usal. In wo king wi h his
concep , I ea i as a heu is ic app oach, a he han an
es ablished e m. As discussed in he in oduc ion o his
special sec ion, coun e ing diffe s om an i p ecisely in i s
offe ing an al e na i e, a he han simply c i ically
add essing o ejec ing some hing. In he con ex analyzed
in his a icle, exis ing ep esen a ions o indigenei y,
official his o y, and he iconog aphies o o he ness we e
ques ioned. The c ea i e mani es a ions esul ing om
his ques ioning offe ed al e na i es, no only in e ms o
ep esen a ion bu also, mo ing a s ep o wa d, in e ms o
he claim o new subjec i i ies and hei capabili y o
occupying spaces usually denied o hem. Addi ionally, he
b oade p ojec in i sel endedupcons i u inganin e nal
and in ima e dialogue wi h and wi hin he indigenous
communi y in San iago, he main audience he a is s and
ac i is s had in mind om he s a o ou collabo a ion.
This highligh s aspec s o ca e and affec i i y o he cu a-
o ial and how hese a e a he same ime in ima e and
poli ically cha ged. I is building on his discussion and on
he wo main aspec s highligh ed abo e, ha I ask how a e
c ea i e and a is ic ac s o coun e -cu a ion affec ed by
he poli ical and aes he ic discou se? How a e hese
coun e ing ac s a icula ed? Wha al e na i e do hey
s age h ough hei ges u es o e usal, wha spaces and
dialogues do hey gene a e?
To add ess hese ques ions, I s a wi h he desc ip ion
o a fi s scene in which si e-specificpe o ma i e
in e en ions, based on collec i e discussions and imp o-
isa ions, led o bo h s aged and spon aneous ac s o
coun e ing official na a i es embedded in San iago’s
cen al squa e, he Plaza de A mas. F om ha scene, and
heobjec a hecen e o i –Lau a o’sMask–al e na i e
ways o hinking his o y, u ban ma e iali ies, and
belonging we e igge ed, mobilizing diffe en aes he ics
and c ea i e ( e)composi ions. I hen discuss one o he
a wo ks de eloped o he MapsU be exhibi ion, “Cabeza
15 Aud a Simpson, “On E hnog aphic Re usal: Indigenei y, ‘Voice’and
Colonial Ci izenship,”Junc u es 9 (2007): 67–80; Aud a Simpson,
Mohawk In e up us (Du ham, NC: Duke Uni e si y P ess, 2014).
16 Thea Pi man, Decolonizing he Museum (Woodb idge: Boydell &
B ewe , 2021), 9–11.
17 See Roge Sansi, ed., The An h opologis as Cu a o (London:
Bloomsbu y, 2020). I discuss in dep h my own ole and posi ionali y
wi hin he MapsU be p ojec in o he w i ings (see, o example, Casa-
g ande, “In oduc ion”).
96 O. Casag ande
de Indio”(Indian’s Head) by An il, whose links wi h he
squa e and he mask a e pa icula ly s ong. I mo e on o
desc ibing he b oade issues a ound his collec i e exhi-
bi ion in e ms o he space and he cu a o ship o i s
display, elabo a ing on collec i e p ac ices o cu a ion as
ac s o e usal and al e na i e aming, o which I go back
b iefly in he conclusions.
1 C ea i e Re-imagina ions o he
Colonial U ban Space
The p ojec ’sfi s wo kshop, in Ma ch 2018, ook place in he
Plaza de A mas, he main squa e a he hea o he ci y
cen e . The place was chosen wi h he aim o add essing
Chilean colonial his o y, o i cons i u es he si e o he fi s
se lemen buil unde Ped o de Valdi ia in 1541 and is s ill
he ma e ializa ion o he na ional memo y o he colonial
and ea ly epublican yea s. Wo king in a space ha du ing
he wo kshop was defined as el pun o ce o colonial (‘ he
colonial g ound ze o’) was a way o de ying he ma ginali y
o indigenous people and hei his o y wi hin a monumen al
space ha only ecen ly had been acknowledged as a key si e
o he o me Tawan insuyu (Inca Empi e) –a ce emonial
cen e om which depa ed an in as uc u e o oads
connec ing he egion wi h bo h sou he n and no he n
a eas.
18
Unde he Spanish ule, he squa e had become he
adminis a i e cen e o he local Cabildo, wi h ma ke s all
a ound i and he gallows in he middle. Reno a ed in 1850,
ollowing he Eu opean a chi ec onical canon and aes he ics
wi h he ins alla ion o ga dens and ees, he squa e was
ebuil again be ween 1998 and 2000, due o he cons uc ion
o he me o s a ion unde nea h. This las change implica ed
he cu ious peculia i y o Chilean palm ees sho ed up wi h
me al pos s: hei oo s cu sho , hey need o be kep in
balance, as a s iking me apho o he ma e iali y o he
Plaza de A mas in i sel . Wi h i s epublican and na ional
ideology buil upon Eu opean e e ences, he squa e seems
o e ase indigenous his o y and p esence, cons uc ing a
na a i e buil on he Conquis a and he Republic, and
ado ned wi h aes he ics such as he neoclassical Ca hed al
o he Monumen o he Ame ican F eedom, espec i ely, by
an I alian a chi ec and sculp o . As i he e was no hing
‘unde nea h’o be o e ha , he figu e o he Conquis ado
Ped o de Valdi ia domina es he place, mos ly, bu no only,
h ough an imposing s a ue in on o he o me Pos al
office, once his own house and now u ned in o a museum.
To u he con ibu e o he mul i-laye ed and ambi alen
cha ac e o he Plaza de A mas, he squa e is a ended by
diffe en communi ies o La in Ame ican mig an s (mainly
om Pe ú and Hai i), in o mal endo s, and ou is s om
Wes e n coun ies. A nigh , i u ns in o a place o
p os i u ion.
19
1.1 Lau a o’s Mask
Loca ed in he no h-eas co ne o he squa e, and ins alled
in 1992, he e is he Monumen o en homenaje a los Pueblos
Indígenas (“Monumen in homage o he indigenous people”)
by he Chilean sculp o En ique Villalobos.
20
This was a he
co e o a pe o ma i e imp o isa ion ealized du ing
he wo kshop, a pe o mance ha e en ually ook a qui e
unexpec ed u n. Made o conc e e and g ani e, he eigh -
me e - all monumen pic u es a sp ou ing seed a ising om
he ea h and an indigenous head suspended o e he
g ound on i s side. In ending o be a homage o he indige-
nous people o he coun y, he sculp u e ends up p oducing
a s ange effec . Being placed as i is on he si e whe e
scena ios o colonial and la e epublican powe we e
played ou –wi h Ped o de Valdi ia’s house, he gallows, he
ca hed al – he hanging head p o okes an almos immedia e
pa allel wi h a e y specific episode o Mapuche his o y: he
public display o he head o he amous Mapuche leade
Lau a o in he Plaza de A mas, de ea ed a e ha ing killed
Ped o de Valdi ia, he conquis ado . As he his o ian Claudio
Al a ado Lincopi poin ed ou du ing he day we spen
wo king in he squa e, i is almos impossible no hinking o
Lau a o and o he Mapuche wa leade s whose heads we e
publicly displayed in he squa e as macab e e idence o he
unlimi ed powe o he Spanish c own. The decla ed
oman ic in en ion o he monumen , ep esen ed h ough
he seed o ‘indigenous e-bi h’as homage by he Chilean
S a e o i s indigenous oo s, is defied by he iolence silen ly
embedded in he hanging head o s one. This is one o he
easons why he monumen is o en c i icized and does no
seem o hold he appa en ly in ended meaning o he Ma-
puche communi y in San iago. Ye a he same ime, he si e
is a mee ing poin o Mapuche poli ical demons a ions
18 I am e e ing o a chaeological s udies ealized be ween 2011 and
2012 unde he guide o Rubén S ehbe g, di ec o o he a chaeological
b anch o he Na u al His o y Museum in San iago, and he his o ian
Gonzalo So omayo .
19 Fo mo e insigh s on he Plaza de A mas, see Claudio Al a ado
Lincopi, “Fo sub e si e poli ical aes he ics. Mes izo pe o mances
challenging monumen s o whi eness in San iago’s u ban space”.
Da kma e s hub (2021). A ailable a : h ps://da kma e -hub.pubpub.
o g/pub/ sc s7n1.
20 This sec ion d aws on he discussion o his monumen inCasag ande,
Al a ado, and Cayuqueo, Pe o ming he Jumbled Ci y,chap e 2.
On Ou Own Te ms 97
wi hin he ci y. This monumen , in he o e lapping be ween
i s in ended ep esen a ion, he implici e e ence o an
in isible his o y o subjuga ion, and ye i s app op ia ion o
poli ical pe o mances, hus e eals he con adic ions and
ambigui ies o he ela ionship be ween he Chilean S a e,
indigenous people, and he na a i e and images o he
Chilean na ion.
Aiming a un eiling and challenging hese con adic-
ions, a g oup o pa icipan s decided o ocus on he
monumen du ing he wo kshops. They c a ed wha hey
called ‘ he head o Lau a o’: a pain ed mask wi h woolen
hai s a e sed by a wooden spea ; and hen p oceeded o
place i on he op o he sculp u e (Figu es 1 and 2). Th ough
his ges u e, a kind o mi o effec was p oduced. By
placing iolence di ec ly and explici ly a he cen e o he
smoo h monumen al space o he capi al, he effec was
ha o a empo al en anglemen : he colonial pas and he
pos colonial p esen we e suddenly s a ing a each o he .
Bo h aces wi hou bodies; masks wi h holes ins ead o eyes.
No wi hs anding he el powe o he ges u e, no hing
ema kable happened immedia ely a e wa d: people did
no seem o no ice, confi ming he common joke ha he
sculp u e is mos ly used as a bench. Wha was no iced
ins ead was ano he imp o isa ion by pa o he g oup, on
ano he side o he squa e, his ime ocusing on he s a ue
o Ped o de Valdi ia, he conque o , by hanging a lis o
ques ions a he ee o he s a ue’s ho se. The police in e -
ened almos immedia ely, asking who we we e, wha we
we e doing, and why, and insis ing, e en a e we explained
ha his was an a is ic p ojec , ha poli ical ac ions in he
a ea equi ed special pe mi s. They le a e egis e ing
mine and Robe o’s de ails. The wo kshop ended sho ly
a e he in e up ion o his imp o isa ion. Lau a o’s head,
p obably also as a consequence o he us a ion and ange
le by he inciden , was le on he anonymous Indian’s head
in he squa e. A ew days la e , some o he pa icipan s
disco e ed ha a iend, Ma ín Llancaman –who la e
joined us in he p ojec –had a oubling encoun e wi h he
mask. The nigh a e ou wo kshop, he was walking h ough
he Plaza de A mas. When he passed he monumen , he
suddenly saw he mask on i . Unawa e o ou ac i i y o ha
a e noon, he go uly upse . He couldn’ belie e ha
someone would make un o he Mapuche pas in his way o
would uel he hanging o Mapuche. Wha he wo kshop
pa icipan s ep esen ed as a iolen pas , claiming i s isi-
bili y in he e y hea o he ci y cen e , exposing wha lay
unde nea h he smoo h su ace o he monumen al space o
he Plaza de A mas, he el as ye ano he iolence, he pas
suddenly p esen as a h ea . Taking he p e ious and almos
unno iced pe o ma i e imp o isa ion a s ep beyond,
Ma ín climbed on he s a ue, g abbed he mask, sepa a ed
he spea om Lau a o’s ace, and b oke i . He hen h ew
away he b oken spea , bu kep he mask, and b ough i o
he headqua e s o a his o ical Mapuche o ganiza ion in
San iago a he o he side o he ci y. A ew days la e , we
uploaded he pho os o ou wo kshop on Facebook, and
Ma ín ound ou . When he sen us he pic u e o he mask
om he place o i s escue, i s ea u es s angely seemed
mo e elaxed, peace ul: as i es ing (Figu e 3).
1.2 The Indian’s Head
Du ing he ollowing c ea i e s age o he p ojec , he
in e oga ion o he Plaza de A mas as he si e o colonial
his o y and na ional na a i es was aken u he , deepening
Figu e 1: The assembling o Lau a o’s head du ing he si e-specific
wo kshop in he Plaza de A mas. © Oli ia Casag ande.
Figu e 2: Lau a o’s head placed on op o he Monumen o en homenaje a
los Pueblos Indígenas © Robe o Cayuqueo Ma ínez.
98 O. Casag ande
he challenge o exis ing ep esen a ions and accoun s in a
mo e consolida ed way. One o he c ea ions ha s ongly
engaged wi h his monumen al si e was he isual a wo k
and ins alla ion “Cabeza de Indio”(Indian’s Head) by An il.
The a is ook pic u es o he Monumen o ha he a e wa ds
supe imposed on po ai s o young Mapuche, blending he
s a ue’s ea u es wi h hei aces (Figu es 4 and 5). P in ed in
ou e y la ge pic u es aligned on a wall, he po ai s a e
accompanied by audio- eco dings o con e sa ions wi h he
po ayed subjec s abou hei pe cep ions o he Plaza de
A mas, hei own ela ionship wi h he Monumen o, he
awkwa dness gene a ed by i s spa iali y and ma e iali y,
and a discussion o colonial his o y. In he a is ’s own
wo ds, his wo k speaks o how “ he symbols, and e en he
wo ds ha a e being said abou us, a e like ma ks […] hese
ma ks o iden i ies a e imposed, and lea e us wi h wha we
could define a social wound.”
21
Once again, his a wo k is an in e en ion in he
monumen al space o he squa e, an app op ia ion ha
makes isible he his o y o iolence hidden behind i s
s ones. As ad oca ed by Ann S ole , objec s and ma e iali ies
“ca y and con ey”impe ial his o ies, and he “ angibili ies
o colonial pas and impe ial p esen ”s ill ma k ou li es,
collec i e ajec o ies, and he inc easingly in e connec ed
u ban spaces we inhabi .
22
Monumen s, a om being
neu al u ban deco a ions, a e bo h ep esen a ions o
powe and dominan na a i es, pu in place by poli ical
eli es, and some hing ha can be ein e p e ed, challenged,
and sub e ed.
23
This pe spec i e is close o ecen concep-
ualiza ions o places as nodes o ela ions and en angled
ajec o ies.
24
Wal e Benjamin’s iew o his o y as defined
by agmen a ion and mul iplici y, cons ella ion, and up-
u es, a he han p og essi e linea ime, comes o mind.
25
I is his non-linea coming oge he o ime in o space ha
in e es s me he e. Fo wo king on he ma e iali y o place,
An il’s a wo k b ings o he o e he ensions ha p e i-
ously eme ged wi h Lau a o’s mask. In so doing, i allows
sub e anean na a i es o eme ge. The pa abola o he
mask, and mo e so he coun e -na a i e p oduced h ough
he Indian’s head a wo k, speak o he mul iple ways in
which he ci y’s spa iali ies a e, o canno be, inhabi ed: “ he
pa icula ways bodies, hings and spaces –and he ela ions
among hem –mu ually compose hemsel es.”
26
While, as
eme ged du ing he wo kshop, he squa e is no a space ha
is possible o ‘mapuchiza ’– u ning i in o one’s own om an
indigenous poin o iew, because i is oo much linked wi h
he celeb a ion o colonial and epublican his o y –i s ill is a
scena io in which i is possible o con on and claim his o y,
e ealing he ensions and iolence benea h i s laye ed su -
ace. This is wha happened wi h he imp o isa ion wi h
Lau a o’s mask, as well as wi h he one a ound he s a ue
o Ped o de Valdi ia ha p omp ed he in e en ion o
he police. In An il’s a wo k, he s aging o al e na i e na -
a i es acqui es a less imp o isa ional and mo e o ganized
o m in he eco ding o he oices o Mapuche you hs.
In con on ing he Monumen o, hese hough ul elabo-
a ions on he augh ela ionship wi h i aise wo poin s
ha seem pa icula ly meaning ul o me he e. The fi s , an
obse a ion made by Nicolás Cayuqueo Ríos, no ices how
he e y place in which he Monumen o was e ec ed is
“sa u a ed”by many diffe en na a i es exceeding “ he
uni ocal na a i e ha is being imposed.”This ‘single s o y’
does no hold and is epea edly con es ed by he ma e iali y
Figu e 3: Lau a o’s head escued by Ma ín Llancaman. © Ma ín
Llancaman.
21 An il, ideo-p esen a ion o he a wo k, a ailable a : h ps://www.
mapsu be.com/copia-di-esp-cabeza-de-indio.
22 Ann Lau a S ole , “In oduc ion ‘The Ro Remains’: F om Ruins o
Ruina ion,”in Impe ial Deb is. On Ruins and Ruina ion, ed. S ole
(Du ham & London: Duke Uni e si y P ess, 2013), 1–35, 5.
23 Fede ico Bellen ani and Ma io Panico, “The meanings o monumen s
and memo ials,”Punc um 2, no. 1 (2016): 28–46.
24 Do een Massey, Fo Space (London: SAGE, 2005); see also Michel De
Ce eau, The P ac ice o E e yday Li e (Be keley: Uni e si y o Cali o nia
P ess, 1984).
25 Wal e Benjamin, Selec ed W i ings (Belknap Ha a d Uni e si y
P ess, 2006).
26 Simone, “Ci y o Po en iali ies,”5, my emphasis.
On Ou Own Te ms 99
o he place and o he monumen i sel . Simila ly, as no iced
by Ma ie Julie e U u ia Lei a, he e y ma e ial ea u es o
he Monumen o make i impossible o ep esen he “ ecom-
posi ion”i is deemed o con ey as one figu e esuming on
i sel di e se ways o being indigenous. In Ma ie Julie e’s
wo ds, he Monumen ends up doing exac ly he opposi e:
ep oposinga“ agmen edIndian” a e sed by many iolen
up u es.The laye ingo ea u esand ma e ialse iden in he
final images elabo a ed by An il esponds o his idea o
agmen a ion and impossible ecomposi ion, making isible
he ensions a e sing he monumen and he squa e.
Thinking wi h Jacques Ranciè e, in wha he au ho has
amously defined as “ he dis ibu ion o he sensible,” his
a wo k ac i ely pa icipa es in he edefini ion o he ela-
ionship be ween wha is isible, hinkable, and audible, and
wha is no .
27
Th ough he explo a ion o poli ical aes he ics
and imagina ions, pe cei ed elemen s o eali y a e shuffled
and e-a anged in ways ha econfigu e he e y ela ion-
ship be ween he possible and he impossible, c a ing spa i-
ali ies and empo ali ies ha allow o he eme gence o
al e na i e na a i es.
Lau a o’s mask and he Indian’s head speak o mul iple
and con empo aneous iden ifica ions, cu ing h ough space
and ime, a om he s a ic ambigui ies o he Monumen o.
A c a wo k –pain ed by hand, wi h woolen s ings glued o
i o imi a e hai s, and a spea o wood s uck o i –and an
Figu e 4: “Cabeza de Indio”by An il, de ail. © Nicola Mazzuia.
Figu e 5: “Cabeza de Indio”by An il, de ail. © Nicola Mazzuia.
27 Jacques Ranciè e, The Poli ics o Aes he ics (London: Con inuum,
2006): 32.
100 O. Casag ande
a wo k –employing pho og aphy, digi al elabo a ion, and
ins alla ion a , bo h objec s s age an in e play be ween
laye s o meaning and wo k h ough he significance o
u ban landma ks as mul iple, ambiguous, and polysemous.
This is done h ough an ope a ion o supe imposi ion ha
lea es he composi ional laye s o hese objec s ba e while i
blends hem. Claiming o emplacemen wi hin he ci y, he
mask and he head pu na a i es in ension by un eiling
subjuga ing iolence and displaying e-exis ence.
The mask, con eying pe o ma i e imp o isa ions and
in e en ions wi hin he u ban space, con ibu es o he
eme gence o Mapuche subjec i i ies wi hin he u ban space.
Fo he mask is no simply an objec , an a i ac placed in an
anonymous si e: i becomes meaning ul in he e en o being
emplaced, as a ges u e o ‘ e aming’, and ul ima ely an ac
ha p oduces and claims coun e -na a i es in he public
space. A fi s in he Plaza de A mas, and a e wa ds, escued,
in he Mapuche o ganiza ion in he ou ski s o San iago. I is
p ecisely he ac ha Ma ín saw he mask hanging in he
Plaza de A mas ha made him hink abou iolence, con-
nec ing i wi h bo h he colonial pas and he pos -colonial
p esen , equally o n by domina ion and abuse. His aking
down o he mask, in e ening in his space o iolence, is
somehow symme ical o placing i on he op o he Mon-
umen o: bo h ges u es de y he monumen al hegemonic
na a i e, sc a ching he su ace o he ci y’sma e iali y.
A ound he mask, diffe en imp o isa ions ha e aken
place. I s cons uc ion and placemen , as well as i s escuing,
a e spon aneous ges u es igge ed by he space o he squa e
andanexe ciseo si ua edc ea ion. F om hose imp o isa ions
and om an ini ial ac o coun e ing dominan na a i es,
mo e s aged c ea ions and a wo ks eme ged, in he explici
a emp o p oducing meaning and knowledge. In he p o-
cess, he ac o s in ol ed had a specific audience in mind –
ellow u ban Mapuche, and, o a ce ain ex en , San iago’s
ci izens mo e b oadly –and iden ified a pa h owa d he
ep esen a ions hey wan ed o display. I is h ough he
iden ifica ion o an audience somehow in ima e, ha hese
ac s esul ed in wha could beconcei ed as collec i e p ac iceo
coun e -cu a ing ha en ailed ‘ aking ca e’o while a he same
ime ‘coun e ing’ he official his o ical na a i es embedded in
he squa e. These coun e -na a i es hus esul in unse ling
ac s o ‘ca ing o ’, opening up new possibili ies o meaning
making. I will unpack his u he in he ollowing sec ion.
2 Coun e ing Cu a ion: The
MapsU be Exhibi ion
The planning o an ac ual exhibi ion wi hin he MapsU be
p ojec came g adually as a collec i e discussion wi hin he
g oup. F om si e-specific exe cises o imp o isa ion and
hinking-by-doing we had been ca ying ou , en indi idual
and collec i e a p ojec s de eloped. The in ol ed pa ici-
pan s, no all o hem p o essional a is s, had been wo king
on diffe en a wo ks, om a Mapuche-pop ideo clip o
a pille as
28
and poe y, o adap a ions o adi ional jewel y
in he con ex o he ci y. Each pa icipan de eloped a
p ojec ha was close o he pe sonal ajec o y, in e es s,
and e e yday li e. The p ojec s we e collec i ely discussed
ega ding hei p og ess du ing weekly mee ings, and hose
among he pa icipan s who had use ul echnical skills p o-
ided guidance o conc e e suppo (e.g., in he case o he a
o Mapuche jewel y; o pho og aphic/filming skills). My ole,
besides de eloping one a wo k wi h Claudio and Robe o,
29
esembled ha o he “ hea ical p oduce ”
30
and ocused on
o ganizing he mee ings, ollowing he needs o each
pa icipan in e ms o ma e ials and economic o o he
suppo . The h ee o us also mode a ed he discussion and
ook ca e o he ou collec i e a wo ks ha s emmed om
some o he wo kshops. F om he e y s a , he whole
p ocess was s ongly collec i e. E en when he pa icipan s
we e c ea ing hei pe sonal a wo ks, he discussions
a ound hose we e li ely among he g oup, and suppo and
collabo a ion was ongoing du ing he whole c ea i e phase
o he p ojec .
One o he main issues a he cen e o hese collec i e
discussions, especially when we go o he poin o s a ing o
plan he exhibi ion in mo e conc e e e ms, was he si e in
which o display he MapsU be c ea ions. This was a om
cons i u ing a s aigh o wa d aspec . The ques ion o he
‘whe e’,‘how’, and ‘wi h whom’(ins i u ionally as well),
was key. A fi s , we con ac ed one o he main enues o
exhibi ions in he ci y o San iago. We we e welcomed wi h
en husias ic in e es and wi h an immedia e p oposal o be
included in an al eady planned exhibi ion in ol ing a is s
wo king wi h indigenous communi ies in he ame o
“ ela ional a .”
31
A e some hough s and discussions, we
elaunched wi h he p oposal o an independen exhibi ion,
28 Tex ile pic u es made in La in Ame ica,and in Chile in pa icula , by
sewing oge he colo ul sc aps o ab ic. Du ing Pinoche ’s dic a o ship,
a pille as became a significan mode o exp ession and quie poli ical
p o es especially among wo king-class women.
29 ‘An opo ágias’(An h opophagies), is a pho og aphic ins alla ion
c i ically add essing he ela ionship be ween he an h opologis and
he “indigenous subjec s,”as cha ac e ized by ension, affec , and
ambigui ies.
30 Johannes Fabian, Powe and Pe o mance (Madison: The Uni e si y
o Wisconsin P ess, 1990).
31 Fo a c i ical discussion o ‘ ela ional a ’and o he o e lapping and
ensions be ween a , e hnog aphy, and communi y engagemen , see
Roge Sansi, A , An h opology and he Gi (London: Bloomsbu y, 2015).
On Ou Own Te ms 101
