SELKNAMS

Basketry by Margarita Maldonado and images from her book (ceremonial dress and spirit masks) Entre dos mundos, pasado y presente de la cultura Selk'nam -Haus in Tierra del Fuego, Rio Grande

The Selknams ancestors were hunter-gatherers who were particularly well adapted to a hostile, cold environment. One of their initiation rituals, called "Hain", marked the passage to adulthood for young men. The guanaco was one of their main sources of food and clothing, as was basketry, an integral part of their practices. The Selknam language was closely linked to their way of life and environment. It contained a rich vocabulary to describe the fauna, flora and natural phenomena of their habitat, as well as the social and spiritual aspects of their culture. With the arrival of settlers and the exploitation of Tierra del Fuego's natural resources, the Selknams were gradually decimated by disease, loss of habitat and, in some cases, outright violence. The language gradually disappeared. It is now being revived by their descendants. Ancestral practices live on and are passed on through the revival of Selknam culture.

Margarita Maldonado

I'm a Selk'nam woman from Rio Grande, Tierra del Fuego. I am an ancestral educator and a member of the Rafaela Ishton indigenous community. I preserve Selk'nam basketry, making it and using it to gather food from the land and sea. Like 12,900 years ago, our practices are still alive.

Alicia Santa Cruz

I'm from the Selk'nam community of Rio Grande in Tierra del Fuego. I am a 5-generation descendant of Lola Kiepja, recognised as the last shaman of the original community. I'm also a visual artist, dedicated to passing on Selk'nam culture such as body painting.

Mirta Salamanca

Kerren olichen yourka naa
(Nice daye sister)

My name is Mirtha Salamanca Sheknam and I represent my past and present wives. I'm the granddaughter of the last xoon or shaman, Lola Kiepja. My mission is to recover the true testimonies that have been passed on to me and make them visible.

Naa (woman)

Naa sabía (wise woman)
Naa medicina (medicine woman)
Naa resistente (resistant woman)
Naa fuerte (strong woman)
Naa madre (woman mother)

Maria Angélica Salamanca

I am Selk'nam by blood from my mother Elvira Oray, my grandmother Adela Parra members of the family of Kiepja "Lola". I'm married to Oscar Felipe Dávila, I have two daughters Graciela Noemí Salamanca, Elvira Maricel Dávila and my son Oscar Javier Dávila, I have three grandchildren, four granddaughters, and one great-granddaughter, all with Selk'nam blood in their veins and with the strength to say, accept, recognise and be proud to be Selk'nam. My role within my people is to be a transmitter of the history and culture of my family group. I have accompanied and involved my Selk'nam brothers and sisters in achieving the gains made in the struggle to obtain legal status for my people and my territory, as well as obtaining an old building for a space as a cultural house, and thus continuing to fight for our rights.

Mapuches Diaguitas Kollas