Displacing Indigeneity: Mapuche Youth Identity Formation in Urban Centers in Santiago, Chile

• In Event: Identidades en movimiento: Diasporas y Migración Indígena y Afrodecendiente. II

Abstract

Long before the arrival of the Spanish in what is now Chile, the Mapuche were the native settlers of the land. Their resistance led to the recognition of their territory as a separate and sovereign nation by Spain. However, after the war of independence Chilean identity became dominant in the region. Chilean identity has overlooked ethnic and racial identities since colonialism. Studies on ethnic minorities in Chile have folded in race relations with class relations, thereby overlooking race as an issue of discrimination. This study explores how Mapuche youth identity is shaped while living in an urban setting. The study utilizes a mixed-method approach including personal interviews and ethnography to explore the experience of Mapuche youth and their journey of building an identity. Politics and Latino Studies fields will benefit from this research, since it will allow academics to gain a deeper understanding of how Chilean identity and indigeneity come together to shape youth’s identity in an urban center. Preliminary fieldwork and reviewed literature indicates that race is a topic overlooked in Chile and that social class relations are used by some academics to better rationalize inequalities.

Author

• Manuel A Burciaga, University of California Santa Cruz