Indigenous peoples in Chile

Udskriv

print

Nine indigenous peoples are legally recognised in Chile according to ‘Indigenous Law No. 19,253 of 1993.

These nine peoples are the:

  • Aymara
  • Lickanantay
  • Quechua
  • Collas
  • Diaguita
  • Rapa Nui from the Polynesian island of Te Pito o Te Henua (Easter Island)
  • Mapuche from the temperate and rainy Wallmapu in the south
  • Kawashkar and Yamana, from the southern Patagonian Channels
  • The inhabitants of the Andean highlands and valleys of the north

The population that self-identifies as belonging to or descending from one of these peoples numbers 1,188,340, or 7% of the country’s total population according to the 2009 population survey (Government of Chile. Encuesta Caracterización Socioeconómica Nacional, CASEN, 2009).

Legislation

Chile voted for the adoption of the United Nation Declaration on Indigenous Rights in 2007 and on 15 September 2008, Chile ratified the ILO Convention 169.

Indigenous peoples' land rights and access to natural resources are, however, under increasing threat from privatization, mining, and geothermal energy projects, while protests from indigenous civil society organisations are met with criminalization.

Yearly update

Read the 2012 yearbook article on indigenous peoples in Chile to learn about major developments and events during 2011 (internal link)

Download the 2011 yearbook article on indigenous peoples in Chile to read more about major developments and events during 2010