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Tehuelche people (Chile and Argentina)

Patagonians / Aónikenk

Last modified: 2006-09-30 by antónio martins
Keywords: tehuelche | patagonian | aónikenk | arrowhead (blue) | antieco (julio) |
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Flag of Tehuelche People
image by António Martins, 14 Jul 2004
See also:

Presentation of the Tehuelche people

About “Mapuche-Tehuelche”

What is the nature of such an alliance? Perhaps a political and cultural gathering, akin to those of Quechua and Aymara, commonly opposing the dominant, spanish-descent culture? According to ethnolinguistic maps of Ethnologue.org, the Tehuelche live mainly in northeast Santa Cruz province (AR), south of Chubut and quite far away from the main Mapuche populated areas, which are concentred in Chile’s regions VII, VIII, IX, X and XI and in the argentine province Neuquén. Still according to Ethnologue.org, Mapuche and Tehuelche belong to distinct language families (resp. Araucanian and Chon).
António Martins, 14 Jul 2004

Although Chubut and Neuquen do not have a common border, they are very close. So the Mapuche from Neuquen are close to northern Chubut. In the western part of Chubut there are both Mapuche and Tehuelche.
Francisco Gregoric, 16 Jul 2004


About the Tehuelche Flag

The native Tehuelche in Chile they have flag own comunicated by the Organización de Comunidades Mapuche-Tehuelche 11 de Octubre. I suspect that the name is for the previous day that the spanish arrived to America.
Jaume Ollé, 11 Aug 1998

At the Endepa on line almanach there is another reference to the adoption date of this flag: «September 7th: creation of the Mapuche-Tehuelche flag in Chubut», Chubut being in argentine Patagonia. (Also mentioned in ScorpionShops website.
António Martins, 14 Jul 2004

In Flag Report [frp] was published in 1999 an statement of the Organización de comunidades mapuche-tehuelche (Coordinadora Mapuche-Tehuelche), that give the meaning of the flag: the blue is for the upper “land” with the forces of the air, wind, sun…; white mean snow, that is benefical for the agriculture (after a winter wit snow, a summer with green pastures); the yellow is for tehuelche land. The arrow is because this people remain in war until that obatin justice. This arrow will be expelled from the flag when full rights are recognized to the Tehuelche.
Jaume Ollé, 22 Jul 2004

Julio Antieco, one of the leaders of the native American communities had the idea to have a flag to represent his people. The design was an idea from him. In real flags the length of the arrowhead is shorter.
Francisco Gregoric, 16 Jul 2004

The chart [tra01b] includes a Mapuche-Tehuelche flag (thus captioned) which is a strikingly modern looking triband of blue, white and golden with a blue arrowhead on the middle stripe. It is credited «from a drawing provided by Miguel Castillo-Bascary». (It is hard not to wonder about any common trait between this flag and the 1810-1814 flag of Chile.)
António Martins, 14 Jul 2004

Official use

The triband blue-white-yellow with an arrowhead is the Bandera de las comunidades indígenas de la Provincia del Chubut (flag of the indigenous communities of the Province of Chubut). Although the idea of this flag was a “private one” of the groups, nowadays this flag is an official flag in the (Argentine) Province of Chubut. It is regulated by a provincial law (no.4072 - 1995).
Francisco Gregoric, 16 Jul 2004


Future Tehuelche flag

Future Tehuelche flag
image by António Martins, 14 Jul 2004

In Flag Report [frp] was published in 1999 an statement of the Organización de comunidades mapuche-tehuelche (Coordinadora Mapuche-Tehuelche), that this arrow will be expelled from the flag when full rights are recognized to the Tehuelche.
Jaume Ollé, 22 Jul 2004

The design is certainly the same as the first Chilean flag used before 1814. The reason why it is used by native American groups is that apparently the design would have been used by some native American tribes in late 19 Century. In those times the tribes used to move freely from one side of the Andes to the other. It is possible that in that moment, someone from Chile gave them the idea to use that historical Chilean flag.
Francisco Gregoric, 16 Jul 2004


Historical Tehuelche flag

Old Tehuelche Flag
image by António Martins, 14 Jul 2004

An interesting interview with an elder Mapuche lady includes flag references (my translation from Spanish):

We Tehuelche have a flag, which is white. There are reports about that flag in a cheiftain parlament in Genoa, Chubut, in 1869. Musters, an English explorer who was present, mentions it. In that parlament gathered the chieftains Casimiro, Orkeke, Hinchel and my grandfather Juan, according to Musters, in his book Life among the Patagonians; in that meeting it was decided that they would not ally with Calfucurá to attack Bahía Blanca.
As for the Tehuelche flag, we suppose that the motive of its adoption was that, been keen travellers, »the Tehuelche« found that a white flag granted them free pass and »thus« adopted it as their emblem; it is after all a symbol of peace and unity. We use it »hoisted« under the Argentine »national« flag.

António Martins, 14 Jul 2004 and 14 Nov 2004

This last paragraph seems to be a product of modern day wishful thinking: Not only the described reaction to the truce flag contradicts the reality of its usage (then and now, there and everywhere), as also the adoption circumstances as described seems to have a flaw of circular reasoning.
António Martins, 14 Nov 2004


Use of the Argentine flag by Tehuelche

An interesting interview with an elder Mapuche lady includes flag references (my translation from Spanish):

The Tehuelche (Patagonian) cheiftain Casimiro took with him everywhere the Argentine flag, it presided the parlament sessions. »« The great Tehuelche chief Inacayal had a»n Argentine« national flag waving by the side of his pavillion, »« recieved as a gift from Perito Moreno to »the chief’s« son Utrac.

António Martins, 15 Jul 2004 and 14 Nov 2004


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