Abstract

While their political participation and resistance to patriarchal, colonial and class oppression has received little recognition, Mapuche women have played a crucial role in the struggle for the rights of their people. In this article, resistance memories of Mapuche women regarding state terrorism both during the civic-military dictatorship and in the current context of militarization in La Araucanía are identified and described. Participants were 54 women with an average age of 41.35 years, 66.7% from the Araucanía region and 33.3% from the Metropolitan region. Of these, 24 participated in life histories, and 30 participated in four focus groups. Data analysis was carried out based on Grounded Theory. Results show three types of memory, memories of resistance through legal means, direct resistance memories, and resistance memories through care, which present a transgenerational and territorially situated character. Finally, we discuss the invisibilization in history and academic literature of the active and resistant role of Mapuche women in the dynamics of oppression. © 2024 Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso. All rights reserved.