Pueblo Kawésqar
2026
KO ASWÁL
INITIATIVE
SEMINAR
28 APR
ethnographic museum
University of Zurich
28 April 2026 | 15:00–18:00 (GMT+2)
Healing the colonial trauma of the Kawésqar people
Völkerkundemuseum, University of Zurich
The Pueblo Kawésqar Foundation is honored to invite you to participate in the seminar on colonial trauma. In it, we will explore together the impact of traumatic and violent events on different cultures, specifically the Kawésqar, and how this affected their identity.
This will be based on community work that seeks to recover ancestral memories and the healing process that this entails.
Program
15:00 Francisco González, Opening Remarks
15:10 Andreas Maercker, Colonial Trauma
15:45 Pamela González, Sanando heridas del pasado
16:15 Benjamín Candia, Actividades de verano IKA26
16:30 Paulina Márquez, Transformación educativa
16:45 Valeria Pakarati, El trauma en los pueblos indígenas de Chile (Rapa Nui)
17:30 Conclusiones con Andreas Maercker
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MD, PhD,
Andreas Maercker
Medical doctor and psychologist specializing in trauma and mental health. He was professor at the University of Zurich (2005–2025) and led international research. A prolific author, he contributed to WHO classifications and has received major awards, joining Academia Europaea in 2025. His work spans PTSD, cultural clinical psychology, and digital mental health.
Kawésqar - Vice president FPK
Pamela González
Kawésqar woman, mother, navigator, and cultural practitioner, she works to recover the identity, territory, and memory of her people. From a critical and community-based perspective, she promotes processes of healing, organization, and development, integrating ancestral knowledge with contemporary tools to strengthen new Kawésqar generations.
Anthropologist Ko Aswál Initiative
Benjamín Candia
Anthropologist from the Academia de Humanismo Cristiano University, Chile. He specializes in Indigenous ancestral repatriation claims and associated cultural objects. His research also examines Andean conceptions and beliefs about ancestors and death, aiming to understand the underlying reasons behind Indigenous repatriation demands.
Guest
Speakers
In this seminar, we will gather to reflect on the wounds left by colonial histories and the paths toward healing. Through shared knowledge and lived experience, speakers will open conversations about memory, identity, and the possibility of rebuilding futures with dignity.
Kawésqar Educator
Paulina Márquez
Member of the Kawésqar community, belonging to the Cazadores Patagónicos. An intercultural education specialist, she works as an artisan using junquillo reeds to create traditional Kawésqar basketry, preserving and sharing her culture through teaching and craftsmanship. She comes from a traditional Kawésqar family, reflecting her commitment to transmitting her people’s memory.
Kawésqar - President FPK
Francisco González
Founder of Fundación Pueblo Kawésqar and the Ko Aswál Initiative. With a background in information technology and cultural management, his work focuses on the recovery of Kawésqar memory, territory, and heritage. He leads interdisciplinary and international collaborations between Chile and Switzerland, promoting processes of restitution, intercultural dialogue, and healing from colonial trauma, while strengthening community-based initiatives and Indigenous futures.
Rapanui - Human Rights ONG
Valeria Pakarati
Rapa Nui Indigenous leader and human rights advocate. With extensive experience in Indigenous consultation processes, ILO Convention 169, and intercultural conflict, her work focuses on defending the rights, autonomy, and self-determination of her people. She has been an active voice in critical discussions on governance and territorial rights, emphasizing that Indigenous futures must be shaped with, and not without, their communities.
