"'The good memory of this land": Reflections on the processes of memory and forgetting

Abstract

The "good memory of this land" is the way the Mapuche define the processes of remembering and forgetting. From this point of view, memory becomes the means by which the past is acknowledged and advice is transmitted; an instance where people reconfigure their subjectivities and the bonds of belonging that connect them, their ancestors and the physical world. In the specific context of some Mapuche families who decided to recover lands in Argentinean Patagonia that were disputed by the Benetton firm, memory became a central subject of reflection among those involved. This article, based on Mapuche reflections, deals with the theoretical implications of two main demands of collective memory in the local arena: the truth about history and autonomy in the practice of remembering and forgetting in order to create people's own culture of relatedness.