Review: 'Rosa Yagan', a Native American woman from the end of the world

“This lady was the last full-blooded member of the Yagan indigenous group, and I was lucky enough to photograph her in Villa Ukika, Puerto Williams, in the far south of Chile. She died two years after the picture was taken. As a society, we failed to take care of the last members of one of the races that make up our roots. We’ve lost their language and customs, and today there are only a few families left, of mixed blood. This photograph is one of the greatest achievements of my life as a photographer. I lived 12 years in that region, the most beautiful and happiest of my life.” Narciso López Lantadilla Daniel (born 1939), Santiago [[image]

By Igor I. Solar

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Puerto Williams - Rosa Yagan, an aboriginal woman belonging to the southernmost ethnic group on the planet, spent her infancy and youth as her nomadic ancestors, with their language and ancient customs. Her story is told in the book "Rosa Yagan, the last link".

One autumn morning 31 years ago, at Villa Ukika in the farthest edge of South America, died Rosa Milicic, known as "Grandma Rosa". Many elderly die every day around the world. But Rosa was not just any aged person. She was the only remaining representative of a pure race that populated the islands of the region at the end of the continent who lived in the manner of her ancestors, with their rites and customs, and one of the last speakers of their language. With the death of Grandma Rosa, the lineage of the Yaghan, and a way of life according to the ancient customs prior to the loss of their cultural identity as an authentic indigenous race, became extinct...Continue reading...