The
Huilliche,
Huiliche or
Huilliche-Mapuche are the southern partiality of the
Mapuche macroethnic group of
Chile. The Huilliche are the principal indigenous population of Chile from
Toltén River to
Chiloé Archipelago. According to
Ricardo E. Latcham the term Huilliche started to be used in Spanish after the second founding of
Valdivia in 1645, adopting the usage of the Mapuches of
Araucanía for the southern Mapuche tribes. Huilliche means 'southerners' (Mapudungun
willi 'south' and
che 'people'.)