Dr Elisa Loncon Antileo, a leading indigenous academic, linguist and Mapuche language revitalisation specialist from Chile visited Aotearoa in July 2024, at the invitation of Professor Margaret Hyland, Deputy Vice Chancellor – Research (Te Herenga Waka- Victoria University of Wellington/VUW) and Professor Te Kawehau Hoskins, Pro-Vice Chancellor Māori, Waipapa Taumata Rau – University of Auckland), and supported by the Latin America CAPE.

In 2021, Dr Loncon was awarded the René Cassin Human Rights Award from the Basque Government to recognize her substantial contributions to the defense of human rights and was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People and one of Financial Times’s 25 most influential women.

This visit followed the Universities NZ delegation that had met with Dr Loncon while in Santiago de Chile in April 2024 looking at developing deeper links between researchers and stimulating new opportunities for doctoral students.

Dr Loncon was elected as one of the representatives of the Mapuche people to the Chilean Constitutional Convention and was then named the Convention’s first president (July 2021 – January 2022). The Convention was tasked with rewriting the dictatorship-era constitution. This process began after mass protests across Chile in 2019 and a national vote in favour of replacing the old Constitution in 2020. Chilean voters subsequently rejected the proposed revisions to the Constitution with a majority of 62% in September 2022.

Dr Loncon’s visit to Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington began auspiciously with a hautapu at dawn at Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngā Mokopuna in Seatoun, Wellington, accompanied by Professor Rawinia Higgins, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Engagement, VUW, Professor Hyland and members of the LatAm CAPE and the VUW School of Māori Studies team. Dr Loncon expressed her deep gratitude to the teachers, students and parents present for this profound experience with tangata whenua and tikanga in a Māori language immersion environment. She also highlighted the importance of new collaboration between speakers of te Reo Māori and Mapuzungun (Mapuche language) and encouraged everyone present to pursue future opportunities in this space.

Dr Loncon was also warmly hosted at VUW to learn more about Māori language and culture programmes and related research from the Te Kawa-a-Māui team/School of Māori studies team. She also gave an impromptu lecture to students about Plurinationality in Chile which stimulated some great questions and comments.

A series of excellent meetings with leaders from Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori and Te Mātāwai about language revitalisation strategies and programmes at national level and family and community level respectively were inspiring for Dr Loncon and to hear about success to date in the Te Reo Māori revitalisation journey and some current ‘headwinds’.

A public lecture delivered by Dr Loncon at the VUW Hunter Council Chamber was well attended by members of the public, academics, students and the Chilean community. Dr Loncon focused on Plurinationality in Chile in the New Constitution: Current Difficulties & Challenges for Indigenous Peoples and an analysis of the factors that led to the rejection of the proposed Constitution.

The coexistence of multiple nations within a single state (plurinationality or plural co-existence) in the Chilean context and themes of self-determination, autonomy and self-government were of great interest to attendees. Similarly, reasons for Chileans rejecting the Constitutional Proposal in 2022, including the concept of plurinationality and the impact of fake news were a hot topic of discussion following the lecture.

Dr Loncon also was hosted at Waipapa Taumata Rau – University of Auckland by Professor Te Kawehau Hoskins, Pro-Vice Chancellor Māori and team for a busy series of meetings on language revitalisation, including with members of the Ngā Pae o te Maramatanga Centre of Research Excellence and the School of Māori Studies teams. She also met with manawhenua, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Whai Māia and gave a similar public lecture on ‘Plurinationality in Chile in the New Constitution’.

The visit has significantly strengthened bonds between indigenous and language revitalisation researchers and agencies in Aotearoa New Zealand and Dr Loncon from the University of Santiago (USACH), Chile. We look forward to new opportunities in this space in the future!

Public lecture video

For the video of Dr Loncon’s public lecture at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington on 223 July 2024, please see here.
Ngā mihi nui ki a Dr Loncon, kia ora, chaltumay!