Abstract

This article explores the Mapuche people's memories of state terrorism and their role in challenging hegemonic Chilean narratives of historical closure. The study draws on life stories from thirty-seven participants (twenty-one women and sixteen men) from the Metropolitan and Araucanía regions, analyzed using Grounded Theory. The findings reveal two key dimensions: a collective and continuous Mapuche memory that frames state violence as a cyclical and enduring process, and individual accounts of oppression, physical violence, and intimidation, often occurring in domestic spaces and affecting close family members. These memories disrupt dominant Chilean temporalities, which depict colonization, dictatorship, and post-dictatorship as discrete events, instead emphasizing a historical continuum of violence. The study concludes that contemporary militarization in Mapuche communities is a continuation of state terrorism, reinforcing systemic oppression while galvanizing resistance rooted in memory and collective identity