IN PICTURES: The word "Mapuche" means "people of this land" in Mapudungun, their native language. Their ancestral lands are located in Araucania, central Chile.
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The Araucania Region is the poorest in the country (26.2 percent of people in multidimensional poverty, according to the New Supplementary Income Survey 2017) and the largest population of Mapuche residents.
Photo:EFE
During the 19th century, the Chilean government sought to consolidate its sovereignty in the southern zone of the Araucania, which divided Chile.
Photo:EFE
They began to exterminate the Mapuche community, then appropriated the vast territories and sold them to foreign settlers.
Photo:Reuters
The Mapuche were left with only 5 percent of the land they originally had and their leaders were killed.
Photo:Reuters
Indigenous community members reclaiming their ancestral lands.
Photo:Reuters
There are more than 957,000 inhabitants of that region who live stigmatized and accused of terrorist acts committed by radical sectors.
Photo:Reuters
Prior to the arrival of the pope, churches have been burned. In the face of a possible threat, the State has deployed more than 4,000 security personnel with heavy weapons.
Photo:Reuters
While the Mapuche community demands justice, Pope Francis steps on Indigenous soil and asks for progress in his mass.
Photo:Reuters