ABSTRACT
The chapter examines the conceptual bases of indigenous identity and its commonalities with the broader lens of ethnic identity, addressing the ways mestizaje and diversity have influenced the theorising of race and racism in Latin America. The chapter then turns of a consideration of existing work on Mapuche youth identities in Chile before presenting empirical data collected in high indigenous composition schools in southern Chile. The data demonstrate how secondary school Mapuche students talk about racial categories of belonging and their place within them. The students navigate certain ambiguity regarding in-group and out-group categories, simultaneously embracing group similarity and individual difference. The chapter highlights how young people make sense of racial taxonomies in an era of new racism, in which schools encourage them to pay homage to discourses of educational opportunity and individual responsibility.
