Movements and Moments Millaray Huichalaf: The protectress of the sacred river (La defensora del río sagrado)
Millaray Huichalaf (31) is a Machi, the spiritual guide and healer of her Mapuche Indigenous commune in the south of Chile. She leads the resistance against Statkraft, a Norwegian state company building hydroelectric plants that could destroy the delicate ecosystem of Pilmaiken, a river that is sacred to her culture. In the context of a long history of predatory colonization and a global climate, economic and health crisis, Machi Millaray's story embodies the moral courage of Indigenous women in defense of natural and spiritual ecosystems.
