This work is situated in the field of sociolinguistics in the Mapuche context. Its specific focus is on the processes of linguistic socialization in the family-community environment and the representation of these processes from the autobiographical discourse of the speakers themselves. A brief overview of sociolinguistic studies is presented, with emphasis on the challenges involved in research on indigenous languages and their speakers. The review incorporates the Mapuche perspective on the role of Mapuzugun in the processes of linguistic-cultural socialization. With these frames of reference as a backdrop, a research experience is presented from which the perspective of family biographies emerged as a representation of the processes of loss and recovery of Mapuzugun. The proposed approach implied focusing on the socio-linguistic reflexivity of the speakers from the oral family memory, an action associated with the incorporation of Mapuzugun and Mapuche Kimun and their relationship with the territory.