Community action/Chile

Indigenous peoples in Chile (Spanish: Chilenos indígenas) or Native Chileans (Spanish: Chilenos nativos), are Chileans who have predominant or total Amerindian or Rapa Nui ancestry. According to the 2024 census, 2,105,863 people declare having Indigenous origins, representing 11.5% of the total population. Most Chileans are of partially Indigenous descent; however, Indigenous identification and its legal ramifications are typically reserved to those who self-identify with and are accepted within one or more Indigenous groups.

Human presence in Chilean territory can be documented from at least 14,500 BCE, based on archaeological remains found at Monte Verde in the southern part of the country. From that time onward, diverse societies inhabited the territory during the pre-Columbian period, and it is estimated that more than one million people lived in the area prior to the Spanish conquest of Chile.

European colonization had a devastating impact on the Indigenous population, which experienced a drastic decline due to introduced diseases, wars, forced labor, and harsh living conditions. In addition, many survivors were compelled to abandon their cultures and assimilate into the dominant society. Some peoples disappeared entirely.

From the 19th century onward, the Chilean state implemented policies that deepened Indigenous dispossession, such as the Occupation of Araucanía and the creation of Indigenous reservations (reducciones), which severely restricted access to ancestral lands. The Informe de Verdad Histórica y Nuevo Trato (2003) acknowledged this historical debt and recommended reparative measures, including the recognition of collective rights over land and natural resources, as well as Indigenous political participation.

Despite this historical background, Indigenous peoples maintain a significant presence in Chile. Since 1993, the state has officially recognized 11 Indigenous peoples. The Mapuche, with their traditional lands in south-central Chile, account for approximately 80% of the total Indigenous population. There are also small populations of Aymara, Quechua, Atacameño, Qulla (Kolla), Diaguita, Yahgan (Yámana), Rapa Nui and Kawésqar (Alacalufe) people in other parts of the country, as well as many other groups such as Caucahue, Chango, Picunche, Chono, Tehuelche, Cunco and Selkʼnam.

Indigenous peoples in Chile face various forms of racial and social discrimination, as well as higher rates of poverty, unemployment, and illiteracy compared with the rest of the population. Their demands include constitutional recognition, respect for territorial rights, and progress toward forms of autonomy and self-determination.

The wildlife of Chile is very diverse because of the country's slender and elongated shape, which spans a wide range of latitude, and altitude, ranging from the windswept coastline of the Pacific coast on the west to northern Andes to the sub-Antarctic, high Andes mountains in the east. There are many distinct ecosystems.

Chile, often called "the spine of South America", has 100 protected areas covering a total area of 14.5 million hectares (20% of the country) in 36 national parks, 49 national reserves, and 15 national monuments. In the southern part of Chile, 50% of the flora (part of temperate rain forest called the Valdivian forests) is endemic, which is a unique feature in the world. Lapageria rosea (Chilean bellflower) is the national flower, the Andean condor, (Vultur gryphus) (NT) is the national bird, and the South Andean huemul (Hippocamelus bisulcus), is the national animal of Chile. Legally, wildlife in Chile is res nullius (ownerless property).

Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, extending along a narrow strip of land between the Andes Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. According to the 2024 census, Chile had an enumerated population of 18.5 million. The country covers a territorial area of 756,102 square kilometers (291,933 sq mi), sharing borders with Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage to the south. It also administers several Pacific islands, including Juan Fernández, Isla Salas y Gómez, Desventuradas, and Easter Island, and claims about 1,250,000 square kilometers (480,000 sq mi) of Antarctica as the Chilean Antarctic Territory. The capital and largest city is Santiago, and the official and national language is Spanish.

Spain conquered and colonized the region in the mid-16th century, replacing Inca rule; however, they failed to conquer the autonomous tribal Mapuche people who inhabited what is now south-central Chile. Chile emerged as a relatively stable authoritarian republic in the 1830s after its 1818 declaration of independence from Spain. During the 19th century, Chile experienced significant economic and territorial growth, putting an end to Mapuche resistance in the 1880s and gaining its current northern territory in the War of the Pacific (1879–83) by defeating Peru and Bolivia.