The Hard Frontiers of Interculturality, Land, Territory, and Indigenous Peoples of Chile

This class will examine the traditional culture and worldview of three indigenous peoples of Chile: Aymara, Mapuche and Kaweshkar. Also, it will discuss the current situation of their population, especially regarding their complicated relationship with the Chilean society and how this affects the attempts to recognize the country's cultural diversity. Despite the existence of a national indigenous law, health, and court proceedings, constitutional recognition has been strongly resisted by some sectors of the country's population. Although indigenous peoples have made a notable contribution to the development of a Chilean national identity, their culture remains ignored by the majority of Chileans.