Venancio Coñuepán Huenchual
Venancio Coñuepán Huenchual (25 December 1905 – 30 April 1968), also known as Venancio Coñoepan, was a Chilean farmer and politician of Mapuche origin.
He served as Minister of Lands and Colonization under President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo, becoming the first Indigenous minister of state in the country's history.
Family and education
Coñuepán was born in Piuchén, Cautín Province, on 25 December 1905, the son of Domingo Coñuepán and Antonia Huenchual. His grandfather, Venacio Coñoepán, was a prominent lonko of the nagche abajino during the Occupation of Araucanía.
He studied at the Araucanian Mission School in Cholchol (today William Wilson Anglican School) and later at the Liceo de Temuco. He married the Englishwoman Ruth Kindley Parker.
Career
He worked for nine years at the Ford agency Herman Hnos. y Gastellu in Temuco, eventually becoming its legal representative. He also founded and directed the Central Indigenous Credit Fund and was president of the Agricultural Development Society of Temuco.
In 1931, Coñuepán became president of the Sociedad Caupolicán Defensora de la Araucanía, reorienting it toward economic empowerment of Mapuche communities. In 1938, he founded the Corporación Araucana, which absorbed the Sociedad Caupolicán.
Political career
Aligned with ibañismo, Coñuepán presided over the Popular Freedom Alliance in Cautín Province and was elected deputy in the 1945 Chilean parliamentary election for the 21st Departmental Group (Temuco, Lautaro, Imperial, Pitrufquén, Villarrica). He served until 1952, integrating the Agriculture and Colonization Commission.
In 1950, during a tribute to former deputy Manuel Manquilef, he became the first person to deliver part of a speech in Mapudungun in the Chilean Congress.
On 3 November 1952, President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo appointed him Minister of Lands and Colonization, a post he held until April 1953. In 1953, he became the first director of the Directorate of Indigenous Affairs (DASIN), serving until 1961.
He was elected deputy again in the 1965 Chilean parliamentary election, serving until his death in 1968. He promoted various legislative initiatives, including laws on indigenous land tenure and local infrastructure.
Coñuepán died in Santiago on 30 April 1968 at the age of 62. He received a state funeral in Temuco on 4 May 1968. He was succeeded in Congress through a by-election by Sergio Merino Jarpa (PDC).
Legacy
Historians such as José Ancán have described him as the most influential Mapuche politician of contemporary Chile, noting that never again did Mapuche leaders hold as much political power as during his time with the Corporación Araucana.