Listen 0:33
Read
The Salesian Museum Maggiorino Borgatello opened in 1893. Part of its collection comes from the Salesian missions, such as San Rafael, on Dawson Island, from 1889 to 1911. Most of the first were Kawésqar, canoe people of the channels; then Selk'nam, driven off Tierra del Fuego by sheep farms. About a thousand went in. The mission's own records count eight hundred and sixty-two deaths, most from disease. When it closed, the last twenty-five Selk'nam left with the missionaries. Look at what remains of their world, and judge for yourself the story told around it.
Source: Wikipedia en español, «Museo Salesiano Maggiorino Borgatello». · Museo Salesiano Maggiorino Borgatello, «Quiénes somos» (official website). · Mateo Martinic Beros, «Centenario del cierre de la Misión de Dawson», Magallania 39(2), 2011. · El Mostrador, «El placer genocida de Dios en isla Dawson: estudio cuestiona a religiosos que salvaban selknam», 17 de septiembre de 2025 (on Harambour & Orellana, Magallania 2025).
