Alberto Curamil (born c. 1974) is a Chilean and

Mapuche The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who s ...

indigenous leader from the

Araucanía Region The Araucanía ( ), La Araucanía Region ( es, Región de La Araucanía ) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions, and comprises two provinces: Malleco in the north and Cautín in the south. Its capital and largest city is Te ...

. He was awarded the

Goldman Environmental Prize The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists, one from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America. ...

in 2019, for his efforts to protect the

Cautín River The Cautín (Rio Cautín) is a river in Chile. It rises on the western slopes of the Cordillera de Las Raíces and flows in La Araucanía Region. The river's main tributary is the Quepe River. The city of Temuco is located on the Cautín River. ...

from hydroelectric development projects. In 2018, he was arrested and jailed for 15 months for armed robbery but was later acquitted of all charges and released in December 2019. In April 2021, he sustained injuries after a confrontation with police which led to him being hit with riot shotgun pellets. He holds the position of

lonco A lonko or lonco (from Mapudungun ''longko'', literally "head"), is a chief of several Mapuche communities. These were often ulmen Ulmen is a town in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the seat of the like-named ...

, a chief of several communities.

References

20th-century Mapuche people 21st-century Mapuche people Lonkos Indigenous activists of South America Chilean activists Chilean environmentalists Indigenous peoples of South America and the environment People from Araucanía Region Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Goldman Environmental Prize awardees {{Chile-bio-stub