While the Mapuche language, Mapuzugun, is considered “definitely endangered” by UNESCO, Mapuche communities are fighting to maintain and revitalize their language. This event will feature documentary films and the voices and experiences of two Mapuche language revitalization activists and educators, Silvia Calfuqueo and Carolina Kürrüf, in their struggle to reclaim their land, language, and autonomy.  They will be joined by documentary filmmaker, Kelly Baur, to discuss the role of film and video in social justice movements.

Carolina Kürrüf Poblete is a professor of physical education at the University of Santiago de Chile and works at the Catholic University of Temuco as a professor in Intercultural Pedagogy in the Mapuche context.  She will soon be working in the Mapuche Language and Culture department as well.  Her research focuses on ancestral Mapuche games and sports.

Silvia Calfuqueo Lefio is a Mapuche woman, mother, elementary school teacher, and a weaver.  Her work focuses on Mapuche cultural, economic, and linguistic development.  She is a teacher at Kom pu lof ñi kimeltuwe, a Mapuche-run school in Mapuche territory, and supports Mapuche youth through a summer film program in her community.

Kelly Baur is a documentary filmmaker and community organizer who dreams of a future with no police and no borders.  She is currently working on a PhD in Linguistics/Applied Linguistics at Arizona State University.  Her research focuses on Mapuche language revitalization, language policy, and discourse analysis.