Silence, observation and the use of the Mapuzundgun in the classroom: a case study in schools inserted in Mapuche communities of the Huiliches Department, Neuquén: Silence, observation and the use of the Mapuzundgun in the classroom: a case study in schools inserted in Mapuche communities of the Huiliches Department, Neuquén

Abstract

The study that originates this article was conducted in Mapuche communities in the Huiliches Department area of the Neuquén province, between 2012 and 2020. A recurring theme among teachers in schools with indigenous girls and boys is their silence in the classrooms. Often interpreted as misunderstanding, it can be considered part of their cultural tradition, an introspective way of being in the world but it is also a form of resistance to safeguard themselves from the devaluation and stigmatization that they have suffered, and suffer, in the processes of (neo) colonization. Silence is associated with the careful observation of the indigenous people in the classrooms, essential in their community learning. Also to the retraction in the use of the vernacular in the family and school environment, a consequence of the massive migration of indigenous people to the cities and the processes of Castilianization and prohibition in Latin America.