Moai — art by Erity Teave
Rapa Nui land is not for sale.
Chile's government has announced a reform to Indigenous Law 19.253 that would let ancestral Rapa Nui land be mortgaged and leased to outsiders — opening the door to the loss of the land our people have protected for centuries. Add your name before it becomes law.
A law meant to protect indigenous land is being rewritten to expose it.
On 1 June 2026, in his first address to Congress, President José Antonio Kast announced a reform to Indigenous Law 19.253. The stated aim is to remove restrictions on indigenous land so that it can be leased and mortgaged "on equal terms as any Chilean."
It is presented as "freedom." But for Rapa Nui it is a path to dispossession. Once ancestral land can be mortgaged to a bank, a single unpaid debt can transfer it — permanently — to someone outside the community. Land that is leased for decades is land that is no longer ours to live on.
It is not yet law. It must still pass consultation and Congress. That is why this moment matters.
Under Law 19.253, Rapa Nui land may be leased or mortgaged only within the same indigenous group. Home sites and subsistence land cannot be charged at all. The land stays with the people.
Land could be mortgaged to banks and leased to anyone — including non-indigenous Chileans and foreign interests. Foreclosure or long-term lease becomes a legal route to losing ancestral territory forever.
We have seen the State take this land before.
This reform is not new. It is the latest chapter in a story that began with a broken promise.
Two versions of the 1888 agreement were signed — and they do not say the same thing. The Spanish text claimed a full cession of sovereignty. The Rapanui-language text named Chile only a "friend of the place" — and ceded neither sovereignty nor land. The Truth Commission of Chile later confirmed the two differ in substance.
King Riro Kāinga, who governed during a brief period of Rapa Nui autonomy, sailed to Valparaíso to denounce the island's abuses and defend its sovereignty. He never returned — Rapa Nui remembers him as poisoned and buried in a paupers' grave, killed defending a sovereignty he never surrendered. Therefore the Kingdom of Te Pito te Henua Rapa Nui endures.
Chile usurped the lands of Rapa Nui and registered the whole island to the State Treasury, declaring it "land without owner" under Civil Code No. 590.
UNESCO declared Rapa Nui a World Heritage Site — recognizing to the world a cultural landscape that the State had failed to protect.
On 8 August 2011, after more than a century, the Rapa Nui Parliament proclaimed Valentino Riroroko Tuki — grandson of Simeón Riro Kāinga, of the Miru line descended from Hotu Matu'a — as King, restoring the continuity of Rapa Nui's sovereign authority. In his name an action was brought to annul the 1888 act, affirming that neither the island's sovereignty nor its land was ever validly surrendered.
The reform to Law 19.253 threatens to finish what 1933 began — converting protected ancestral land into a tradable asset that can slip out of Rapa Nui hands.
"By raising your flag you do not become owner of the island — because we have sold nothing."— Ariki Atamu Tekena, to the Chilean emissaries, 1888
The 1888 act exists in two versions that differ in substance — as the Truth Commission of Chile recognized. The Spanish text declares a "full and unreserved cession of sovereignty," but the Rapanui-language text speaks only of mau te hoa kona — "friend of the place," a bond of friendship and protection — and never cedes the land. By tradition the king handed the Chilean emissaries a clump of grass while keeping the soil, refused a sack of silver, and when the flag was raised declared that Chile had become owner of nothing, because nothing was sold. The reform of 2026 would force onto Rapa Nui exactly what Atamu Tekena never agreed to.
This is not just real estate. These are sacred sites.
Law 19.253 calls indigenous land "the principal foundation of the existence and culture" of the people. On Rapa Nui, that land holds an irreplaceable living heritage.
Most of these sites already lie outside protected boundaries, with almost no safeguarding. Opening the land to mortgage and lease puts this heritage — and the people who are its guardians — at risk.
Our demands to the State of Chile.
Withdraw the reform that would allow ancestral indigenous land to be mortgaged and leased to outsiders.
Honor the truth of the 1888 agreement of protection: the sovereignty was not ceded, and the land was never ceded. We therefore demand that the State of Chile inscribe Rapa Nui on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories for decolonization, in accordance with the international obligations established by UN General Assembly Resolutions 1514 and 1541.
Uphold the safeguards of Law 19.253, ILO Convention 169, and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Respect Rapa Nui self-determination over our own territory, land, sea, and sacred sites.
The law is on Rapa Nui's side.
Self-determination & decolonisation
Rapa Nui advocates and scholars argue the island qualifies as a Non-Self-Governing Territory before the UN Committee on Decolonisation (C-24), denying the Government of Chile a legitimate right over the territory. Sovereignty was never validly ceded in 1888. Chile committed atrocities to steal Rapa Nui lands, and today persists through systematic violation, discrimination, oppression and assimilation, imposing its unlawful policies and practices upon our own culture.
The Inter-American system
As a member of the Organization of American States, Chile can be brought before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights for breaching binding norms that protect self-determination and indigenous land rights.
A Kingdom, not merely an ethnicity
Treating Rapa Nui only as an "ethnicity" confines them to cultural rights. As a people, Rapa Nui are entitled to political self-determination and the full protection of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (arts. 3, 25–32) and ILO Convention 169.
Read the full petition+
Petition to Protect Rapa Nui Land
We, the undersigned — Rapa Nui people, citizens of Chile, and friends of Rapa Nui across the world — call on the State of Chile to withdraw the proposed reform to Indigenous Law 19.253 announced on 1 June 2026, insofar as it would permit ancestral indigenous land to be mortgaged and leased on the same terms as ordinary property.
What is presented as "freedom" is, for our people, a road to dispossession. Once ancestral land can be mortgaged to a bank, a single unpaid debt can transfer it permanently to outsiders. For Rapa Nui — an island of more than 25,000 sacred and archaeological sites, over 1,000 moai, and the ahu of our ancestors — to lose land is to lose an irreplaceable living heritage and the very foundation of our culture.
We remember our history. On 9 September 1888 the agreement was signed in two versions that do not agree. The Spanish text proclaimed a full cession of sovereignty; the Rapanui-language text named Chile only "friend of the place" and ceded neither our sovereignty nor our land — a difference later confirmed by the Truth Commission of Chile. When the flag was raised, the king declared that nothing had been sold. In 1933 the State registered the whole island to its Treasury as "land without owner." The reform of 2026 threatens to complete that dispossession.
We therefore call on the State of Chile to:
The land of Rapa Nui is not a commodity. It is the foundation of our existence, the resting place of our ancestors, and the inheritance of our children. It is not for sale — and it never was.
Sign the petition to protect Rapa Nui land.
Your signature joins a global call urging the State of Chile to withdraw the reform and uphold its obligations to the Rapa Nui people. Every name strengthens our voice before Congress and the United Nations.
Thank you for standing with Rapa Nui.
Now help us reach more people — share the campaign.
Understanding the reform.
What does the reform actually change?+
It would amend Indigenous Law 19.253 to remove restrictions on indigenous land, allowing it to be leased and mortgaged on the same terms as any other Chilean property. Today that land can only be leased or mortgaged within the same indigenous group — a protection that keeps land in community hands.
Why is this dangerous for Rapa Nui?+
Once land can be mortgaged, an unpaid debt can transfer it permanently to a bank or outside buyer. Long leases hand control to non-Rapa Nui parties. Given the island's 25,000+ sacred and archaeological sites, losing land means losing irreplaceable cultural heritage.
Is it already law?+
No. It is an announced reform that must still go through consultation and Congress. Acting now — before it advances — is how it can be stopped or changed.
I'm not Chilean. Can I still help?+
Yes. This is an international campaign. Signing, sharing, and raising awareness abroad puts pressure on decision-makers and supports Rapa Nui's case before international bodies including the United Nations.