Mapuche, people of the land/3

Chile, Araucania Distict. Jose Relmucao Porma 73 years old “Lonko of the Juan Meli Comunidad”. Under Pinochet’s dictatorship the Mapuche native land was sold to 7 most powerful families in Chile. The social, economic and environmental aspects of such a decision were , and are, catastrophic.,Local fauna and flora were eradicated to make way for eucalyptus plantations , which  alter and ultimately destroy biodiversity. The Mapuche have been forced  into the poor mountainous regions of Chile with limited  means of making a living. Mapuche  actually means in native language “people of the land”. Ironically the Mapuche are fast becoming a land less people.