ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the experiences of Mapuche people who are the first generation in their families to attend university and how participation in Higher Education shapes their identities. It draws on a sample of 40 life stories recounted by a group of Mapuche students who live in the capital city Santiago or in the Araucanía region in southern Chile and who have gained a level of educational mobility. The chapter also explores the broader social context in which indigenous people are situated and identifies the structural educational disadvantages which indigenous people in Chile have to face. It identifies the different experiences of agency of Mapuche people at university and work, focusing in particular on the interesting ways in which they started to assert their Mapuche identities. Among Mapuche, there is a concern about the loss of Mapuche culture, due to several factors, such as migration, the insertion of Mapuche people into Chilean society and discrimination.
