Last known Chilean Yaghan speaker dies aged 93: NPR

Cristina Calderón, the last known native speaker of the Yaghan language, poses outside a local community center in Puerto Williams, southern Chile, on April 23, 2017.

Martin Bernetti / AFP via Getty Images

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Cristina Calderón, the last known native speaker of the Yaghan language, poses outside a local community center in Puerto Williams, southern Chile, on April 23, 2017.

Martin Bernetti / AFP via Getty Images

Cristina Calderón, the last known native speaker of one of Chile’s indigenous languages, Yaghan, has died at the age of 93, she family said on Wednesday.

Until the end of her days, Abuela Cristina – as many people know her – spent time making traditional reed baskets, while also sharing the Yaghan language and culture with those around her, AFP reported.

Thousands many years before the arrival of European settlers, the Yaghan inhabited the tip of South America. While some of their customs are longstanding, the Yaghan are losing their tribal legends. To many, Calderón represents a cultural protest.

Cristina Calderón, the last known native speaker of the Yaghan language, is pictured at the local community center in Puerto Williams, southern Chile, on April 23, 2017. Cristina Calderon has been designated a Treasure human life according to the UNESCO Convention for the Protection of the Immortal Heritage.

Martin Bernetti / AFP via Getty Images

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Martin Bernetti / AFP via Getty Images

In 2017, Calderón declared himself the ultimate speaker of Yaghan, which has no written form.

“I am Yaghan’s last word,” she told journalists in 2017. “Others may understand it but don’t speak or know it like I do.”

Calderón’s commitment to preserving her language earned her recognition by the Chilean government as a “living treasure” in 2009.

Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font sends a giant hug to the Calderón family speak that Calderón’s legacy and teachings would live on after her death.

Calderón’s daughter, Lidia González Calderón, said her mother’s death was “sad news for Yaghan.”

“Everything I do in my job will bear your name,” she wrote in the translated Spanish tweet. “And that will also reflect who you are.”