Jenny Small, a lawyer and US Student 2014 became more and more interested in indigenous rights, she applied as U.S; Student to a Fulbright grant to investigating in southern Chile, within the Mapuche culture.“I believe that it is necessary to have a qualified individual for legal representation, I analogize the client-lawyer relationship to a patient-doctor relationship. The patient (client) needs an expert, but he or she should have complete disclosure of the information. Nobody is a better advocate for you than for yourselves. In the case of indigenous communities, many do not have access to the most basic information of the laws, provoking the question of how they can even advocate for themselves? They should have better access to this information even if they need lawyers for the actual legal claims. So much of the information on indigenous rights (as with other law) is archaiechly written in tomes of books that many libraries do not even host (I had to buy several books and go to several libraries). The resources online are often dispersed among several sights, not providing any form of comprehensive information. “

“The Mapuche are a group indigenous to south-central Chile that have recently undertaken a revival and reorganization of their communities, with the goals of gaining jurisdictional autonomy, a return of ancestral lands, and a recognition of cultural identity. “Different Mapuche communities are making their voices heard, usually peacefully, but there has been some violence in recent years,” says Small. “It’s incredibly controversial, but also very ripe for implementation of these international principles.” Small felt so compelled that she decided to apply for a Fulbright Scholarship. “The idea of my project is to find a way to better provide for free and informed prior consent and consultation, as required by the international instruments, or to find some kind of other protection of indigenous rights.”

Part of the goal of the Fulbright is for grant recipients to continue their work even after the conclusion of the scholarship. Small certainly intends to do this. Part of her project is the creation of a website with resources on indigenous law, which she will maintain and share on her return to the U.S. : http://justiciaindigenacastellano.wordpress.com