Dora Manchado
{{Use British English|date=May 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}{{Infobox person/Wikidata
|fetchwikidata=ALL
}}
Dora Manchado (Camusu Aike, Argentina, {{circa}} 1934 {{Ndash}} Río Gallegos, January 4, 2019) was an Argentinian woman who was the last first-language speaker of the Tehuelche language of Patagonia. She was also the last first-language speaker of any of the Chonan languages. She became a professor of the language. Thanks to her efforts, scientists were able to carry out documenting work on her language during a period in which native speakers were passing away rapidly.
Biography
Dora was born in 1934 at Camusu Aike reserve, between Río Gallegos and El Calafate. There she learned to speak the language from her relatives. As a young woman, she left the reserve and began to work in guest houses in El Calafate. She established herself in Río Gallegos in the 1960s.{{Cite web |date=2021-11-06 |title=Video. "El legado sigue": inauguraron la calle Dora Manchado, en homenaje a la referente de la cultura tehuelche |url=https://laopinionaustral.com.ar/rio-gallegos/video-el-legado-sigue-inauguraron-la-calle-dora-manchado-en-homenaje-a-la-referente-de-la-cultura-tehuelche-431570.html |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=La Opinión Austral |language=es}}
After the deaths of her sister and other Tehuelche-speaking friends, she had no to converse with.{{Cite web |last=Domingo |first=Javier |date=2019-01-30 |title=La imborrable obra de Dora Manchado: ¿la última guardiana de la lengua tehuelche? |url=https://www.infobae.com/cultura/2019/01/30/la-imborrable-obra-de-dora-manchado-la-ultima-guardiana-de-la-lengua-tehuelche/ |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=infobae |language=es-ES}}{{Cite web |last=Redacción |date=2019-12-15 |title=El legado de Dora, la última hablante del tehuelche |url=https://www.rionegro.com.ar/el-legado-de-dora-la-ultima-hablante-del-tehuelche-1201514/ |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=Diario Río Negro {{!}} Periodismo en la Patagonia |language=es}} In 2011, she took on the role of language teacher, helping to reintroduce the Tehuelche language in a program organized by the Argentinian Ministry of Education and a group known as Coordinación EIB (Bilingual Intercultural Education).{{Cite web |title=Continúan las clases de revitalización de la lengua tehuelche |url=https://noticias.santacruz.gob.ar/gestion/educacion/item/4838-continuan-las-clases-de-revitalizacion-de-la-lengua-tehuelche |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=noticias.santacruz.gob.ar |language=es-es}}{{Cite web |last=Chubut |first=El |title=Falleció la última mujer que hablaba tehuelche - Últimas Noticias |url=https://www.elchubut.com.ar/regionales/2019-1-5-23-58-0-fallecio-la-ultima-mujer-que-hablaba-tehuelche |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=El Chubut |language=es}} One of the reasons for the loss of the language was racism, as the Tehuelches were subjected to ostracism, mockery and shaming. For this reason, parents did not teach their children the language.
In 2018 the anthropologist Javier Domingo worked with Manchado for four months to record the state of the language. Many earlier works on the language were folkloric in nature, intended to attract tourism.{{Cite web |last=Domingo |first=Javier |date=2019-01-30 |title=La imborrable obra de Dora Manchado: ¿la última guardiana de la lengua tehuelche? |url=https://www.infobae.com/cultura/2019/01/30/la-imborrable-obra-de-dora-manchado-la-ultima-guardiana-de-la-lengua-tehuelche/ |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=infobae |language=es-ES}} Domingo recorded the sessions with the intention of preserving the language, and in his final video he thanked her for all her help. Manchado she responded as follows:{{blockquote|Aio t nash 'a'ieshm ten kot 'awkko (Maybe some day someone will speak Tehuelche).{{Cite web |last=Domingo |first=Javier |date=2019-01-30 |title=La imborrable obra de Dora Manchado: ¿la última guardiana de la lengua tehuelche? |url=https://www.infobae.com/cultura/2019/01/30/la-imborrable-obra-de-dora-manchado-la-ultima-guardiana-de-la-lengua-tehuelche/ |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=infobae |language=es-ES}}{{Cite web |last=Daigneault |first=Anna Luisa |date=2019-11-23 |title=Museos de la mente: Por qué deberíamos conservar las lenguas en peligro de desaparición |url=https://es.globalvoices.org/2019/11/23/museos-de-la-mente-por-que-deberiamos-conservar-las-lenguas-en-peligro-de-desaparicion/ |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=Global Voices en Español |language=es}}}}She died on January 4, 2019, in the city of Río Gallegos.
Prizes and honours
{{blockquote|
- During her life she was named a Living Patrimony of the province of Santa Cruz.{{Cite web |title=Falleció la última descendiente parlante de Tehuelches |url=https://www.tiemposur.com.ar/info-general/163880-fallecio-la-ultima-descendiente-parlante-de-tehuelches |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=www.tiemposur.com.ar |language=en}}
- An episode of the series Guardianes de la lengua (Guardians of the Language) tells the story of Dora Manchado and the Tehuelche.{{Cite web |date=2019-01-04 |title=Falleció Dora Manchado, pilar en el rescate de la lengua tehuelche |url=https://www.eldiarionuevodia.com.ar/local/info-general/2019/1/4/fallecio-dora-manchado-pilar-en-el-rescate-de-la-lengua-tehuelche-75568.html |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=www.eldiarionuevodia.com.ar |language=es}}{{Cite web |title=Guardianes de la lengua – Episodio 3 y 4 – Cineclub Municipal |url=https://cineclubmunicipal.org.ar/production/guardianes-de-la-lengua-episodio-3-y-4/ |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=cineclubmunicipal.org.ar}}
- In 2021 a street was named for her in El Faro, Río Gallegos.{{Cite web |date=2021-11-06 |title=Video. "El legado sigue": inauguraron la calle Dora Manchado, en homenaje a la referente de la cultura tehuelche |url=https://laopinionaustral.com.ar/rio-gallegos/video-el-legado-sigue-inauguraron-la-calle-dora-manchado-en-homenaje-a-la-referente-de-la-cultura-tehuelche-431570.html |access-date=2025-04-22 |website=La Opinión Austral |language=es}}
}}