Betiana Colhuan, a Mapuche leader, is leading an effort to reclaim national park land considered sacred to her people.
Bariloche, Argentina – Standing on the land she inhabited for five years, 22-year-old Betiana Colhuan scrolled through her phone’s camera roll.
The screen flickered with memories of home: an image of Colhuan sitting in a field of yellow flowers. Another of her small son standing in front of the white horse she kept as a pet. A snapshot of the medicinal plants in her orchard.
But when she looked up, the ruins of her house lay scattered at her feet. Broken planks of wood were littered with old household items, including a tube of face cream, a broken mirror and a pink teddy bear.
“It is painful to see this space like this,” Colhuan said, her voice heavy.
Colhuan belongs to one of Argentina’s Indigenous peoples, the Mapuche. The land her community used to sit within falls under the administration of the Nahuel Huapi National Park, the country’s oldest national park and a popular outdoor destination.
But Colhuan and her neighbours were forcibly expelled in 2022. Now, they fear government inertia and the outcome of Argentina’s presidential election on November 19 could permanently end their hopes of returning.
“We are going to have to fight harder against some of [the politicians] who publicly express their hate against our people,” Colhuan said.